Crane Ranch - 7-23-23 - 7-29-23

We heard the cranes calling Sunday morning as we were drinking our coffee.  Coffee and Cranes are a great way to start the week.  It was almost noon when we finally headed to the Dees Trail.  We have been talking about the Hummingbird Moths and were pleasantly suprised to spot a couple along the trail enjoying the phlox. This is by far, our favorite moth.

Sunday Pics:

Monday we took a ride to Grand Bay then stopped at a few of the gates to pick up litter.  While we were out, we checked on 2006 and RH 20 that hang near the airport in Moss Point. 

 

While I tallied up volunteer timesheets, Lauren took an afternoon stroll along the Dees Trail.  He found several insects enjoying the blooms, including another Hummingbird Moth that put on a show.

Monday Pics:  

Tuesday we had Herbicide training.  We learned a lot in this 5 hour class.

We took an afternoon Dees Trail stroll. We were hoping that the pollinators would be active on this hot afternoon,  but that was not the case.

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday, we rode around and picked up litter, put the repaired Fontainebleau Trail counter back in place. While we were out and about we got a few crane observations.

We saw the Sunplex family along the edge of the woods along Highway 57.  The youngster really stood out with all it's yellow bling.  Hopefully they stay near the woods and don't walk across the road.

We saw a youngster way out in Valentine Savanna.  We hope this is Milhouse and 2005 colt. 

 

We also saw the Ocean Springs pen family fly.  So good to see 3 youngsters still alive and well.

Wednesday Pics:

Thursday we took the day off.  We started the day with a late morning stroll along Crane Lane then walked the Dees Trail.  It sure is a hot one again today.

The rest of the day was spent inside under the comfort of the ac.

Thursday Pics:

Friday we spent the day moving stuff back into the visitor center and bookstore.  While we were doing this, some of the HQ Crew came by for a snack.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, we loaded up and headed to Crossroads for a couple of nights.

Crane Ranch 7-16-23 - 7-22-23

It was another hot Sunday in South Mississippi.  We braved the heat and got a stroll in along Crane Lane and the Dees Trail this morning.  The birds were not very active in this heat.  Although we did see an Eastern Bluebird with his breakfast on Crane Lane.

The blooms along the Dees Trail are beginning to pick up, attracting not only our attention, but the pollinators and other insects.  We got a new for us species on iNaturalist, Funeral Duskywings.  A couple of them were pornographic!

We got back and stayed inside for most of the day trying to stay cool. 

Sunday Pics: 

Monday I helped out a bit at the visitor center with the contractors that were making bids on future projects, then joined Lauren for a mowing expedition.  Jake filled the HQ feeder while were mowing.  In just a bit, Quicksand came to the feeder and ate some corn.  These cranes love their yellow gold!

Monday Pics:

Tuesday, we got ole Billy Goat out and blew the debris off the roads.  Spending yesterday cutting grass then blowing debris off the road has got this place looking good.

This afternoon, I supervised Lauren while he got some more bushhogging done at the North Gautier Unit.  Afterwards, we headed to Island View for a couple of nights to celebrate Anita's birthday.  We didn't win any money, but we had an awesome time hanging around in the room.  Anita put on quite the show dancing on the bed.  She's still got it at 68 years of age!

Wednesday, Jackie and Randy met us at the casino.  It was good to see them.  We all did a little bit of gambling .  Lauren and I both won some and lost some, but were able to play for a bit and were quite entertained when the machines were hitting.  Anita, Lauren, and I had another fun time in the room, getting usies of our matching shirts, singing, dancing, and laughing. 

Casino Trip 

Thursday, we got back to the Crane Ranch and got some more bushhogging done at the North Gautier Unit.  We were greeted by Delores and his mate when we entered the unit.

After Lauren got off of the tractor we did a road survey and found a photogenic Red-shouldered Hawk.

When we returned to the Browns Trail Pasture that Lauren just finished bush hogging, Banana, Coconut, and unbanded were foraging in the freshly cut grass. 

 

We got back and did some critter watching at Camp Crane.

Thursday Pics:

Friday, we cut grass at Camp Crane then finished up the bushhogging at the North Gautier Unit.  

