It’s Week #13 update time for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Blue Bird Program folks! So, here is what ‘Master Naturalist’ buddy John and I found today, May 30, 2008, walking around campus during our Friday afternoon Blue Bird Trail nesting survey: (sprinkled in among the findings are images of Master Naturalist Buddy John, his Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog Emily, his home and his magnificent view).
**John asked me to remind our readers this week that he is: still single, and eligible, has a great dog by the name of Emily – the Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog, a black manx cat named Haley, lives in a beautiful home with a magnificent view on a bayou north of Pass Christian , likes to hunt and fish, is interested in dating and possible marriage to woman who is: single, age 21-35, beautiful, educated, good sense of humor, loves dogs and cats, loves to fish and has a boat. If interested, please send picture of boat.
I don’t know, folks. That’s what he told me to write…
Here goes:

Image of Nesting Box #6 from last week’s survey.
Box #1- Empty box, no activity. – Last week: 5 Blue Bird babies flew.

Master Naturalist Buddy John, cooking fish at one of his famous bayou cookouts, is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, which is also Brett Favre’s alma mater.
Box #2- Full Blue Bird nest built, 1 Blue Bird egg. – Last week: More straw placed in box.

John’s dog, Emily, the Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog, in a 750-year old Live Oak, in Long Beach, Mississippi.
Box #3- Empty box, no activity. – Last week: Empty box, no activity.

Emily the Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog heads up a steep incline in the Live Oak.
Box #4- At least 2 Blue Bird babies. – Last week: At least 2 Blue Bird babies.

Emily is literally not afraid to go way out on a limb, in this second largest Live Oak tree in Mississippi, with a limb spread of 161 feet! Emily is not afraid to get up in the air in her pursuit of squirrels.
Box #5- Empty box, no activity. – Last week: Empty box, no activity.
Box #6- 3 Blue Bird babies. – Last week: 5 Blue Bird eggs.

You wouldn’t catch me up that high!
Box #7- 4 Blue Bird eggs. – Last week: 4 Blue Bird eggs.
Box #8- Empty box, no activity. Last week: – Empty box, no activity.

John’s home is on the Bayou Portage, and has a beautiful view of the Wolf River Marsh, on the north side of the Bay of St. Louis, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, just north of Pass Christian. Try to picture a Katrina water storm surge level which reached a foot above the hand rail of the very top deck! That was 31 feet above sea level, folks! John;s home survived the surge, but had to be completely gutted inside.
Box #9- 4 Blue Bird eggs. – Last week: New nest built & 1 Blue Bird egg.

View from John’s dining/living room and back deck of the Wolf River Marsh.
Box #10- Empty box, no activity. – Empty box, no activity.

View from the top deck of John’s home, of the Bayou Portage and Wolf River Marsh. The little girl on the short deck, is Evy, and the fellow bending over on the right on the bayou dock is her father, and they are also the daughter and husband of none other than that Wizard of Words, MAGGIE, DAMMIT, who, with her family, were all on the Mississippi Gulf Coast last June as volunteers helping rebuild homes after Hurricane Katrina, her second such volunteer relief trip to the coast in the spring and summer of 2007.
Box #11- Empty box, no activity. – Last week: Empty box, no activity.

Emily the Tree-Climbing Wonder Dog.
Box #12- Empty box, no activity. – Last week: Empty box, no activity.

The boat/fishing deck at John’s home on the Bayou Portage at sunset, is an incredibly beautiful place to be. The fisherman on the right on the dock is the husband of Maggie, Dammit.
Box #13- 4 Blue Bird babies. – Last week: 5 Blue Bird eggs.
Totals This week: (may 30, 2008): 9 Blue Bird eggs, 9 Blue Bird babies, 7 empty nesting boxes.
Totals Last week: (May 23, 2008):15 Blue Bird eggs, 2 Blue Bird babies, 5 Blue Bird babies flew the nest, 5 empty nesting boxes.
Master Naturalist buddy John continues to be very enthused about the activity, and reports that so far, 19 Blue Bird babies and 6 Chickadee babies have flown from the nesting boxes during this first season of the new Blue Bird Trail. The weather today was partly cloudy, humid and about 88, with more of the same during the next seven days.
Another update will be along next weekend.
Happy Birding, and Thanks for stopping by!








