Crane Ranch - 5-21-23 - 5-27-23

Sunday, we lounged around the room, enjoying our coffee time with Anita at Island View.  We had a good breakfast at the buffet, then headed westbound to do a little bit of shore birding.  We were looking for Least Tern babies.  We saw plenty of nests, but no hatchlings.

We were entertained by a male Least Tern offering his mate lunch.  He was very proud when she took the minnow from him.  It almost looked like he had a smile on his face.

We donated a little bit of money to the casino then called it a night.  Even though it may have still been daylight outside.

Sunday Pics:

Monday, we did a repeat of yesterday's morning, drinking coffee and eating breakfast at the buffet. Afterwards, we headed eastbound to do a little bit of birding.  We saw a lot of birds at Jones Park.  One pair of Royal Terns were doing their mating dance.  Nature is so amazing.

We finally found a Least Tern hatchling amongst all the other nests.

We made a drive through Hiller Park and saw a Pond Slider.

We made a few more stops before heading back to Island View.  We walked to Sully's for happy hour.  It was a fun place to eat and drink.

We got to spend a little bit of time with Norman and Jason while donating a few more dollars to the casino.

After spending Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night at Island View we made it back to the ranch Tuesday morning.  We got a bit of piddling done around HQ then relaxed for the rest of the day.

Common Box Turtle at the front door of the visitor center on National Turtle Day 

Tuesday Pics:

Wednesday, was back to work day.    

When we went to the South Gautier Unit to do some lopping, we checked on the Firetower Pond nests.  Both nest are still active.

We also got a visual on the Sunplex Dad, aka Super Dad.  He and the colt are doing fine.

Wednesday Pics:

Thursday, we had the West Elementary School outing at the refuge.  We led 3 walks along the Dees Trail.  The kids and the chaperones all seemed to have a good time.

The afternoon, we manned the visitor center and inventoried a new shipment of stock that came in.

Friday, Lauren got a walk in along the Dees Trail then I met him on Crane Lane.  We packed up then were Crossroads bound for a few days to give the place some TLC.

Friday Pics:

Crane Ranch - 5-14-23 - 5-20-23

Sunday, we had a nice time, sitting under the shade tree taking pictures of the fire crew doing a prescribed burn at the entrance of Camp Crane.  They only burned an acre, but that acre was burned with precision.  The Hotshots last day at the Crane Ranch was quite impressive.

 

The afternoon, we went on another orchid safari at G05-S, but did not find any of the elusive calopogon multiflorus.  But we did find Mean Momma on her 3rd nest of this season.  Hopefully, 3 times is a charm!

Sunday Pics:

Monday, I got up early to see Lauren off to Tractor School.  As I was lounging around on the computer after he left, I got an invite to join the class.  It only took me about 10 minutes to be seated in my chair for this 4 hour class.  Driving a tractor is a new challenge for me, but not for Lauren who has been driving them for most of his life.  We will get our seat time of driving tractors later this week.  

Monday afternoon, I did the online training for the Tractor Course while Lauren helped Jake and Theresa process and tag 68 DGFs.  Logan, one of the guys in the tractor class happened to stop at the visitor center as we were heading to Camp Crane.   He went with the 4 of us to release the DGFs at sunset.

As we were walking to the pond, we could hear the rumbling.  Right before we got to the pond, we saw a beautiful rainbow.  

While acclimating the mets, we checked for snakes.  We found one Cottonmouth that we relocated on the way out.  We were pretty lucky that the thunderstorms missed us and we only had a light rain while we were at Justin's pond. 

The new Visitor Services Kubota was sitting in the parking lot waiting for us when we went to work Tuesday morning.  We got in and took her for a spin.  It has an enclosed cab, windshield wipers, air conditioning and heating.  Lauren did a good job picking it out. 

 

This afternoon we helped Carol pack up her things after she turned in her refuge keys.  The Loews will be missed.

Wednesday morning, we got our chick buzz in first thing.  We got to see both of the chicks with their parents at Rock Hill.  

We also checked on the Sunplex Widower.  His behavior led us to believe the chick is still alive, but we could not get a visual on the colt in the tall grass.

We had our first volunteer meeting with Jeremy and Melissa.  During the meeting Melissa announced that she has taken a job at Desoto National Forest.  Yesterday, Carol turned in her keys.  Today Melissa announced she is leaving.  Life at the Crane Ranch is never going to be the same.

Tuesday/Wednesday Pics:

Thursday, before opening the visitor center, Lauren and I walked the Dees Trail.  It is already starting to green up after the prescribed burn and has a few blooms popping out.  We can't wait to watch it progress.

Thunder, Squall, and Tsunami were chowing down at the HQ feeder when we walked to the trail.  That all changed as we were opening up the visitor center and NV11 and 337 flew in and made them skedaddle. 

 

I manned the visitor center while Lauren and Jeff took the Visitor Services SUV in for repairs.  My plan was to get bookstore orders done while they were gone.  That plan changed when I had all these nice folks to talk to about the refuge.  After Lauren and Jeff got back, I got the orders done while they talked with the visitors.

