Week Ending January 19, 2014

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This past weekend I had some friends in town and my usual time alotted for hiking & photography was unfortunately crunched as a result. However, I did still manage to make it out for a little while both Saturday & Sunday mornings. Saturday it didn't appear as though the heavy overcast skies were going to break at all, so instead of going on a long hike through a local park, I opted to just walk around my own neighborhood (Little Neck/Kings Grant) in Virginia Beach. Also, since there was no sunlight or blue sky, I left the camera at home, which is very difficult for me to do. Of course, it proved foolish to do so, as I came across my first Golden-crowned Kinglet of the season just off the bike path I was walking on. I also saw a lot of other songbirds, and several types of woodpeckers in the old-growth trees that line the neighborhood. Little Neck/Kings Grant, 1/18/2014: 6.00 miles, 0 photos taken, and 9 species of birds seen. The full listing of birds I saw on this hike can be viewed Here!

A raft of Buffleheads hunting the shallows surrounding the north end of South Thimble Island at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Following a non-photography day on Saturday, I at least got to get out and take some photos on Sunday. Off to a bit of a late start, I opted to visit the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to seek out waterfowl & seabirds on a cold, windy, but very sunny winter day. For those unaware, the bay bridge now no longer offers discounts to commuters unless they have an EZ pass, so the rate is now $13 each direction on the bridge. I parked on the east side I arrived on South Thimble Island around 10 AM and was greeted by the typical thousand or so Ring-billed Gulls that spend the winter on the eastern shoreline of the island. Several Ruddy Turnstones were running around the small parking area as well as were many Rock Pigeons. On the west shoreline a group of about a dozen Lesser Scaups were in tight to shore diving every couple minutes. Mixed in with them was one lone female Black Scoter. Up around the north side of the island, there was a large raft of Buffleheads feeding just like the last time I was out here, and a hundred yards out beyond them, there was a group of Long-tailed Ducks bobbing up and down in the massive swells. This location seems to be a major hotspot for sea-faring ducks this winter as shoals of fish must flock to the cover that the submerged rocks of the man-made islands provide. Amongst the flocks of seabirds, there was a single Red-breasted Merganser female, and also a single male Surf Scoter off in the distance. On the western side of the island I caught a female White-winged Scoter out under the pier moving southward and closer in to shore. This is the first time I've ever seen one, so I was really excited to get some photographs of it. I moved to the south side of the restaurant building, where the sun was behind me, and was able to take quite a few shots from around the corner without spooking the Scoter. Actually, I took photos until my hands were completely numb from the cold wind.

This female is the first White-winged Scoter I have ever seen in the wild. The small white patch on it's back (wings) is the distinguishing mark for this species. It helps differentiate it from the related Black Scoter, which lacks the patch.

After I decided to warm them up, I moved back around the north side of the island to where my car was parked. This time around, the Lesser Scaups were in a slightly better position to photographs so I took a few photos of them as well. I made the determination that were Lessers by the very purplish sheen that can be seen on their head. From what I have read in all my field guides, Scaup are very hard to differentiate into Greater or Lesser, but Greater Scaup never exhibit a purplish sheen, they will show either a black or green sheen. Lessers may show purple or green, but the purple sets them apart from their larger cousins. After taking a considerable number of photos I hopped back in the car and drove away from the island. South Thimble Island, 1/18/2014: 0.00 miles, 177 photos taken, and 19 species of birds seen. The full listing of birds I saw on this hike can be viewed Here!

Another photograph of the White-winged Scoter that was seen during the morning on the western shoreline of South Thimble Island.

After leaving the island I kept heading northward across to the Eastern Shore, and made a quick stop off at Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. This was my first visit to the small refuge, located on the tidal marshes at the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. I drove to a small parking area and caught a short trail to an observation point over the marsh. In a short distance I heard a Belted Kingfisher flying out over the marsh, and saw several Yellow-rumped Warblers as well as a White-throated Sparrow. Another park road went down to a large boat ramp area so I walked along the for a few minutes as well and saw some Green-winged Teal, American Black Ducks, and 3 Lesser Yellowlegs on the small pond to the north of the access road. A young Northern Harrier also flew in over the marsh, but quite a distance from where I was walking. Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR, 1/18/2014: 0.00 miles, 21 photos taken, and 14 species of birds seen. The full listing of birds I saw on this hike can be viewed Here! In a real time crunch to get back to the southside to spend some time with my out of town friends, I made a very short final stop up to the parking area for Magothy Bay Natural Area Preserve. Here I was able to spook a Northern Harrier, very close to my vehicle, but I wasn't fast enough to get a good photograph. I also scared off an American Kestrel nearby and it bolted towards the treeline to the south, but I did manage to capture a photo of it from a couple hundred yards away just to verify that it was indeed a Kestrel. This marked the first time I've ever successfully photographed one, and one of only a handful of times I've seen them in the wild.

Lesser Scaup along the northeast corner of South Thimble Island showing their beautiful purple heads.

Week Ending January 12, 2014

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After a very stormy day on Saturday, this was my first true opportunity of the weekend to get some new wildlife photographs. I had been looking forward to getting out to Back Bay NWR all week long, as there had been talk of a possible sighting of a Snowy Owl just to the south in False Cape State Park last week. My goal going in was to walk the beachfront all the way down to False Cape in the hopes that I might find one perched along the adjacent sand dunes. Snowy Owls have been sighted up and down the east coast in similar habitats, so I was still holding out hope that I might find one in my hometown area. Starting off near the visitors center (like usual), I walked along the boardwalks and gravel paths of the Bay Trail which takes you out through the tidal marsh to a viewing point of Back Bay, and a pair of small freshwater (rain recharged) pools. Last year, a King Rail made it's home on one of the small pools for quite some time, but hasn't been seen around since.

One of several flocks of Sanderlings that was seen feeding on the beach as the waves uncovered invertebrates as they swept up and down the coastline. The beautiful weather helped provide reflections on the moist sand for this shot.

The larger pool held a few songbirds (Carolina Wren, Swamp Sparrow), and also a Belted Kingfisher cruised out of view just as I was getting to the pool. From the observation points, Tundra Swans and Pied-billed Grebe were visible out on the bay. After walking back to the visitor center I took the main gravel roadway south to the Dune Trail. The Dune Trail acts as a bridge from the impoundment access roads to the beachfront of the park via a wooden walkway that meanders over rain-fed marshes and through sand dunes built up by the winds sweeping across the beach. A large variety of songbirds make their home in this area throughout the year. This is part of what makes Back Bay such a great park for birding, the varying habitats that all coexist in close proximity to one another. The typical cross section of the park is ocean leading to beach, dunes, maritime forest, freshwater marsh & grassland,, and brackish tidal estuary. Once across the Dune Trail to the beach, I headed southward. If one felt so inclined, it is possible to continue on in this direction for a seemingly endless hike.

Mixed in with a large flock of Sanderlings, this Dunlin presents a brownish backside, as opposed to the white/gray/black color scheme of the Sanderlings. Also, Dunlins have a back toe which can be seen here, while Sanderlings to not have this hind toe.

The beach does not come to an end until you reach Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, some 65 (straight-line) miles away. However, as I unfortunately have a full-time Monday-Friday job, I don't have this luxury so I settled for the shorter, 2.85 mile walk to the park's boundary with False Cape State Park. I figured this would give me ample exposure to find a Snowy if one existed here. Over the next 5.9 miles of beach walking, I came across small numbers of birds, seeing the expected Ring-billed / Herring / Lesser Black-backed / Great Black-backed Gulls, as well as a few Forster's Terns. Also seen along the shoreline were Brown Pelicans paralleling the shore in small groups, and much further out Northern Gannets were visible. In the choppy water, Common Loons floated and dove while hunting fish in the ocean's shallows. Even while looking inland, birds seemed to pop up in the sky, with Turkey Vultures occasionally hovering by, a small flock of Tundra Swans, and many small groups of Double-crested Cormorants. However, none of these sightings were as fun to watch as the mass number of Sanderlings I came across today. I spent the majority of my time on the beach photographing the Sanderlings as they chased the waves back and forth and probed the shallow beach with their bills for molluscs and other invertebrates.

Flock of Sanderlings heading off into to find a more secluded piece of beachfront property.

The clear skies provided a great backdrop for the Sanderlings on the wet sand, adding in reflections of all their fast-moving legs. Mixed in to one flock, a lone Dunlin appeared out of place, being not so lightly colored. After taking a lot of photographs I kept working my way back to main area of the park. This time, I came back up from the beach on the Seaside Trail, another boardwalk trail that connects the beach to the main park. I was hoping I might catch some sparrows or maybe even a Snow Bunting coming up the dunes, but wasn't lucky today. I almost always finish up my jaunts through the park by walking the Bay Trail, regardless of if I've already done it earlier in the day, I always feel like I'll see something interesting on this trail. While I didn't get too many photos this time around, I did meet another birder for the first time, Lisa Rose, who said she'd seen a flock of Cedar Waxwings earlier and pointed me to the Kuralt Trail. So I headed over, being that I haven't seen any Cedar Waxwings in Virginia Beach since I've been living here. Sure enough, after just a couple minutes of waiting, they flew by, then circled a few minutes later and landed in a holly tree just off the trail. I snapped a few photographs, and headed back to the car, en route to see how my photographs turned out from the day. 

Ring-billed Gull in the surf zone on a beautiful sunny day at Back Bay.

Week Ending January 5, 2014

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My first entry into blogging began with the proceeding one (Week Ending January 12, 2014), however, to finish off 2014 with a full year of blog entries & galleries, I have gone back and added this short one in as a quick introduction. I hope those who view this blog enjoy what it stands for, and take something positive away from it. As I learn more about wildlife, the contents of this blog will become more educational, while still reminding me in the future of just what I was doing outdoors in any given week of the past. Please enjoy! (Rob, 1/20/2015).

One of the most beautiful ducks found in southeastern Virginia, the iridescent Bufflehead drake, seen here at First Landing State Park, my most often visiting locale!