Hutson Lake, 5 March 2019

A morning kayak of Hutson Lake, my favorite grand old oxbow off the upper reaches of the Pascagoula River.  Birds were very active, especially flycatchers and Prothonotary warblers; I watched a female of the latter species building a nest in a dead snag just inches from the waterline. 

I took few photos; and I need to note here ongoing difficulties I am having with uploading video from my iPhone to YouTube.  So this post, and likely posts in the near term, will be brief.

 I kayaked mostly among the trees on the north end of the oxbow.

 This dead tupelo has been heavily worked on.  I do not often see Pileated Woodpeckers out over the water, but this does suggest Pileated work to me.

 

 Large, recently completed beaver lodge.

 This dead relict still stands, a few years after my brother and I first encountered it.  

Thanks to all who continue to visit this blog, and for the words of encouragement.  My visits to the Swamp have decreased, but I now have more reasons for going, which I will not yet divulge here.  I can only say that I will from time to time step into that world, and share my time there, as long as I live nearby.

Boy, and Other Business

My stepson -- who I will refer to here as "Boy" -- is 15 and is having the kind of troubles in school many of us are familiar with:  bullies, girls, fitting in.  He also gets the most enjoyment out of electronic games, which were only a brief diversion for me "back in the day" and at whose modern manifestations I am hopelessly inept.

Back in April I took Boy down to the Stronghold, for the long hike on Hollow Man Road.  He surprised me with his stamina, and was awed by the great silence of the Swamp, broken only by the voices of birds and of the wind in the trees.  We paused about a half mile in, so that I could let him watch some of the Cornell video, and to have a listen to the old audio of the Ivorybill.  Nothing like hearing those recorded kent-calls in true Ivorybill habitat.  He seemed a bit awed.

 Hollow Man was open for a visit.

 Hollow Man Lake, where I spied my first swallow-tailed kite of the year as it wheeled above the nearby River.

 Last leg of the trail:  to Elephant Man Swamp.

 Looking north from Elephant Man Swamp.  The Lord God Tree is well hidden by foliage now, as he prefers.

 End of the trail:  Elephant Man Swamp.

 Not sure what flowers these are.  They were on a large shrub or small tree at the field's edge.

Now I'd like to share with you some words from our friend Dean Hurliman of Iowa.  Dean had requested this be shared in a comment on the last post, but they are deserving of a more visible location within the main body.

There will be no Blue Fairy with a transforming wand for the Hurliman IBWs, no Jiminy Cricket to befriend them.  And yet...if Brian and Chris were to show me their photos and say:  

"Come see the Ivory-Bills we've found

Where the ancient Cypress grow."

I should go with them through the swamp

Hoping it might be so.

Dean S. Hurliman

P.S.  Thanks to Thomas Hardy's poem "The Oxen".

 

I hope to take the 'yak out tomorrow for a visit to mighty Hutson Lake, the grand old oxbow commanding the north end of the Stronghold.  Meanwhile, the rains are here today, polishing the new green leaves among which big birds may easily hide from prying eyes.

In Dreams: 23 March 2019

Fulfilling a promise to our friend Dean Hurliman, my brother Brian and I took our Hurliman Ivorybills out for some sunlight and fresh Spring air.  In case you missed it, these simply astonishing works of art were gifted to us by artist Dean Hurliman of Iowa.  The big male is mine; Brian was gifted the other two, slightly smaller male and female.  We are still deeply, deeply humbled by the generosity of this kindred spirit.

It was a perfect Spring day in Elephant Man Swamp, in the far southern end of the Stronghold.  Red, white, glossy black, and antique white shone above the dark waters.  For a few magical moments, we allowed ourselves to believe.  And it was marvellous.

 (Photos:  Brian Carlisle)

Earlier, we hiked through swarms of mosquitoes to visit the Ancient of Days, waking up from his long sleep, drinking deep of waters from the overflow of the Pascagoula.

(Photos:  Brian Carlisle)

The white flowers belong to a Styrax americanus, or American snowbell, a species we have not (knowingly) encountered before.  This one grows along the overgrown trail, within a hundred yards or so of the Ancient of Days.

Thank you for visiting our blog.  We will continue to post accounts of our search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the Pascagoula River Basin.

Mucking about the Leaf Wilderness: 18 February 2019

I took an increasingly rare opportunity to get afield on President's Day.  I spent most of the morning meandering along the ridgeline where a beech/holly/pine slope forest meets baldcypress/tupelo swamp.  Birds were quiet, though I heard and observed downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, and heard heavy tapping that was probably a pileated woodpecker.  It was cool (50's F), and windy in the trees atop Holly Ridge, as I call it, but the swamp was still. 

 Looking down into the swamp from Holly Ridge.

 Beaver work on a pine along Holly Ridge.  I found more beaver sign like this along the ridge.

 An impressive beech.

 Pine snag, one of many in the Leaf.  The area is still littered with pines killed in the passing of Hurricane Katrina.

 Young spruce pine.

Extensive scaling on a dead tupelo.  Likely pileated woodpecker work.  The species is very active in the Leaf Wilderness.

Heavy rains later in the week will likely render much of the habitat in the Pascagoula River Basin inaccessible.

Thanks to all who continue to visit this page.