Sunday, I was awakened by the elusive sound of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane. Lauren had been up 2 hours and walked the Dees Trail and Crane Lane before I even thought about getting out of bed .
When Lauren returned, a few Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flew into the trees at Camp Crane.
We both took a stroll down Crane Lane and saw a few birds and the HQ 4-some in the fire lane.
Afterwards, we met Anita at Island View for the birthday celebration. Lauren got lucky and won $175 in the old fart's tournament. I got lucky and only used my free play. A great celebration for his last day of being 63.
Monday was all about the birthday boy. We saw a lot of shorebirds, including, a Common Loon in his spectacular breeding plumage riding along Hwy. 90.
We saw 3 Bald Eagles while riding along the beach. One of them flew toward the Gulls sending them airborne.
After enjoying the shorebirds, we went to Clower-Thornton Park. We had a nice stroll seeing a few pretty plants and a pair of Gulf Coast Box Turtles doing the do. He sure did look like he had a smile on his face!
The eclipse today was a dud, but the neat clouds were pretty spectacular.
We had a nice meal at Carter Green Steakhouse then gambled a bit more.
We were greeted with our first sighting of a Blue Grosbeak on our way back to Camp Crane.
We had another first sighting of the year when we found a Zigzag Bladderwort on Crane Lane.
We watched 4 of the HQ crew walk out of the pen and head to the feeder during our stroll.
We spotted a few pollinators along the Dees Trail.
We relaxed at Camp Crane while doing a little bit of arm chair birding.
It was a no picture, rainy kind of day on Wednesday.
Thursday we spent the day sloshing around in our rubber boots walking all the trails after the heavy rains yesterday. We got a few pictures along the way.
Friday, we got a look at the "Golden Egg!" One of NV11 and 337's eggs was taken to Audubon Species Survival Center. Some prime genetics.
After we closed the visitor center we enjoyed an evening at Camp Crane doing a little bit of bird watching. We were quite impressed that a couple of Hummingbirds were in a sharing mood today.
Saturday we worked in the visitor center. While sitting outside the visitor center we watched and listened to an Orchid Oriole, Such a pretty rascal!
After we closed, we checked on the Dougie Family and the Rock Hill family. It appears the Dougie Family has hatched. Although, the grass was too tall to see the chicks.
All was well with the Rock Hill Family.
We saw lots of birds at Camp Crane this afternoon, including a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. The bird migration is upon us!
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