Telling Tuesday

 Back in October Mom went on a tour they had at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. 

For the first time ever Mom saw the MS Sandhill Cranes. These guys were hanging out behind the Visitor's Center. This is probably the closest Mom got to them.

 By the way it was raining, while the cranes don't mind rain, they don't get out when it's windy.

 Mom says this is a diorama it was inside the Visitor's Center, there was also audio so you could hear how they sound.

 And this is what a chick would look like. See how the nest is mounded up so it's higher than the surrounding ground, this is because there is usually water around it. Their habitats consist of Wet Pine Savannas, Cypress Strand, and Gulf Coast Prairie.

 Wet pine savannas are open, nearly treeless, fire-dependent plant communities dominated by well-developed ground cover and some low shrubs. Wet pine savannas are found on poorly drained hydric soils with long periods of soil saturation.

 Cypress strands are forested wetlands that occupy low-gradient drains through the savannas. Soils are full of organic matter and stream flow is diffuse.Shallow cypress ponds are important nesting sites for Misssissippi sandhill cranes.

The Gulf Coast Prairie is made up of predominantly wire and switch grasses, The prairie habitat is a vital one for numerous species of birds that require the tall grasses to feed and nest. It is also a favored feeding ground for the Mississippi sandhill crane.

 They drove around in areas around the refuge, some of the birds were in peoples yards.

 The people are nice and don't mind the birds or the people stopping in their driveway to look at them.

 Mom also saw a deer on the way back to the refuge.

 It was raining pretty hard by then so it was hard to get a good picture.

~ATCAD