Blues, Brunch & Bayou - Mississippi Sandhill Crane NWR

After two days of rain here in Ocean Springs, just across from Biloxi, Mississippi, we were eager to get outside today; but the weather is cold today after the fronts collided yesterday.  "Cold and sunny" usually means a hike, so we looked for a hike nearby.  Unfortunately, this Gulf Coast area is short on really interesting, longer hikes, so we decided to pair a lunch with an afternoon hike, taking advantage of the warmer, sunnier afternoon for our outing.

A little more consideration produced the idea of a brunch with Blues music.  "Is there such a thing nearby?"  A little research turned up Ground Zero Blues Club in adjoining Biloxi, which, providentially, features a Sunday brunch with music.  Perfect!

Today, the venue featured Buddy Leach, a noted blues saxophone side man, and Marty Loper, a well-known local singer, performing as "Side Pocket":

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We dropped over at 10am and enjoyed a scrumptious Gulf Coast style brunch while listening to this duo perform recognizable Blues standards.  It was exactly what we hoped to find.

With tummies filled and ready to hike, we headed out to nearby Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, which is only a few miles from our campground:

The Refuge was established in 1975 under authority of the Endangered Species Act to protect the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes and their unique, and itself endangered, wet pine savanna habitat. The crane population, at that time was only 30-35 birds, is currently at approximately 130 birds. Through captive rearing and reintroduction to the area as well as wild birds nesting in the savannas, the crane population continues to grow. The refuge also protects and restores the last large expanses of wet pine savanna, primarily through the use of prescribed fire. The wet pine savanna is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the U.S. with more than 30 plants found in a square meter of land.

The Refuge encompasses a variety of ecological zones, from bayou, to wetlands, to marsh, to pinewood flatlands.  Toward the beginning of our hike, we had a chance to enjoy the environment along Davis Bayou, which is part of the same water system that borders our campground at the Davis Bayou section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore:

The Refuge offers hiking trails, but they are not very lengthy.  Two trails, blazed in red and green, total about 1.9 miles altogether, which was not as long as we wanted -- so, although the trails form a figure eight loop, we decided to hike around them, and then back again, for an almost-four-mile hike.

The trails are well maintained and marked.  Where the going is wet, some sort of boardwalk if provided:

There are a number of benches for resting along the trail:

We chose the outermost trail sections around the loop, so we continued along the waterway during the first part of our hike:

At one of the observation decks alongside Davis Bayou, we scared up a great white egret, who took off into the trees almost faster than we could photograph it -- although we got a snapshot of it as it fled:

At another spot, we could look downstream toward a boat ramp and a highway bridge across the waterway --

-- and were treated to this view of some pelicans flying their way upstream, looking for some easy fishing:

The observation decks were numerous enough to give us several opportunities to look for wildlife:

None were to be seen, but the natural scenery was beautiful:

Turning in from the bayou, we worked our way through the wetland section, crossing several bodies of water.  The water below is called a "bayhead."  A bayhead is a freshwater swamp, which can occur near salty or brackish water. but is isolated from them.  In contrast to a marsh, which mainly fosters grasses, a swamp features mainly trees.  This bayhead, as well as the other swampy areas in the Refuge, contains gum trees, bay trees and maples, in contrast to the pines and palms of other ecosystems in the Refuge.

This whole section of the Refuge provided us with water crossings.  Some had bridges, some boarwalks, some had rocks -- and this one boasted a row of stumps stuck in the water.  Although the stumps wobbled as we crossed, Kathy conquered them like a veteran:

Then again, some water crossings required hopping from fallen log to branchy perch to wobbly log:

Kathy was alert enough to realize that the bayhead ecosystems might contain pitcher plants -- those carnivorous plants that sneakily lure bugs into their parlors.  She was right.  Once we looked, we found a goodly number of pitcher plants, this being the prettiest:

As we left the bayhead zone, we noticed a number of trees were tagged with pink flags.  One, Kathy noticed, also had a metal label stating that it was a Red Bay:

The Red Bay tree is a small, evergreen tree in the laurel family, native to the southeastern United States. The plant is not widely used now for medicinal purposes, however members of the Seminole tribe formerly used it as an emetic to induce vomiting. The dried-up leaves can be used as a condiment.  While it is related to the bay laurel, from which we get the bay leaves that are used as herbs in cooking, its leaves are not the same.  The wood is hard and strong and can be used to build boats, cabinets and for lining the interior of structures. 

And that, dear students, is the end of our nature lesson for today.  Only know that we got great exercise along with our learning!