Page 47 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2022

story by John N. Felsher
photos by Lauren McLaurin
and Scott Hereford and courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
It was formed around their remaining population in the southwestern part of Jackson County at the time.”
The refuge habitat consists mostly of “wet pine savanna.” This type of coastal prairie habitat provides homes to various plants and wildlife.
“A wet pine savanna is one of the most species-rich habitats for plants ever described anywhere as far as number of species per square meter on the ground,” Hereford describes. “We have a high number of plant species, especially carnivorous plants, orchids and things like that. Only about two percent of the original wet pine savanna remains in the Southeast with the last large patches of that unique habitat found on the refuge.”
People can see cranes right behind the refuge headquarters on the eastern edge of the property. That’s also where
Mississippi sandhill cranes in toothache grass.
biologists raise the young cranes and release them. Whether watching for cranes or not, people can walk the refuge hiking trails seven days a week and shoot photos of birds, other animals and wildflowers. Visitors can also check out a key to climb into the 12-foot-high observation blind to look out over the savanna for cranes and other creatures. Besides cranes, refuge visitors might spot white-tailed deer, alligators, raccoons, rabbits, herons, egrets and many other species of wildlife.
“The best place to see a crane is right behind the headquarters,” Hereford recommends. “We established it there to raise cranes and purposely to have more cranes available for people to see
and to use the habitat right there. It’s
not uncommon to see recently released cranes. Another small group of cranes comes in at least a couple times a day. During the winter, people might see some ducks. It’s not unusual to see bald eagles, northern harriers or ospreys.”
For more information about the refuge, see www.fws.gov/refuge/mississippi_ sandhill_crane.
Mississippi Sandhill Crane.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living | www.smliving.net March 2022 | 47