Thursday Pics:

Friday, we sorted and washed the plant markers from the Dees Trail then did our seat time of tractor training.  I thought the big tractor with the bat-winged mower would be the hardest to drive.  I did pretty good on it.  On the other hand, the smaller tractor with the bucket was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  On my first try, I scooped up the gravel, backed up the tractor, then went forward and dumped the gravel. I thought, I got this, but I thought wrong.  After many unsuccessful attempts, Lauren came over and helped me out.  I was finally able to successfully scoop up and move the gravel.  It would have helped to have a working gauge for the bucket.  It would have also helped if the clutch and stick shift were easier to maneuver.  I may have been worn out when I finished, but it was well worth the effort.  We are now Tractor Certified for the US Fish and Wildlife.  Team McLaurin is awesome!!

This afternoon, we walked the Dees Trail and placed a couple of plant markers.  

Friday Pics:

Saturday, we went to see "Lonesome Lilly" at the Pascagoula River Audubon Center, Lauren's entry in their Nature Photography Contest.  She was exhibited above the refreshment table.  Lauren got a nice wooden chopping board for his efforts. 

 

Afterwards, we had an impromptu Crane Tour for Jake and his grandparents.  The tour started off good seeing 3 cranes when we entered the North Gautier Unit.  Although, they didn't hang around for a picture.

We had our first Purple Gallinule sighting on the refuge.  He was hanging around Valentine Pond and very photogenic.

We got a visual on the Sunplex Widower and his colt and for the grand finale we got to see the Rock Hill Family.

 

We were surprised to have 16 Crane sightings considering it was after 12 pm before we left for this impromptu tour. 

This afternoon, we met Anita at Island View for a 3 night stay in our adjoining rooms.  We didn't win any money, but we had a great time.  We even made an appearance to listen to the band that started at 8 pm, although we didn't last very long.

Saturday Pics:

Crane Ranch 5-7-23 - 5-13-23

We helped Jake check the tanks Sunday morning and got 33 DGF's.  We met Anita at Island View and had another great couple of days in our adjoining rooms.  Lauren and Anita both got an upgrade on their players card.  Me on the other hand, enjoyed spending the free play I won the last time I was here. 

We took a break from the casino and did a little bit of shore bird watching on Monday .  We were hoping to find Least Tern babies. There were nest with eggs, but no chicks found. We will check back in a few weeks.  

Casino Trip: 

Tuesday we made it back to the Ranch.  Lauren worked on his online Tractor Training.  I worked on orders for the bookstore.

Wednesday morning, Lauren got out and about getting a few pictures while I lounged around.  Wednesday afternoon, we packed up and headed to Natchez to deliver Jr. Duck Stamp prizes before the end of their school year.  It definitely was an unexpected trip.  We got settled in our room then sat outside and did a little bit of bird watching from the porch of our room.

After we delivered the prizes Thursday, we took a ride through St. Catherine National Wildlife Refuge.  We saw lots of different species of birds, including Painted Buntings, one of our favorites.  Although, they were not very photogenic, staying in the brush singing their pretty songs.

The Prothonotary Warblers, on the other hand, were very photogenic as they had their disputes. 

We were able to travel on roads that had been flooded in the past.  We had a great few hours watching turtles, birds, snakes, butterflies, and just taking in nature.  We made our 4 hour trip back to the Ranch around 6 pm.  It has been a long, but fun day.  

Natchez Trip:

Friday morning, we checked out the Dees Trail post burn.  The Fire Center burned the interior section while we were gone yesterday.  We saw a little bit of life, and an unfortunate death of a Corn Snake.

We did a little bit of piddling around the visitor center then went on an orchid road survey in the South Gautier Unit.  We didn't find any calopogon multiflorus, but did confirm that the Unbanded  Pair's nest is still active in Firetower Pond.

We also saw Snipe, aka Scoundrel, and General Plantain together.  Looks like they may have a chick or two.  

While we were resting at Camp Crane we did a little bit of armchair birding.

Friday Pics:

Saturday, we picked up the plant markers that were along the Dees Trail.  While on the trail, we ran into Theresa.  She found a gorgeous Speckled King Snake.  For some reason, I decided I wanted to hold the snake.  I was rather surprised to find out how soft they are.  Who would have ever thought I would hold a snake.  The Crane Ranch must have placed a spell on me.

We saw an American Racer going under Jeff's camper when we returned to Camp Crane.  The snakes were out and about on this pretty morning.

We did a stroll along Crane Lane and enjoyed the few blooms and critters that we saw along the way.

On our way back from Fontainebleau Trail, we stopped and admired the Widower and his chick.  It took a while, but we finally got a visual of it in the tall grass.

We enjoyed a drive through the North Gautier Unit seeing several cranes, including Banana and Coconut.  We also saw Magma, the traveler.  She is rewriting history with her long travels to Alabama and Louisiana that are being seen from her gps tracker.   Technology is awesome.

Saturday Pics: