Week Ending February 16, 2014

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After finding out last Sunday that there was a Glaucous Gull (a bird I've never seen) hanging out down near Rudee Inlet, I decided to try my best to find it after work today. Last Saturday I had been to Rudee, and actually been looking around on the jetty to see if I could find the King Eider that has been seen in the area again, but unfortunately all I saw was gulls. Having not taken any pictures, I couldn't go back and search to see if I'd actually seen the Glaucous and not realized it after hearing that one was there. I left work around 3 o'clock, which is pretty common for me on Fridays unless something important is due. Fortunately, my office is up near Lynnhaven, only about 10-15 minutes from the parking areas at Rudee Inlet. In winter-time you can park right at the inlet since hardly anyone is around, and it is also free to park, as the meters don't begin until April or May I believe. Once at Rudee Inlet, there isn't much space for you to walk around, you pretty much have to observe from behind a railing, or on the beach immediately adjacent to the inlet's protective rock groin (or wall) that runs a couple hundred yards out along the north side of the inlet. The jetty that everyone talks about is a small man-made island that sits about 700 feet at it's closest point to the observation area. his range is a little too far for my 400mm telephoto lens even in ideal conditions so if you have an equal or lesser lens, you will definitely need binoculars to view anything properly out here. As I did not have any binoculars with me, I had to make due with the lens, and I began surveying the jetty, finding lots of gulls but not seeing one that stood out to me as different. Glaucous Gulls are a large species, not much smaller than the massive Great Black-backed Gulls that we have around here (the largest gull in the world). They are almost all white, with just a smidge of gray on their wings. The easiest way to tell them apart from other large gulls is that they lack any black on their wings & wingtips. After about 15 minutes I finally spotted something hunched over that looked like it might fit the description properly, and it wasn't long before it confirmed itself as it stood up briefly, and a very small by comparison Ring-billed Gull landed next to it. I took a few very awful quality photographs of the bird just for verification, and got to add another bird to my life list! Aside from the Glaucous Gull, there was a number of sea ducks (Surf, Black, and White-winged Scoters & Long-tailed Ducks), Buffleheads, and your usual Ring-billed, Herring, and Black-backed Gulls at the inlet. Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Pelicans and Fish Crows were also around. I couldn't stay very long at the inlet because I needed to get back and pack up my clothes & gear in order to head down south to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the weekend to both celebrate Valentine's Day & do some birding with my girlfriend, Ruth!

My very first sighting and photograph of a Glaucous Gull, and only 15 minutes from home!

Ruth & I arrived down in the Outer Banks last night around 7:30 after a fairly quick drive from Virginia Beach. Every time I come here I forget just how close it is, and how easy it is to get too when it's not tourist season yet. Anyone attempting to make the drive during the summertime is insane though, unless they travel at nighttime as the bridge from Currituck backs up for about 20  miles from Saturday morning through Sunday night. In Kitty Hawk we stopped at Chili Peppers Grill for dinner, one of our favorites, and then got to sleep early at our hotel on the beach. First thing in the morning, it appeared that the weather forecasts that I was unwilling to listen to all week long had come true, and we were socked in with overcast conditions. Regardless, I wanted to get out so I scrapped my plan for going up north to the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary & the Currituck Banks Coastal Reserve where there is about 7 miles of hiking. Instead, we went directly south to Oregon Inlet so I could attempt to see my target Harlequin Ducks before the clouds let loose with rain. Only about 20 minutes or so away, Oregon Inlet is massive opening in the outer banks that lets tidal waters ebb & flow from the ocean into Pamlico Sound.

Male White-winged Scoter in fresh breeding plumage swimming beneath the Bonner Bridge at Oregon Inlet.

The inlet is always full of high quantities of waterfowl and other bird species. The Herbert Bonner Bridge is about 3 or 4 miles long and traverses the inlet, connecting Hatteras Island to the mainland Outer Banks which actually start as a very narrow peninsula all the way up in Virginia Beach near Sandbridge. The bridge is the only land-based way of traveling to and from Cape Hatteras, though there is a ferry that may be taken from Ocracoke Island & another from the Swan Quarter of the North Carolina mainland. At the east end of the bridge there is a small parking area on the north, which this time around was mainly being used by fisherman. We saw about 3 or 4 actually pull in good size fish that I believe to be Red Drum. Since there was so many folks fishing, there wasn't much in the way of birds to be seen right in the cove. Typically, it will hold all types of shorebirds and waterfowl, last time I was here there were a lot of Black Skimmers, and even a few Piping Plovers. This time, I took the catwalk along the north side of the bridge out and got close enough to a White-winged Scoter to get a photograph. As I was taking photos of the scoter another one flew in from under the bridge and landed right in sight, then another, and another. It seem like they were landing on this side so that the current would push them back under the bridge while they were feeding. We walked all the way to the end and I got a few shots of a beautiful male showing it's breeding plumage and then headed back to the parking area. Then we headed around the small cove's beach & up the jetty. Along the jetty, sparrows flew back & forth, mainly Savannah & Song. A dolphin flashing it's pectoral fin out just offshore & we watched for a few minutes as it moved around, never really getting a long look at it. Large numbers of gulls were present (including Bonaparte's) out on the sandy washes of low tide. We reached the end of the jetty, out near the wind turine and then headed back to the parking area. It was quite cold and it had just started raining a bit so we hopped in the car and decided to drive south to see if the rain would let up or not.

A small fraction of the Snow Goose flock that was feeding in the mud along NC Highway 12 near Rodanthe.

We passed the Pea Island NWR parking area but kept on going since it was pouring. A few minutes south of the parking lot we passed some Canada Geese feeding in a drainage puddle, and then came upon a large flock of Snow Geese all feeding in the deep mud of the marsh right next to the roadway. I pulled off the road and shot some photographs from inside the vehicle which worked out nicely since it was still pouring. I got turned back southbound and we headed towards Hatteras. Along the way south the rain did eventually stop around Salvo, and yet again I did some car photography of a Merlin that was displaying its tail nicely from it's perch in the brush alongside the highway. They sky was extremely dark over top of us but there was blue sky off in the distance, so we chased after it. We finally caught the sun at the very limit of where you can drive down on Hatteras, and parked & walked up to the beach to see what the water looked like and enjoy the sun. Here at the southern end of the island, the wind had whipped up into 30mph sustrained blasts, and the sand was flying everything & the waves were pretty intense. We had to run back to the car to not blow away. Now that we'd reach the limit of driving, we had to turn back north, and so we drove back through the Town of Hatteras. As we hit the northern portion of the town, Pamlico Sound was viewable from the car and looming storm clouds were visible out over the water, which had now turned green from a combination of the blue sky behind us, and the gray clouds over top of it.

Dangerous looking storm clouds crossing Pamlico Sound en route to Cape Hatteras.

There was a small parking area here & so I took some photographs, and later realized that this is the site of where Hurricane Isabelle ruptured the island in 2003, separating the town from the rest of the island by a several hundred yard wide new inlet which was later filled in by the Army Corps of Engineers. While taking photographs here, a flock of Cedar Waxwings flew past, and a few bright blue Tree Swallows did also. A pair of Semipalmated Plovers was wandering the mud flats, but were too far out for decent shots. Back on the road again, we stopped off at a restaurant we'd been at in August, the Diamond Shoals Restaurant, which is pretty incredible for lunch (had the Spicy Tuna Wrap & it was unbelievably delicious) . After lunch, we hit the small pond along the entry road to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where there was several species of ducks, including Redheads, some White Ibis, and a few White-tailed Deer that seemed unafraid of me driving right up on them and photographing from the vehicle. We headed back north, and again the rains began just as we hit the Pea Island NWR sign. I made a last ditch effort to stop at Oregon Inlet, and ended up just being able to walk the catwalks near the bridge, taking some additional photographs of White-winged Scoters before the rain began and I had to jog it back to the vehicle. That was the end of the birding for the day, as the rain didn't let up until late at night. 

A very unafraid White-tailed Deer feeding along the roadside near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Buxton.

On Sunday, the sun was finally peaking through the clouds around 7 AM, so we packed up everything in the hotel immediately, grabbed some continental breakfast & then headed south to Oregon Inlet. After missing yesterday on the Harlequin Ducks, I wanted another shot, and though it was still overcast over top of us, the sun was trying to break it up. We hit the inlet parking lot and walked out on the north catwalk. As with yesterday, there was a number of White-winged Scoters present, and as I was keeping an eye on them, I leaned out over the catwalk only to see 2 Harlequins swim right into sight from under the bridge. I couldn't believe it, it was one of those magical moments where you expected something to happen, but then think you're dreaming because it actually did. Beautifully patterned and colored, both birds were adult males, but only once was showing it's full breeding plumage, an incredible mix of rust, slate gray, and grayish blue on white. I took a ton of photographs as the pair moved slowly furthur out from the bridge and then was joined by a 3rd, then a 4th member. The four took off into flight, and a 5th caught up with them. They flew circles a couple times around the area before finally flying underneath the bridge. We ran around to the south catwalk, but could not relocate them. Settling for more Scoters, a Red-breasted Merganser, and a leery Purple Sandpiper, we headed back to the car.

My very first sighting of a Harlequin Duck, a brilliantly plumaged drake!

The sky was now breaking up into blue to the south so we drove off towards Pea Island NWR. As soon as we got there, it really opened up, and there was almost no clouds in the sky after just a few more minutes. I was a little bummed that once again, the clouds marred my best opportunity to photograph a new species, but it didn't matter, I was just so excited I got to see such an extremely vibrantly colored duck for the very first time. The main impoundment west of the visitor's center at Pea Island was full of waterfowl as per usual. Canada Geese, American Black Ducks, Tundra Swans, and Northern Shovelers were the most abundant species. From the observation tower at the southwest corner, a lone White Ibis was visible in the marshes between the freshwater impoundment & the brackish Pamlico Sound. Also visible by itself was a rather large American White Pelican which was sitting on a sandbar out in the middle of the impoundment. Various songbirds, sparrows & warblers, and a Gray Catbird were also seen from the tower. This was really the first weekend that we had brought my pair of binoculars out birding & used them the whole time. They really helped to ID some of the far out birds, since the range of them is much greater than on my camera's telephoto zoom lenses. I had expected to find some American Avocets in the area after seeing other posts online, but could not locate any even with the binoculars.  Heading back east towards the visitor's center I caught sight of a Northern Harrier out over the impoundment to the south, but it stayed a bit far out of range and then dove into the marsh never to return...at least while I was watching. With the sun out completely now, we crossed the road at the visitor center and walked up the protective dune, down onto the beach. The first time we'd come down here together, and the first time I'd ever been here as a matter fact, back in November 2010, we saw a fairly large shark washed up on shore. No such sighting this trip, but we did get to see several dolphins surfacing out past the breakers this morning.

4 of the 5 Harlequin Ducks (3 males, 2 females) in Oregon Inlet just off the jetty walkway.

As for the birds, I didn't spot any of the coastal birds I was gunning for, namely Dovekies & Razorbills, but a large number of Bonaparte's Gulls kept me busy on the camera since they aren't a bird I see a whole lot on most of my backcountry hikes around Hampton Roads. After walking around the beach a bit, we drove back up to Oregon Inlet. This time, the sun finally stay outed over the inlet and we immediately went back to the catwalks to see if the Harlequins had returned. The were quickly visible, far out in the cove, too far for clear photographs, so we decided to walk the jetty instead. After passing by all the fisherman close to shore, we walked along the sandy path then up onto the jetty. When we reached the jetty, the Harlequins apparently had moved very close to it and I spooked them into flying. I couldn't believe it, I finally had my chance at sunlit photographs and I scared them off being realizing they were there. Hoping to find them again we followed the jetty around and suddenly they were in view once more. We hopped down onto the sand (lower than the jetty) and snuck up further in an attempt to get close to them. Peaking over we could see that they were right on the other side & had dove down. As they dove down I ran over top of the jetty and got into a spot where I'd hoped they'd pop back up. Sure enough, they popped up just a hundred feet or so out and I fired a bunch of photos off.

A pair of Purple Sandpipers watching the currents roll by their rock in Oregon Inlet.

For some reason, now my presence didn't seem to both them, and then kept swimming around in line and diving in order. Everytime they dove I tried to get into a better position, and I think I took around 200 photographs in all before they finally moved off into deeper, further way, waters. If ever there was a chance for me to get a good shot of these birds, it was this, and fortunately, I was very happy with several of the photographs, though it was hard to capture their true beauty, even in a 20 megapixel camera. After having the birds so close up, I didn't expect to see anything else today that would astonish me...so the remaining photos were few and far between, though a few of some Bonaparte's Gulls, and of my favorite Oregon Inlet bird, the Willet, did make my album below. After Oregon Inlet, we headed up to the Bodie Island Lighthouse to walk up to the observation platform. As with most times, there was some Tundra Swans out on the pond, but this time, we got to watch as several large flocks flew in and joined the groups already on the water. It was pretty amazing to see the large birds all landing at the same time, and so close to us. Aside from the swans, the pond was filled with Green-winged Teal, though too far out for my camera. Heading back we saw a Swamp Sparrow, and quite a few Yellow-rumped Warbler, and heard a Killdeer out on the lighthouse meadow screaming about something (like they always do). This was to be the final stop of the trip, as it was getting close to noon, and that's typically when we head back home, so after grabbing another seafood lunch (this time at Hurricane Mo's, which again, I definitely recommend...it was amazing), we hit the road back to Virginia Beach.

A Willet strolling the cove's beach in search of food at Oregon Inlet.

Week Ending February 9, 2014

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My work week finally came to a close and once again I was able to get out and do some hiking & photography. Started my weekend off early, making it down to Back Bay NWR around 8:30 in the morning, though it was pretty much a photographer's nightmare in terms of weather conditions, 100% overcast, strong 10-15 mph sustained winds from the northeast, and temperatures in the 30s. I thought maybe I'd get a chance at least to see some neat stuff, though getting any quality photographs was probably going to be very difficult. Headed out on my typical route through Back Bay in the winter by parking near the kayak launch and walked the boardwalks to the south toward the Bay Trail. Right off the bat there was the usual suspects out in the small cove of the kayak launch, Mallards, and lots of Gadwalls. The tall reeds around the boardwalk housed several Red-winged Blackbirds this morning, but their all black colors merged poorly with the dimly lit sky in my camera lens. Heading westward down the Bay Trail towards the overlook I didn't scare up anything, and none of the typical birds seemed to be out on the small freshwater pools either. There was a few Tundra Swans far out from the observation point, but that was it. I walked back towards the contact station and then headed southbound on the gravel roads towards pool E & pool D. Stayed to the west and saw a few more Mallards, and an American Black Duck mixed in before I scared them into flying far out over the marsh. At the extreme south end of Pool D, a Northern Mockingbird made an appearance in the thick shrubbery along the road and I did get some photographs here. This particular spot seems to be popular for the mockingbirds since they appear to feed on whatever berries grow around this area. Joining back up with the gravel road that eventually becomes the east dike, I turned northward and saw quite a few sparrows, mostly Song Sparrows, but I did see a couple Field Sparrows, which were my first for the park, and only the second group I've seen now, having just crossed them off my life list a couple weeks ago at Kiptopeke SP. About that same time, a heard a few Carolina Chickadees signing off their normal song and after 5 painstaking minutes of trying, got a couple good closeups with minor amount of brush in the way of the shot. At the same spot, a Golden-crowned Kinglet showed up, sporting a beautiful crest of gold. Lighting proved to be pretty poor, but the photographs were enough to confirm the ID at least.

Carolina Chickadee stoping to pose in a shrub along the east dike roadway.

Continuing northward, I got to the Dune Trail boardwalk, and took it out to the beach. I could see before I got there that it was going to be quite a cold trek up the beach, but once I topped out on the dunes, I realized it was going to be even worse. The wind was whipping up sand all over the place, and foam from the spray of the waves was blowing all over as well. A small flock of Sanderlings ran quickly past me and picked off some sand fleas in the process. They appeared to be a little more stressed out than normal though as the waves were really crashing down and moving high up the shoreline as well. I did see one Common Loon, and also a pair of Scoter, 1 Black male and the other a Surf female. They stayed pretty close inshore until I got near them, then they moved further down the coastline to avoid me. Reaching the north end of the non-restricted beach, I saw a long Northern Gannet fly past at about 50 mph and then said farewell to the blistering cold of the exposed beach. I took the Seaside Trail over the dunes and back up to the parking area, and as always, opted for one last loop of the Bay Trail to try to spot something interesting. Yet again though, nothing much was moving about, and just saw a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, and some fleeting glimpses of unidentifiable sparrow species on my out-and-back trip of the trail. I hit the Kuralt Trail boardwalk after, and scared off a small flock of American Wigeons and watched a flock of Cedar Waxwings fly overhead before finally calling it quits and heading back to the car. After my excitement a couple weeks back with seeing that Great Egret carrying off a Common Gallinule at the the Little Island kayak launch, I decided to give this spot & the pier another try, and seeing as it was only 10 AM, I still had plenty of day left to enjoy. This time, the pier was actually not locked up, so I walked out to the end, of course, finding that the weather conditions were pretty miserable. Only two men were out fishing today so that should suggest that even fishermen didn't want to be out in the weather. From my spot at the end of the pier I saw a few Great Black-backed Gulls and a few Surf Scoters but that was it. I'll need to come back earlier in the day and on a nicer one to try to spot some Red-throated Loons and Razorbills that other folks have been seeing, and perhaps even a Dovekie. Heading across the street to the kayak launch, I chose to be a little more observant this time, so as to not allow a Great Blue Heron to scare me to death again. This time, it was quite quiet at the launch and I saw a few Gadwalls, and that was it. The water was at least unfrozen on the small waterway this weekend though, which was a marked improvement over the conditions the last time I was out.

A flock of White Ibises feeding & drinking near Baybreeze Farms on Sandbridge Road.

Yet again I headed to my vehicle and left to travel northward. Still early in the day, I figured I'd swing by Rudee Inlet to see if the King Eider might still be around so I could mark him off my 2014 list. En route, I was passing the Baybreeze Farms farm stand on Sandbridge Road and noticed a group of White Ibis feeding in an irrigation ditch on the south side of the road. I pulled off the very tight driveway entrance (which has logs blocking access to the private property) and snapped a couple of photographs then took off quickly down the road. I had made it almost to Princess Anne Road when I got to thinking about the article Mary Reid Barrow had posted recently about Ibises feeding on hibernating toads in a ditch, and decided to go back to see if this might be what was going on. When I reached the farm again they were flying across the street & I got a couple flight shots, as well as a whole bunch when they landed on the north side of the road. They appeared to not be feeding, but drinking the freshwater that had melted from whatever snow was piled up in the yards instead. For a second time, I left the farm and later found out that a Cackling Goose would be spotted mixed in with some Canada's at the far backside of the same farm. Oh well. I did finally stop at Rudee, and saw a few ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Surf & Black Scoters, and a lot of Gulls out on the jetty. Yet again, another mistake on my part, I should have looked closer, as I found out later in the day that a Glaucous Gull has now taken up residence on the jetty. Typically I'll take some photographs of the jetty and look through it at home to see if anything was out there that I missed in the field, this time I opted not too, since I have so many photographs to edit already it just didn't seem worth it, again, my mistake. After a lot of stop-and-go birding, I made it home and grabbed some lunch & started going through photographs.

Adult male Black Scoter surfing the waves off South Thimble Island's northeast shoreline.

It must have been around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and after staring at my tv/computer screens for a while, I looked outside and it had apparently become a gorgeous sunny day. Dumbfounded, I threw back on my outdoors clothes from the morning and ran out to the car and took off again. This time around I decided to just go up to the CBBT since the sun would be behind me there (at Pleasure House Point it would have been right in my face, and I didn't feel like going out to First Landing after having been there a lot lately). I got out onto the bridge around 4 o'clock and saw birds right off the bat. The large flock of Ring-billed Gulls was again hugging the east side of the island, surrounded by shade at the moment, with a couple Long-tailed Ducks close in, and some Lesser Scaups mixed in with a large raft of Buffleheads as well. A few Red-breasted Merganser females, Surf Scoters, Black Scoters, and a White-winged Scoter were also out in the water off the point. Five Purple Sandpipers flew from the western side of the island when I was walking out onto the fishing pier but couldn't get any photographs. Some Turnstones were also running around on the rocks, and the typical Brown Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants were in the air as well. Some people have reported seeing Great Cormorants on the island this winter, but I didn't come across any. I took photographs until my hands went completely numb and headed back to the car. I saw I had missed a phone call from my step-mother so I returned it out on the island and then got to see the sun go down over the bay, it was really a beautiful evening. Cold and hungry though, I headed back home to warm up, it'd been quite a long day!

Buffleheads & Lesser Scaup swimming on the east side of South Thimble Island.

On Sunday, Up for another early start, I was ready to get out and hopefully make up for the lack of quality photographs from yesterday. Unfortunately for me, the clouds were up as well. It seemed as though the blue sky we had late yesterday afternoon was all we were going to get for the weekend. Realizing that I wasn't going to have a clear sky, and lots of light to aid me, I decided to have a go at finding the Black-headed Gulls that have been reportedly hanging out around 28th Bay Street in the East Beach neighborhood of Norfolk. The birds were first reported to eBird on January 20th by Ellison Orcutt mixed in with a larger flock of Ring-billed & Bonapart'es Gulls out on the tidal flats behind a protective rock groin just off the main beach. East Beach houses a series of 15 rock groins built along ~1 mile of Chesapeake Bay shoreline. The groins act to slow down coastal sediment transport by interrupting wave action directed onto the beach. As a result, the sand particles in the water will fall to the bottom and extend the width of the beach. This is a common technique used in beach 'replenishment' projects (here is my hydraulic engineering insight for the month). Anyway, back to the birds...

Five different species of gulls in flight: Black-headed, Bonaparte's, Great Black-backed, Herring, & Ring-billed.

The Black-headed Gulls are a rarity in the Hampton Roads region and so I figured maybe I could add them to my life list in lieu of hoping for great photographs on this overcast & cold day. Like yesterday, temperatures were going to stay in the 30s with a northeast wind at 5-10 mph. So I headed up to East Beach and parked on a sidestreet in the community, then hopped over the dunes and down onto the beach. I spoke with a gentleman that had seen the bird just two groins to the east of my initial starting position. I deduced that the man was George Harris based off him mentioning he had come all the way from Gloucester to find the birds, and seeing his account later on eBird's listserve email. I found a Bonaparte's Gull first, and then saw immediately to it's side was a Black-headed Gull. The Bonaparte's had orange legs & a black bill, while the Black-headed had bright red legs with a matching red bill. Both species were much smaller than any other gulls out there, even smaller than the Ring-billed Gulls that are probably the most common sight here in wintertime. I took a few photographs but as a pair of other birders were walking up, the gulls took to the air, moving one groin further to the east.  I opted to let them follow the gulls around, hoping they might end up causing them to fly back towards me, but they turned around and headed back to the west. With the beach again clear of other birders, I moved up on the gulls and took some more photographs, this time capturing some better close ups of the Black-headed in particular, even getting one good flight shot. I didn't want to wear out my welcome, as this bird has no doubt seen a lot of visitors all looking to photograph it, so I quickly left the site and got back in my car. 

Showing off the size differential of a Ring-billed Gull (left) & a Black-headed Gull (right).

Being that I was already up on Shore Drive at East Beach, I figured it wouldn't be a bad day to stop off at Pleasure House Point just to get a couple miles of walking in, and maybe see some other neat birds... thinking maybe the Snowy Owl that was spotted at Bayville Park not far away might have taken up a spot on the point instead. The new visitor center being built at Pleasure House Point is now fully under construction, and the normal parking lot is all tore up & being used as a construction entrance & laydown area. Because of this you have to park all the way at the east end near the park with the large storm drain pond. The pond was full of Gadwalls, and Buffleheads. A Great Blue Heron was also visible at the far end standing out from the surrounding cattails. I headed out on the trail, and not a moment too late, as a couple with a dog were about to head out as well. I prefer to stay in front of the dogs so I can actually see wildlife instead of having it frightened away before I can. There was a large number of gulls out on the sandbars in the bay, and others were flying out over the tidal marsh grasses. A few American Crows were searching around the new visitor center, probably looking for food left behind by construction workers. As I walked around the area with winding tidal inlets, I kept watch at the low tide line for Clapper Rails, but didn't see any this time. Last time I was out I did finally find one & photographed it. Large numbers of Gadwall were present out on the main area of Crab Creek. At the first freshwater pond a pair of Hooded Mergansers were swimming around, but took to the air quickly before I could get close to them. A Great Egret was also perched in the next large pond.

This is one of the 3 Black-headed Gulls that has been spotted this winter at East Beach.

Heading around the corner I talked to another birder that had also been at East Beach earlier in the day, and had spotted an American Bittern just down the trail. She showed me where it was, but it couldn't be re-sighted. I walked a bit more heading west, and found several Great Blue Herons and even more Gadwalls then decided to turn back towards the car. Yet again, another pair of birders passed me, and it was the same pair that had come up on me at East Beach while photographing the Black-headed Gull. We talked birding, while a Greater Yellowlegs stalked prey in the marsh next to us. With the two species of gulls earlier, and the yellowlegs now this was my 99th species in Virginia so far in 2014. On the way back I got annoyed at yet another person who doesn't think they need to leash their dog at this park. I should probably have a couple paw prints on my pants now as it jumped on me. Ugh. Rounding the area where I enjoy crabbing (a nice sandy beach that stretches about a hundred feet along the creek), I could see an American Coot swimming out next to the tidal marsh. The coot was my 100th species on the year in Virginia! Back to the vehicle, the Gadwalls & Buffleheads were still out on the pond, but the glare from the overcast skies just made for messy photographs. Be sure to check all of them regardless!

Gadwall on the storm water detention pond at Pleasure House Point.

Week Ending February 2, 2014

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So Tuesday night we had the biggest snowstorm I've seen since I moved to Virginia in 2005. Overnight, the region saw totals ranging from 6-12" with about 10" falling on most of Virginia Beach. As a result, I was blessed with a day off of work on Wednesday while the snow plows began their duty of clearing off all the roadways. With below freezing temperatures all the way through Friday, the snow stuck around, as did the icy roadway surfaces up til the weekend. I was ready to go when Saturday morning finally came around, and really wanted to capture some wildlife photographs with snowy backgrounds. Just before I left home I saw that there was a birding walk at Back Bay, so I opted to go to First Landing instead since I always believe I see more when I'm out alone, and wanted to get more miles in than what a typical outing at Back Bay in the wintertime can provide. I made it to the 64th Street entrance around 8:30 or so, and walked into the park to the Cape Henry trail crossing just inside the gatehouse. The ice on the roadway was still really bad, mostly black ice on the asphalt, so I had to walk slow so as to not slip and break my camera/lens.

Pied-billed Grebe taking refuge on Lake Susan Constant during the cold weather.

Anyway, I made it to the Cape Henry Trail and like I almost always down, took it south from the road towards the small freshwater lake (called Lake Susan Constant on some maps). Also like usual, I didn't see a whole lot of bird activity until I reached the lake. A few weeks back, I had seen a large amount of Ring-necked Ducks on the east end of the lake, but the cold weather this week caused the lake to ice over so the ducks were nowhere in sight. The snow on the trail was pretty hardpacked, but frozen on top, so I was making quite a raucous while walking. I was a little concerned I wouldn't see anything because of it, but it didn't turn into a deal breaker for the morning. Around the lake, nearing where the roadway makes it closest approach to the trail, there was a small area of the lake near shore that had not frozen over, and the pair of Pied-billed Grebes that winter on the lake had sought this spot out as refuge. I tried and tried to get photos of them through the thick brush along shore, but they had obviously piked the spot for several reasons. Finally I gave up, and realized that I could lie on the ground near the water's edge, and get a clear line of sight underneath the brush since the branches weren't growing into the water. Once I did this, I got quite a few pretty shots! A couple men walked up with dogs (unleashed as always since noone at this park follows rules apparently), and I warned them that the birds were there and probably would be chased by the dogs so they actually leashed them and walked by. From this part of the trail, as usual, I cut up to the road and headed west on it to the point where the Long Creek Trail intersects it.

Carolina Chickadee hopping from branch to branch along the Osprey Trail.

I hopped onto the Long Creek Trail and kept westward, seeing some Kinglets along the way. Following the Long Creek Trail through a couple long straightaways eventually takes you to the start of the Osprey Trail. There has been a sign there for roughly a year that says something along the lines of "Trail Closed for Repairs", but I assure you, no work whatsoever has been done on this section for a long, long time. The only work that had been done in the last year or so was the elimination of the stairs going up White Hill, restoring it back to it's 'natural' state, but this has been complete for a while. Heading west on the Osprey Trail, the birds starting showing themselves in the usual places, mainly as I got closer to Broad Bay. Once I reached the bay, there was an adult Bald Eagle sitting high up in a dead tree, but far enough away where my 400mm was fairly useless other than to ID the bird. Near the artificial oyster reefs there was some Buffleheads and Double-crested Cormorants, Ring-billed Gulls Brown Pelicans were seen out over the main part of the bay. The nice, sandy stretch of beach here was holding a Killdeer, and 3 Mallards. Ironically, I believe these were the exact same birds that I saw in this exact spot last year after our snow at the end of January. It must be there favorite place to show up after a snowstorm, I found it almost eerily ironic as I was watching them. Looking back at my photos I'm sure they were the same birds. Crossing over the two tidal creek bridges I got to watch a large group of Great Blue Herons & Double-crested Cormorants feeding on a school of fish just offshore. I hadn't seen Herons dive on fish before, mostly stalk them in the shallows, but here they were taking them out of deep water. I even saw one heron swimming like a Cormorant on the surface until it reached shallow enough water to be able to stand and walk out. Some Canada Geese also flew by, and a few Robins were feeding along the the 2nd bridge (the one I usually refer to as the West Creek bridge). Heading up White Hill from the bridge was a little rougher than it typically is, the hard frozen snow gave me more of a workout than the sandy surface usually does. It's sort of sad to describe it as tiring, because it is only slightly over 50' in elevation at the very top, but this hill always gets my heart pumping. Atop the hill (actually a couple hundred yard long plateau), the spanish moss that grows on all the trees looked a little different with snow underneath it. Coming down the backside of the hill was a quick run down in the snow, and the trail then takes you past the tidal marsh around White Hill Lake. There is a nice viewpoint on the south side of the lake, and a bench for those so inclined. Usually in the winter you can see Hooded Mergansers and Herons/Egrets from this spot but the lake was frozen over all the way up to the outlet creek so none were around. Continuing onward, I went around the lake clockwise and made it to the White Hill Creek Bridge. This bridge was rebuilt a couple years ago, after the tidal surge from Hurricane Irene in 2011 crippled the old bridge. Now, it is a wooden bridge with a much higher walkway than the old concrete bridge had. This is one of my favorite spots to stop in the park. The tidal creek that flows under it is always home to some sort of wildlife. In the summer, it can be snakes, crabs, fish, or any number of waterfowl. In the winter, Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets enjoy hunting around it, as the location of the bridge is a natural choke point in the stream that concentrates prey. So I grabbed a drink of water and then noticed that a Great Blue Heron was sitting on top of a fallen log in the creek. I hadn't seen it at first but I slowly backed up and took some photos of it without disturbing it, and then headed back along the same route I had taken out here. 

Brown Thrasher pausing for a brief moment in the underbrush, before flying off along the Cape Henry Trail.

A lot of times I'll take the Long Creek Trail all the way back, but in the winter I like to walk the Osprey Trail along the water since there is usually a lot of waterfowl near shore that I can photograph. The Long Creek Trail is better in springtime, when the songbirds are migrating through, but it is also tougher to photograph because the foliage is thicker and the sunlight isn't as strong. After crossing the East Creek Bridge, I spotted the Killdeer again, only this time it with 3 others. I kept trying to get their photos, but walking this direction puts the sun right in your eyes, so I couldn't really get high quality shots. When I got back to 64th Street, I cut back onto the Cape Henry Trail and followed it to the west. The stretch west of the lake is wide gravel, and is usually home to a lot of songbirds, namely robins and bluebirds. I didn't find any of these today, but did see a lot of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Carolina Chickadees. I kept onward across the boardwalk and took some photographs of a lone Brown Thrasher as it flew across in front of me and then perched in the underbrush. Moving forward, I stopped at the tidal creek bridge across from the property that houses a personally owned helicopter. This creek often supports ducks in the winter, and even loons sometimes, but it was empty today. Here I turned back on the trail and headed towards the entrance once again. On my last legs of the walk, I passed a Turkey Vulture, and a couple Red-headed Woodpeckers that were feeding in some tall dead trees. Passing the lake again, I didn't notice the grebes and am wondering if something scared them off. I always worry about this pair, as grebes cannot take off from land or ice, they need open water to be able to take to the air. Hopefully I will see them the next time I'm out, somewhere on their winter lake home. I made it back to the entrance around 11:45 and headed home for some lunch. After lunch, I did head down to Rudee Inlet just to check out what birds might be hanging around, as the weather had now warmed up to about 60 degrees, and the snow really began to melt. I saw my first male White-winged Scoter, and photographed a Great Blue Heron that took refuge on the large rocks of the north jetty. I didn't stay too long though, as there was a lot of people there, and I'd rather do my birding in the backcountry, than next to a ton of dogwalkers. I was hoping the King Eider would be out somewhere in the open, but I didn't see it this time. Fortunately, I did see it back in December, and got to add it to my life list, but, it would be nice to see again, maybe next time. 

Red-headed Woodpecker standing out against a beautiful blue sky along the Cape Henry Trail.

Following up a gorgeous day outside yesterday, the warm weather looked like it was going to stick around for another day. Clear skies opened up around my residence early in the morning so I expected to be all ready for another sunny day of photography. I left home about 8 or so and after about 20 minutes of driving, ran into a big bank of fog. The fog was inundating the coastline, and my target location, Back Bay NWR. I figured it would burn off, and at this point, I'd already made the 40 minute drive out to the refuge so there really wasn't any turning back. The birds appeared to be pretty active right off the bat, even in the dense fog that constricted viewing distance down to no more than about a hundred feet. Some Mallards were dabbling near the kayak launch, and along the boardwalks a group of Red-winged Blackbirds were chatting on the cattails. The snow that had covered the group all week was pretty much completed melted, save for a few spots where it had been piled up, and with the 60+ degree weather we had yesterday, these isolated patches were at least soft and not loud to walk on like I'd experienced at First Landing SP. The Bay Trail was completely clear, as the gravel pathway probably helped to melt the snow quickly. Heading towards the observation area at the west end, I could hear Tundra Swans calling and taking off in all directions, but I couldn't see any with the fog. Still, it was much better to hear them at least after the past couple weekends where the bay was completely iced over and they were nonexistent. No birds appeared to be out foraging in the small pond near the end of the trail, typically there is a pesky Belted Kingfisher here and at least one Great Blue Heron frequents the pond as well. I made it to the trail overlook and someone else was out there. Neither of us could see far enough to take any photographs here though so I kept plugging along & headed back towards the contact station (scaring off an incoming Great Blue Heron that saw me at the last second before landing in the fog). The contact station is powered by a pair of large solar arrays, and today there just happened to be a large Cooper's Hawk perched atop one of them. I took a couple of photographs to document it, but photographing birds of prey on manmade objects isn't what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Song Sparrow perched atop some vegetation along the gravel roadway on the east side of Pool D.

So, I decided to head down the gravel roadways into the main part of the refuge. About 50 yards south of the gate, a rabbit (marsh or cottontail?) was grazing alongside the road so I took the opportunity to take a bunch of photographs of it. Nothing to me is more adorable out in the woods than a feeding rabbit. After this, I hugged the western road around Pool D, and then came back up the eastern road. I was photographing some sparrows (Savannah & Song) on the grassland next to the eastern road when I heard some splashing. I hopped up onto the small hill around Pool D and saw a bunch of holes out on the thin ice, and a large Bluegill (sunfish) next to one of them. Immediately I knew there must be some River Otters hunting under the ice. I'd seen a photo taken by Lisa Rose the day prior, and had wondered where it was taken, so I figured this must be the spot. I could see the otter(s) coming up under some brush at the water's edge where the ice had already released, but couldn't get any photos of them since they stayed hidden under the foliage. After a while I just abandoned my efforts as they kept popping up in non-predictable places, and for too short a time to even attempt a photograph. I assume they went back to grab their fishy meal just after I left. This time of year, most of the refuge is closed to allow the wildlife to have a safe haven during the winter months so these are really the only areas of the park open. There are two additional boardwalk trails that lead from the roadways down to the beach, and I usually walk out on one, and back on the other. Today was no different, as I took the southern boardwalk (Dune Trail) out onto the beach and then swung a north on the beach and followed it up to the Seaside trail back to the contact station. The fog had still not lifted, so I couldn't get good looks at anything further out than 50 yards or so. I did see one Common Loon very close to shore, and a couple of female Surf Scoters also riding the tall waves just before they were breaking. Some Northern Gannets and Brown Pelican were also barely visible at the farthest extents of my vision.

Tundra Swan flying overhead as the sun finally broke through the fog at the end of the Bay Trail.

Back up in the main park, I opted to walk the Bay Trail one more time, and now finally the fog began to lift, it must have been close to about 10 o'clock or so. I stopped to pick up some trash on the trail, then rounded a corner only to find two White-tailed Deer about 50 feet down the trail staring right back at me. As soon as I moved my hand to raise my camera, they bolted into the cattail marsh on the south side of the trail, and there's no way to re-spot them in that after they're spooked. I had to chuckle about it, as this happens a lot out there, you can never be quite ready enough. I walked again out to the overlook at the end, and this time I could finally photograph some Tundras, though they were very far out. I also saw a pair of American Wigeons fly over, and some Hooded Mergansers as well. With the sun now shining full power on the park, I couldn't just head back to the car, so decided to walk down the gravel roadways again. This time around, the rabbit was back out, and in better light, so I took some additional shots of it feeding on the marsh & roadway transition. While photographing it, I caught a glimpse of a flying bird over Pool E, and thinking it was a hawk, I raced to photograph it, but found that it was actually an American Bittern that must have been set up somewhere in the marsh grasses, and completely escaped my eye. It flew past me and landed out in the marsh, never to be seen again (at least today). About this time also, another River Otter began popping up through the melting ice, and here I was actually able to get some poor quality photographs of it. It hissed a couple times and popped up high enough to distinguish it from the ice. This otter kept it up for a while, moving further and further out though until it finally either stopped or just went on its way.

Rabbit grazing along the main gravel roadway south of the contact station gate.

The juvenile Northern Harrier that I typically see on the far side of the pool was out again today, and kept hunting in lines moving north or south along the dune side of the pool. I managed a couple long distance shots but nothing of quality. At one point while standing here, I could even see a large flock of Gannets out over the dunes that must have been group feeding on a school of fish in the shallows. It was hard not to go back down to the beach, but I was pretty beat from yesterdays walk, and I'd been up and about for about 3 hours now, so I opted to head back up towards the car. On the way, John was back out on the road and appeared to be photographing something alongside the gate. I assumed it was the rabbit that I'd seen earlier, but it turned out to be a beautiful King Rail that was foraging in a melt-water pool underneath the forest just west of the gate. I took a couple shots,  mostly right into the sun, and then finally did head back to my vehicle. On the way out of the park, just past the gatehouse, I could see some incoming Snow Geese & Tundra Swans so I pulled over to take some more photographs. Someone had pulled up alongside my vehicle just to make sure I was alright (as I was parked in a no-park zone, my mistake). It turned out to be Liza Eckhardt, and I got to chat for a while before I did finally leave for good. Turned out to be a beautiful day, hard to believe so many folks were probably sitting at home getting ready for the super bowl all day long while the sun & weather were beautiful just outside their doors. I did watch the game at night, and it was awful, I can honestly say the wildlife at the park were much more entertaining, save for perhaps all the food I got to eat. 

King Rail feeding in a small melt-water pond in the underbrush of Back Bay NWR.

Week Ending January 26, 2014

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After a very very cold week in Virginia Beach it seems that a lot of the local wildlife has been forced further south. On Monday night & Tuesday morning about 4 or more inches of snow fell across the area, and it never got back above freezing throughout the week. Most of the small lakes and even brackish areas have frozen up forcing some of our winter migrants to look further south for acceptable feeding areas. We weren't expected to rise up to freezing today either, but I really wanted to get some wildlife photographs with the snow in the background, so I decided to try Back Bay first thing in the morning. 

A juvenile Cooper's Hawk poses from it's perch alongside the entrance road to Back Bay NWR.

Driving on the entrance road got me off to a great start, as I was given a golden opportunity to photograph a young Cooper's Hawk in a tree from my car seat. It was very quick to fly away but I did get a couple photographs of quality. I parked in the usual spot near the kayak launch and headed out onto the boardwalk en route to the Bay Trail. Right away, another very small hawk (perhaps a Kestrel or Sharp-shinned) took to the air and quickly sped down the trail away from me. Unfortunately I never got a good look at it, and it was gone very fast. The small pond at the end of the trail was completely frozen over, and sadly, a Great Blue Heron was sitting on the shore as if praying for the ice to open back up so it could feed. I decided not to spook it, so I turned around and headed back towards the visitor center instead of following the trail to the overlook. Yet again, I spooked another hawk, this time a large Cooper's, that must have just taken up a perch on the trail. It flew out over the marsh and again I was unable to secure any photographs. I had heard via eBird and Listserve that someone had seen a Dovekie along the beach on Friday so I went out and walked the beach as well, making the looper counterclockwise. I didn't find any Dovekies but there was a Common Loon just offshore, very close in to the beach. Each time I dove into the shallows I snuck up a little closer to it and finally was within about 50 feet or so. It didn't appear to be frightened, but just went on it's way chasing fish in the shallow water while I took photographs. About this time, the Gannets started to flock up and then began dive-bombing a school of fish offshore. They were pretty far out, but again a very neat sight to come across from the beach. 

A wintering Common Loon rides the gentle waves of the Atlantic Ocean up & down.

Earlier in the week, the Snowy Owl was resighted right in this area so I was keeping a close eye to the sky. On the way back over the dunes a large raptor flew into view but turned out to be a Harrier. The strong winds caught it and swept it off in a flash though, so once again, another raptor with no photographs. Like I usually do, I took to the Bay Trail one more time to try to see some more wildlife before I left. This time around, the heron was no longer out there so I did walk all the way to the overlook. The wind coming off the bay must have been a sustained 30-40 mph and only a small strip of water wasn't completely iced over. There was several Tundra Swans laying on the ice nearby it, I'm hoping they were doing ok with the weather. Walking back again towards the visitor center didn't stir up any hawks, but there was a large number of songbirds feeding in the grasses next to the center. I took a few shots of the Song Sparrows, Cardinals, Swamp Sparrows, and a couple White-throated Sparrows. Just as I'd started walking towards my car, a Northern Harrier came flying in extremely low over the parking lot headed towards the kayak launch. Finally, I managed to get a shot of it as it faced the strong headwind and almost seemed to float in the air for a second. It kept on moving out into the marsh where there were several others also hunting the small marshy islands quite a ways out. I figured I'd walk out onto the Kuralt Trail overlook to see if it got me any closer to them, but unfortunately they were still too far out for my lens. So I called it a day and left the park. On the way out, I decided to stop at the Little Island Pier to see if there was anything interesting hanging out in the shallow water. For some reason (probably due to the snow/ice), the pier was chained off so I couldn't get out to see anything. I once again got in the car and started to leave, when a Cooper's Hawk flew right across the road and perched in a tree near the kayak launch area. Of course, I wasn't going to pass that opportunity up. I turned around, and re-parked and walked across the street. I couldn't relocate the hawk, but I did stir up an Egret, which I raised my lens to photograph, only to realize I'd forgotten to turn my camera back on. An amatuer mistake, which cost me big. As the egret flew up into the air, it appeared that something was very wrong with it's head, it almost looked like a stork, not an egret. Then it was gone before I could do anything about it. I shrugged my shoulders, and turned the camera on and took a step forward. Not 5 feet to my right, the cattails erupted as a Great Blue Heron also took to the sky. Two large wading birds, and I didn't photograph either of them, I couldn't believe it. 

A Song Sparrows sits atop a small shrub that has become enshrouded in fresh snow.

Clearly, luck was both on my side, and not on my side as I was getting to see a lot, but not able to photograph any of it. I decided to keep walking a bit around the marsh and see if either bird might return. So I followed the short trails that are carved through the forest here (I'd never been here before), and one meandered towards a patch of water. Walking to the water I could see a hawk perched on the other side (turned out to be a Sharp-shinned), and as I got out of the cattails to take a photo, it took to the air. At least this time I got a couple out-of-focus shots that were good enough to ID the bird. Across the small pond, I also spotted a very large mammal out on the ice, which I believe was a Nutria. I didn't realize just how large they got, this one was nearly the size of a beaver, but I couldn't spot a flattened tail. After I watched it for a few minutes I went back to the site of the Egret, and to my surprise it wasn't there, but it was hovering over the marsh, this time, it confused me even more. It appeared to have a red & black head, almost like a skimmer, but still with long yellow legs. Yet again it fell below my view hidden by the cattails. I tried, one more time to go away for a bit, in the hopes that it would come back once more. About fifteen minutes later, after having moved down the trail, I came back and this time, it was back again, and I finally realized what I was seeing. The Great Egret had actually captured a Common Gallinule and was attempted to eat it, that's why the head looked weird the first time, and why I saw the red & black patterns the 2nd time. It yet again jumped to the air, and dropped the prey while trying to get away from me. This time around I did manage a photograph, but a very fuzzy one. As the prey dropped to the ground in the marsh, the Cooper's Hawk that had originally gotten me to the spot in the first place, flew in from a hidden perch, and dove into the marsh towards the falling bird. I can only assume it got the meal, but couldn't believe the irony in the situation. After all this I did head back to the car and drove home, what a crazy morning of hiking. 

Juvenile Northern Harrier banking around some trees near the kayak launch at the visitor's center.

After a crazy, but successful day of birding yesterday, I couldn't wait to get up and get back out there today. Clear skies finally moved in, and so I headed up to the eastern shore to see if I could find some raptors since I had seen so many yesterday trying to feed during this cold spell.  On the entrance road there was about a dozen deer all waiting to get photographed. A good start, I took some shots from the car as I could before they all moved off away from the engine sound.  I took the Raptor Trail from the parking area south towards Taylor Pond hoping to again find some birds of prey.

A pair of White-tailed Deer pose for photographs along the entrance road to Kiptopeke State Park.

As it turned out, I didn't see any before I reached the pond, however a kestrel/merlin flew in very high up over the trail. Walking around the pond, I got to the blind on the east end and saw there was a group of Redheads swimming on the pond. This makes only the second time in my life I've seen them in the wild (1 lone duck at First Landing SP a couple years back). Also on the pond was a male Northern Pintail, a long female Bufflehead, some Ruddy Ducks, and about half a dozen female Common Mergansers. There was also a Great Blue Heron hunting along the north shoreline. While I was stepping out of the blind, some sparrows flew by, and I quickly realized that they were Field Sparrows, one that I had never seen. Very excited to see a new Lifer, I got a few photos just for verification before they all flew off into the surrounding field grasses.

A Hermit Thrush mixes in with the beautiful sunlit backdrop of a holly tree at Kiptopeke State Park.

Next, I headed down the Songbird Trail in the direction that took me closest to the roadway first. Here I saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk on the forest edge between the pond and the trail. The new habitat that is growing along this part of the park I believe is party of the forest rehabilitation. The woods here are very thick, and as such, the sun hadn't yet melted that several inches of snow that fell on the park on Tuesday. Nearing the south end of the park, I spotted another White-tailed Deer, but it rounded the bend and headed north before I could get to where it was. Here I took the Chickadee Trail to the Mockingbird Trail. While on the Chickadee Trail, I was just thinking about how the last time I was hiking in the park I'd spooked an American Woodcock, and how difficult it was to every spot them on the ground since they're plumage camouflages so well with the leaf littering the forest floor. Not even a minute after that though, I heard a rush of wings rising up from the trail in front of me and saw yet another woodcock head off down the trail at break-neck speed. I couldn't believe it. That's the third time since Thanksgiving I've scared one before I even knew it was there. At the Bay Overlook, there was a large group of Ring-billed Gulls on the beach, and a huge flock of them further to the north was out on the water as well. Back onto the Mockingbird Trail, a Hermit Thrush let me photograph it while it posed in a holly tree. Continuing onward around the Chickadee Trail, I caught the Songbird Trail again where I found, just as expected, songbirds. Several Blue Jays, Cardinals, Thrushes, and Towhees were seen in the woods along the trail. I met up with the Raptor Trail and headed west to where the Baywoods Trail breaks off of it. Following this around, I went down the first boardwalk (Peregrine boardwalk) to the beach, then up the beach to the 2nd boardwalk (Wood Warbler boardwalk). Out in the protected waters of the bay there was some Common Loons. 

Freshwater Marsh, Forest, and party cloudy Skies over Magothy Bay Natural Preserve.

Also on the bay were some Buffleheads, and Surf scoters. From the bay I headed back up the parking area and went out to the Seaside Road. I wanted to see if I could find some hawks at the Magothy Bay Nature Preserve that I had come across last week while driving around. Surprisingly, I saw another American Kestrel in the same place as the one I 'photographed' last week, but again was very impossible to get a clear photo of. With the amount of snow, I couldn't drive all the way up to the small parking area so had to pull off on the access road instead. I trudged across the rehabilitated agricultural area that makes up about half of the preserve, and made it to the tree line at the north boundary. Here, a couple of old barn structures are still in tact, and a small drainage pond sits to their east. A Red-tailed Hawk flew out from a perch over the field, and also a small hawk, which could have been a Merlin, Kestrel, or Sharp-shinned possibly. Heading eastward from this point along the treeline the trail hits the northeast corner of the former agricultural area, and the trail dives into the forest. The woods were absolutely beautiful today with the fresh snow still unmelted in the shade of the tall trees. The trail wanders a bit along a drainage ditch and then comes out to sunlight along the tidal estauary which I'm assuming is called Magothy Bay. From here, it follows a levee system that has created freshwater habitat on one side, and borders brackish marsh on the other. Here I saw a pair of Bufflehead at the outlet location of the freshwater marsh, and also at least one White-tail Deer running through the swamp. The levee runs north south, and once I reached the south corner, the trail heads back west towards the agricultural field and eventually the parking area. Along this stretch, you can see a neighboring property, one that appears to have quite the number of exotic pets. I saw 4 Indiana Peafowl, 3 female, 1 male, and have been told there is other birds there as well. Anyway, I got back to the car again and headed back south towards the CBBT. At the CBBT I was impressed to find that it was a very calm day, and the typically far out ducks were much, much closer in. Because of this, I was able to get a lot of photographs of Long-tailed Ducks up close, much better quality than what I had previously been getting. Also, I saw the White-winged Scoter female again, and another male Lesser Scaup. Buffleheads were aplenty off the rocky northern point, and as I watched them I caught a glimpse of 2 Harbor Seals out on the rocks as well! Those were my first seals in Virginia, and the whole East Coast for that matter. All in all, it turned out to be another great day seeking out wildlife. Until next weekend!

A pair of male Long-tailed Ducks close in to shore along the northeast corner of South Thimble Island.