3 Cranes flushed as we entered the gate. They were quit vocal as they flew a short distance and landed in the savanna.

Lauren did well cutting grass along the tree lined road and not tearing up anything.  It was a little bit nerve racking, (at least for me), when he drove across the narrow, swiss cheese dam.  Whew, no cave ins!!

After we finished, we checked out the bling bling on the Rock Hill twins.  It won't be long until they fledge.

Some of the HQ crew were hanging around in the back yard when we returned. 

Friday Pics: 

We got a stroll in along the Dees Trail and Crane Lane on this hot, humid, Saturday morning.  At least we had a hot breeze blowing.  Us and the pollinators are enjoying the blooms.  The blooms on the trail get prettier every day.

We made a trip to Wally World then spent the rest of the day inside.  When it finally cooled off enough to get outside, we had thunderstorms.  Not a problem, we needed the rain.

Saturday Pics:

Crane Ranch - 7-10-23 - 7-15-23

Monday, we made it back to the Crane Ranch after being gone for almost 2 weeks.  We got our stuff unpacked and some pictures processed on this rainy evening.

Tuesday, we eased back into the work flow, checking out the progress of the flooring installation, picking up packages, digging out the ditch along Crane Lane, and catching up on the going ons while we were gone.  The rain set in around 6 pm and we are in for the night.

Wednesday, we got some bush hogging done at the Gautier Pen, or rather Lauren did.  I sat in the shade and supervised while he sat in the a/c cab of the tractor.   I thought about driving for a bit, but decided things would go much smoother if I stayed out of the way.

On the way in, we saw the Milhouse Family.  This is our first sighting of their colt and it is almost grown.

 

On our way out, we saw one of our favorites, Banana.  Wonder where Coconut is?

We got a look at the Rock Hill Family before heading back to the refuge.  They started to hide when they saw the refuge white truck with the FWS emblem.  They must know that bio plans to catch them before they fledge.  They have white truck syndrome!

We saw a Doe and her two fawns when we got back to Crane Lane.

We got back and sat under the fifth wheel for a bit and watched the rain.  At least all the rain is keeping the temperatures cooler.

Wednesday Pics:

Thursday was another rainy day.  We helped Robin tear down the baseboards and move the display at the back window of the visitor center.  The afternoon was spent in the North Gautier Unit doing a little bit of tractor maintenance.  

On our drive in we saw a flock of Purple Martins perched in a tree in Valentine Savanna.

While waiting on the rain to stop, we rode around and found our favorites, Banana and Coconut hanging around with the unbanded. 

We also found a bunch of Orange-fringed orchids and some other cool blooms.

Momma Nighthawk was guarding her baby at the Valentine Road turn around. 

The Purple Martins had relocated to a tree in Elbert's Pond on our way out of the refuge.

We returned to HQ and found 3 of the HQ crew out in the savanna.

Thursday Pics:

Friday was the first day in a long while that we have walked the Dees Trail.  It was a nice, but hot walk, seeing lots of pretty blooms and a few pollinators.  We also found a very photogenic Ribbon Snake on the pier.

We went on a ride to the Fontainebleau Trail and picked up trash and placed brochures.  While we were out and about, we checked on the Rock Hill Family, the Dougie Family, the Riley Road Family, and the Sunplex Super Dad and Colt.  We got a visual on the Riley Road Family.  We also saw Dougie and his mate without a chick.  Dang it!

We took the Browns Trail short cut on our drive back and did not see the first crane.  Not a surprise with the temperature above 95 degrees today.   Even a frog was chilling, sleeping on the stalk of a Water Cowbane.

 

We made another first for us in a while when we toured the South Gautier Unit.  We saw a photogenic Great Egret, some pretty blooms with critters, a couple of Ibis, and a couple of unphotogenic cranes. 

We got back and stayed in the a/c for a while waiting for it to cool off just a little bit.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, was another hot day, but at least there was a warm breeze blowing.  We got our walk in along the Dees Trail and and Crane Lane, seeing all kinds of critters, then sat inside and worked on the blog and our pictures.  We have had a lot of fun in the last few weeks, and that fun has got us way behind.

This afternoon we heard the elusive sound of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane and found 6 of the HQ Crew and an unbanded feasting at the HQ feeder.

Saturday Pics: