Week Ending March 22, 2015

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This week, I spent the vast amount of Monday through Wednesday tied up in my office trying to get a project out the door. On Wednesday night, I flew to Nashville to visit my buddy Smitty, and I spent the next 3 days in the city before returning to Virginia Beach on Saturday evening. So unfortunately missed out on spending time looking for first of season arrivals. However, it appears from reports on eBird that not many migrants have begun arriving yet. So after sleeping in a bit on Sunday morning due to exhaustion from a day of travel, I got out to Back Bay NWR to see if I could spot anything new that might have showed up overnight. When I first arrived, temperatures were in the upper 40s, with a soft breeze blowing onshore out of the northeast, and very overcast skies. Throughout the walk, the sun break through a couple of times but not for a very long duration. I walked the Bayside and Bay Trails first, seeing a Carolina Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. Viewing out on the bay from the observation areas at the west end of the trail, it was obvious that the waterfowl that have wintered here have moved on. Only a few Gadwall were visible, no other ducks, and no Tundra Swans even in the northern reaches of the visible bay. A few American Coots were also seen near the shoreline from the farthest observation area. After the Bay Trail, I walked the Loop Road counterclockwise, picking up a few Song Sparrows, a Savannah Sparrow, and a few other passerines common to the park like Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Towhee, Blue Jay and American Robins.

Another common sign of Spring in southeastern Virginia, the Yellow-bellied Slider!

On the east side of the loop, a few Field Sparrows were encountered in the same spot I've come to expect them, a hundred or so yards south of the southern beach boardwalk access trail. Also in this area, a large flock of about 35 White Ibis cruised over me heading northward. Walking the beach access trail next, and heading up over the dunes, I was treated to a vast gathering of Northern Gannets, with thousands of them dotting every available piece of ocean surface in sight. I've never seen so many just sitting on the surface before, and have only seen large numbers like this when they're actively bombing a shoal of fish. Among the gannets, were large numbers of Red-breasted Mergansers, and 5 species of gulls (from most abundant to least: Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed, Lesser Black-backed, and Laughing). No Royal Terns have showed up thus far, and no Forster's were seen today either. Along the shoreline, Common Loons were still present, and they're starting to acquire their very dark breeding plumage. Their cousins, the Red-throated Loons were also seen further offshore out of camera range. Horned Grebes rounded out the species seen in the water. Walking northward towards the northern beach access trail, I could see a massive blob of Double-crested Cormorants in the inaccessible beach area, too far off to scan for any Greats among them. I headed up over the beach, and did another quick out-and-back walk on the Bay Trail, but didn't turn up anything out of the ordinary, though I added a few Pied-billed Grebes, a Great Blue Heron and a Northern Harrier to my daily list before I headed back to the car and out of the park. 

Even when most of the birds are in hiding on cloudy days, this loyal Northern Mockingbird always makes a quick appearance!

While driving on Sandbridge Road, a flock of about 20 White Ibis were present across the street from Baybreeze Farms (farmstand on the north side of the road). I was on my way to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area, and Indian River Road is still undergoing construction so is closed south of New Bridge Road to Muddy Creek Road. Because of this, I went around to Princess Anne Road, and headed south from there. I arrived at the park around 2:15 and found one other car in the lot, though I never ran into its owner. I headed south from the parking area onto the Whitehurst Tract, walking along the treeline that forms the park's boundary in a counterclockwise path. My first birds encountered were 2 juvenile White Ibis on the first ditch visible, but aside from this, the birds were quiet for my first 20 minutes or so. During this time, I noted that some of the ditches were low on water, and I'm not sure if this has to do with the new culverts that have been placed, or if some water has been pumped, or, if we just haven't had enough rain to keep them full. I encountered one White-tailed Deer along the western stretch that was completely bedded down in the thick brush staring out at me. I'd never have noticed it had I not stopped for no apparent reason, and turned to look across the ditch right at it. Encounters like this always make me wonder just how our subconscious is tuned into nature. There was no reason I should have expected to find a deer there, but, there it was! I know everyone's had those types of encounters, but it also makes me wonder just how many animals I walk right past and never see. The waterfowl at the park have dropped off it seems as of today's visit, but when I reached the furthest southern impoundment, good numbers of Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Hooded Merganser were seen. Additionally, I had one Ruddy Duck, get frightened, and I don't know if it was injured or not, but it didn't fly, it flapped its wings along the water, then dove to hide. It surfaced, laid out like a log, covered in weeds and stared out at me. I tried to approach it to see if it was hurt, and it again dove, so I decided to continue walking so as not to keep disturbing it. Strange behavior that I haven't encountered out of a lone duck before. The birds here are extremely weary, and I attribute that to the fact that the park is open to duck hunting during the weekdays according to its website.

Laughing Gulls have returned from their wintering grounds, and are now sporting their beautiful black heads for the breeding season!

On Sundays it is open to birding, but the birds are just very hard to approach, binoculars here are a must, and I suspect a scope is really the way to go here if you have one. A few Mallards, American Coots, and Wood Ducks rounded out the water bird sightings for the day. One Red-tailed Hawk made an appearance, as did an Osprey, which hovered over top of one of the impoundments. Following the tree line, I eventually arrived at the far east end of the park, and met back up with Munden Road. The last quarter mile or so was a walk along the asphalt, and surprisingly a feeding flock of birds yielded some neat ones. Several Swamp Sparrows, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, and even a single Orange-crowned Warbler moved through the thick underbrush. A Gray Catbird also moved through. When I arrived back at the parking area, a Great Egret flew over me just in time to get added. I headed out from the park, and on the way home along Princess Anne Road I got a nice look at a Cooper's Hawk feeding on some animal in a farmfield adjacent to the road. I stopped quickly for a photograph, but couldn't figure out the prey before I had traffic coming up on me unfortunately. This week should start to bring in some new birds, and the leaves should start popping on the trees pretty quick as well. In addition to what I’d mentioned earlier, I also saw my first frogs of the season at Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area. Bradford Pear trees have begun blossoming, and they’re always the first, so it’s nice to see some blooms starting finally. Its feeling like Spring, and this is my favorite time of the year!

A very lucky catch this time, as this White-tailed Deer was silently watching me from thick cover across a freshwater ditch at Princess Anne WMA!

I can’t wait for all the colorful migrating songbirds to really start showing up. For those interested in tracking the migration, check out the page on my site here dedicated to tracking migrants using eBird maps. The page is basically a big table of links to eBird maps pre-set to 2015 sighting of a selected species. I have taken the time in advance to lay out all the expected spring arrival species in the order they typically arrive according to the Gold Book's extreme dates. So instead of having to think about which bird you want to study, and typing it in to eBird, here is a full table of all the arriving spring species, that you can just quickly select from: http://www.rbnature.com/resources/bird-distribution-spring/. By clicking any link from the table, a new tab will open with your map, just close the tab and select another, rather than typing in a species & setting the desired years/dates/location you wish to view. Or, if you want to pull up multiple species maps simultaneously, just click the Roll Wheel of your mouse over each desired link in the table, and multiple tabs will open for you to browse quickly across a variety of species. For example, you could select all the links of Wood Warblers in 2015 on the East Coast, then just slide from tab to tab as they're opened to view all the species sighting maps very quickly. Hope there are folks out there that find this a useful page, and hope it gets some bookmarks. The maps are always updating based on other folks’ observations, so this is extremely powerful.

The sun finally made a brief appearance over one of the impoundments at Princess Anne WMA. This was the same pond where a Ruff was sighted this past Fall, which caused me to go to the park for the very first time.

Week Ending March 15, 2015

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With Daylight Savings Time kicking in this past Sunday, this was the first Friday this year where I was able to get out for a long hike as opposed to just doing some stationary birding before the sun could go down. I headed out of work at 3 PM towards Back Bay NWR, under beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 50s. On the way I saw a Cooper's Hawk fly across General Booth Boulevard, but that was it, I seemed to be stuck behind every slow driver that was on the roads, which at least gave me a chance to peek around. When I arrived at the parking area at 3:35 PM, the temperature had dropped to about 45, being right on the coastline, and subject to the winds. Today was the first day that I've been able to trade out my winter knit hat, for my father's old Carhartt baseball cap that I wear all through the spring, summer and fall, but I did still need my usual fleece long sleeve shirt to stay warm, so spring isn't quite in full swing yet. I did a quick walk along the Bay Trail but decided to head out to the beachfront instead since some folks were ahead of me on the trail, and likely would have just scared everything off before I caught up and passed them. As I was heading to the beach, the sky began to fill with clouds out of the east, and it wasn't long before they overtook the sun. I got about a half hour of walking in before the sun dropped out of sight behind the clouds, but I did get to see and photograph a Red-throated Loon and several Common Loons that were close in to shore riding on the large waves as they broke. A few gulls (Ring-billed, Herring & Great Black-backed) were seen on the beach and in the skies above it, and I did get my first of year (FOY) Laughing Gull (#119 in Virginia Beach this year so far!), showing a full black head and flying offshore a ways, only viewable through the binoculars.

A Red-throated Loon rides the waves off the beach at Back Bay NWR on Friday evening!

One of the birds I was hoping to find today was my first Royal Tern of the season, since they typically show up in the area mid-March (last year my first was on the 15th), but I didn't see any of these today. I walked about 2 miles down the beach before the skies became completely overcast, and actually quite ominous looking to the west (perfect weather for a Friday the 13th I suppose). Walking in an area like this beach, it is sometimes hard to tell exactly where you turn around for measuring distance purposes. So what I always do in terrain such as this, is take a photo of the ground, and then check the GPS coordinates at home in Google Earth to verify that location. It's a quick way to help measure a route if your camera is capable of this. While on the way back northward, I had a flock of Forster's Terns cruise on past me from south to north, so they were able to sneak up on me, and I didn't see them til they were slightly past. I stopped to do a "seawatch" of sorts, though it was just for a few minutes. But, during this, I noticed large numbers of Red-throated Loons streaming northward on the horizon, and had a massive flock of Red-breasted Mergansers, numbering at least 500 birds heading northward. I don't know if this is typical of them as nighttime approaches, or if they were heading northward to get out of the path of the storm headed over the beachline. Whatever the reason though, there was a ton of them filling the sky. Black Scoters and Surf Scoters were also seen in good numbers traveling along the horizon. I also had a good time photographing a pair of Horned Grebes as they road up and down on the waves near shore. Just before I was about to reach the southern access point to the Loop Road, I saw a small bird walking on the beach in some tire tracks. Up to that point, the only birds walking on the beach that I'd seen were Sanderlings (No other shorebirds were seen today), so this one was quite a surprise. I thought for a brief second that it might be the Lapland Longspur that James Marcum had spotted near here earlier in the week, but once I got my camera on it I realized it was actually an Ipswitch Savannah Sparrow, the first one I've ever seen in Virginia.

Another loon, this one a Common Loon, was also seen in the waves at Back Bay NWR!

Quite beautiful, they have a very white body overall, but the yellow lore was still visible, and they're quite large for a sparrow. This is their favorite habitat type, so it shouldn't be a surprise, but it was great to see. I walked back over the dune line to the Loop Road, and walked around it clockwise. As I walked south, an Accipiter flew across the path low to the ground, then flew back again and landed up on one of the power poles on the east side of the road. With the cloudy skies I couldn't see any of the coloration and it was hard to judge size, so I'm not sure which species it fits under unfortunately. It flew off as i walked closer, disappearing off eastward into the scrub land of the dunes. On the nearby ditch, a pair of Mallards and American Coots were swimming around, and on the ditch at the West Dike gate, a Pied-billed Grebe 'submarined' out of sight as I approached. Now heading northward on the western part of the loop, I again had a bird of prey cross the trail, but I couldn't get a good look at it. It was very small, so either a Kestrel, Merlin or Sharp-shinned Hawk, but I'll never know for certain. Once I reached the parking area, I did a quick out-and-back on the Bay Trail to see if anything was stirring. Now, the lighting conditions were truly abyssmal, as the sun was setting behind the overcast skies. Along the trail I checked both observation 'platforms', and almost no waterfowl was visible, just Tundra Swans far to the north were identifiable. On the way back towards the parking area I saw one Downy Woodpecker, which is actually a bird I don't see much of at Back Bay so that was a plus for sure. Lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers were around as usual, but not a whole lot of other songbirds were present. Walking the Bayside Trail boardwalk, a single Ruddy Duck, and a pair of Mallards and American Black Ducks were visible. Just before I'd left, a Northern Harrier flew across the near bay to the Kayak Launch area, though at this point it was too dark for any photos of quality. It turned into a pretty good outing, seeing some neat birds, though I wish the sun had stayed out, at least I was finally able to get a longer hike in after working hours. 

My first Virginia Beach "Ipswich" Sparrow, the very white subspecies of Savannah Sparrow that inhabits beaches & dunes!

On Saturday, I was stuck working in my office for the day on a project that has a rather demanding schedule. However, it rained throughout the entire day, so I didn’t really miss out on any outdoor outings. After a very dreary day in southeastern Virginia on Saturday, Sunday was a complete 180 degree turn. Beautiful sunny skies, and temperatures near 60 degrees F made for a great day to be outdoors. I got a late start unfortunately, but Ruth & I made it up to Pleasure House Point Natural Area a little before 1 PM, parking at the Dinwiddie Drive end of the park, and walking east to west, then returning. Very high winds kept all the smaller birds at bay, and I only saw one Northern Mockingbird, and one Song Sparrow, that was it for passerines along the 2 mile route. Gadwall were seen on the storm water pond at Dinwiddie as they usually are, but the the dominant species of duck at the park is now Northern Shoveler, with a hundred or more visible on the main branch of Pleasure House Creek. Several Laughing Gulls were seen on the mudflats, sporting their fresh black heads, and one Bonaparte's Gull was also seen there, a first for me at the park, though I know many others see them regularly. I also had a group of 4 or 5 of them fly over, so perhaps the heavy winds have driven these inland as opposed to out on the open water where they're usually found. With the low tides, I'd expected to see some shorebirds, but the only instance of these was when a group of 10 Greater Yellowlegs landed on the shall bay that the trail winds around just west of the Brock Environmental Center.

A striking male Bufflehead shows off its iridescent head at Pleasure House Point!

They didn't stay long, but I got to see them swimming around in the shallow water, as opposed to walking like they typically do. Since it was so beautiful out today, the park was absolutely full of walkers, and dogs, which made it a bit hard to sneak up on any birds, given how much ambient noise there was all around the trails. Among the many walkers was Jill & Troy again, amusingly that’s the 4th time I’ve run into Jill while walking at Pleasure House Point & First Landing State Park. I’m glad to hear they’ve been checking out this site, so perhaps they’ll see the shoutout here! At the far west end of the park, American Black Ducks and Green-winged Teal were seen, and a pair of Ospreys made several passes overhead, with one fellow saying he also saw a Bald Eagle earlier. On the return trip, a few Brants were seen on the main mudflats, but all around this was a very quiet outing to the park. After Pleasure House Point we went up for a quick stop at the first island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, only to find that ducks were just about nonexistent. Only 3, 1 Bufflehead female, and 2 Surf Scoters at max binocular range were seen. There was still one Red-necked Grebe hanging out offshore of the southeastern corner of the island. Walking the perimeter up to the pier and back yielded the standard Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls, Ruddy Turnstones, and a group of 4 Purple Sandpipers. Out on the northern point was a grouping of Double-crested Comorants, with no Greats mixed in. Northern Gannets, Horned Grebes, and the many Rock Pigeons of the island were the only other species seen. A very quiet outing for the island.

Heavy winds kept most of the songbirds out of the air on Sunday, but they made for some wild waves on the Atlantic Ocean!

Some roadway construction along Great Neck Road made it so I needed to completely bypass that route to get home, so I drove Shore Drive to the Oceanfront, and made a quick stop at 88th Street to see if I could find a Royal Tern on the beachfront. A massive flock of several hundred Greater/Lesser Scaup was on the water offshore, and a few Red-throated Loons could be seen with the binoculars as well. One Osprey, and a few Brown Pelicans cruised past, but again it was relatively quiet. Black Scoters, Ring-billed, Herring & Great Black-backed Gulls were all seen, but in small numbers. No shorebirds showed up unfortunately, I'm still searching for my first Dunlin of the year. Despite the lack of birds in close, the water was absolutely gorgeous with the 100% clear, sunny skies overhead really bringing out the blues! Our last stop of the day was another quick one down at Rudee Inlet, where a pair of female Redheads were seen in the inlet itself. A Common Loon, and a Ruddy Duck were seen where the inlet opens up into more of a 'lake' of sorts. Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring & Great Black-backed Gulls were all seen, but in small numbers, with none being seen on the jetty for the first time this year. Boat-tailed Grackles were the only passerines around, I actually didn't even see any Yellow-rumped Warblers today which is all but unheard of here this time of year. Since we were already at the oceanfront, we stopped and had an early bird dinner at Rockafeller’s, one of our favorite seafood joints. So despite the lack of birds today, it was an utterly beautiful day so I can't have any complaints, it's really starting to feel like Spring has set in here at the beach. I’m excited for the early migrants to start showing up very soon!

Completely sunny skies and temperatures near 60 degrees F made for beautiful views over the coastline on Sunday!

Week Ending March 8, 2015

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This is the final week before Daylight Savings Time moves us forward an hour, and gives me an extra hour of sunlight after work. I’ve been waiting for this to arrive for a while, so that I can actually get out walking and hiking on weeknights instead of just on weekends. The winter time is a rough time of year for me due to the inactivity it brings. I’ve never been one to go to the gym, as I’d much prefer to get my exercise outdoors, so when it’s dark at 4 PM every day, it can be rough on my body. March usually is the beginning of shredding some winter weight for me thankfully. This week we had an up and down one, though on Thursday night we did get a small amount of sleet mixed in with some snow, but not enough to cover the ground, so I’ll say we’re still at 3 snowfall events on the season, and hopefully we’re all done now. Not that I don’t like the snow, but I get annoyed by how it is handled, or not handled in this area. The residential streets don’t get plowed, the whole city basically shuts down, and I have to use time off if I can’t make it into the office, so, I will hope that we’re done with all the nonsense. We actually had snow on the ground for about 2 weeks straight, which is by far the most time I’ve ever seen it here. Usually, it’ll melt within a day or two, but the cold temperatures the last couple weeks didn’t allow for that to happen. After heading up to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel the past few Friday's after work, I finally was able to get a pair of birds I've been seeking all winter long.

A new life bird for me, the Red-necked Grebe, seen here showing its breeding plumage already, spring is coming!

Arriving at about 3:25 PM to the southeast corner, taking my usual spot in the parking lot, I could see a massive group of Scaup floating just on the other side of the fence. There was several hundred birds in this raft, and at least a couple of Redheads mixed in. While scanning the group, I saw one bird with a longer neck, and yellow bill, and knew it immediately as my very first Red-necked Grebe (and #116 in Virginia Beach this year)! I know many folks have seen them around the islands the past few weeks, due in large part to the harsh winter further north, and the Great Lakes having now almost completely frozen over. However, every time I looked for them, I came up empty, until today! While I was watching the grebe diving and popping back up about a minute later, a cormorant flew past just a hundred yards out or so. This one appeared different right off the bat, with large amount of white showing on the face, neck, and on the rump, this was a Great Cormorant (#117), and a second life bird in a span of just minutes! I snapped off a few in-flight shots as the Great Cormorant flew past (they're on my site at the link above), and I took a whole bunch of shots of the Red-necked Grebe as it was very close in to the island, well within 400mm range.

Caught this Harbor Seal looking back at me out of the sea foam at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel!

With taking so many shots though, holding plastic and metal barehanded, my hands started to freeze, so I walked the perimeter of the island to get the blood pumping a bit. Another large raft of Scaup was present on the east side of the northern point, with some Surf Scoters, Bufflehead, and a couple of Long-tailed Ducks further out in the channel. A few Black Scoters were also present in the raft after close inspection. Horned Grebe were also found around the island in higher numbers than I've seen thus far this season, and about 15 of them were seen on my walk. Heading out onto the fishing pier, I saw a Harbor Seal surface along the rocks behind the restaurant, and as I watched it dove back down into the depths. I walked out and back on the pier, and noted another Red-necked Grebe to the south, where I'd seen a couple of loons last week. Scaup were the only waterfowl present on the western side of the island, and it was sure something to watch as they rode up and down the huge, long period, waves streaming into shore. Walking back around the island yielded some nice looks at the Harbor Seal as it came back up, and followed the shoreline, getting swept "inland" on a few occasions by the rough waters, but catching the next wave and moving back outward. Another fellow was watching the birds from a car nearby and said he'd seen the grebes and Redheads as well.

A rather cooperative Northern Cardinal showing its full red plumage off. No color adjustments were made on this one.

I spent about a half hour just kind of pacing to warm up, walking the pier out and back a second time, and then heading back around towards my car. From near my car, I could see 4 Red-necked Grebes (some showing full red necks already) a couple hundred yards out in the water, which seemed amazing for me, having seen my first ever just an hour or so earlier in the day. I don't know if this is being considered an irruption year for the species, like we had last year, but they're definitely being reported around the area, and if I saw 4 today, I'd assume more folks will be seeing them over the weekend. I still could not locate any Harlequin Ducks, but I know they're out in the bay somewhere. Saturday was the second day in a row where we had beautiful blue skies with almost zero clouds over southeastern Virginia. Early in the morning I went up to First Landing State Park's 64th Street entrance in order to take full advantage of a beautiful Saturday outdoors. I parked at the corner of Pacific Avenue & 64th Street, then walked into the park. It had been awhile since I'd done a longer walk so I did one of my favorite routes through the park, walking the Cape Henry, Long Creek, Osprey trails to the far west end of the park and back, for a total distance of 9 miles. There was some sort of run/walk event going on, and therefore more folks in the park than on a typical outing unfortunately. Walking the Cape Henry Trail from the entrance westwards yielded a Pileated Woodpecker and a Downy Woodpecker, a few Carolina Chickadees and Northern Cardinals, as well as some Double-crested Cormorants out on Lake Susan Constant. Near the northwest side of the lake, my route cuts back to the roadway, then down onto the Long Creek Trail.

A male & female Hooded Merganser swimming along the tidal waters of White Hill Creek at First Landing State Park!

In this area I've had good luck seeing Hermit Thrushes in the past, but didn't see any today. Though, on my way out of the park, I spotted and photographed a Fox Sparrow at this site. The stretch from the roadway to the junction with the Osprey Trail is more or less straight for about a mile, and feeding flocks of songbirds are often encountered, but again, nothing was today. Walking the Osprey Trail towards the shores of Broad Bay, I kept my eyes peeled for any number of the Pine Warblers I could hear overhead in the tree canopy. However, it wasn't until much later in the walk that I'd finally put eyes on my first one of the year (#118). Also, in this stretch, I've seen a good amount of Red-headed Woodpeckers in the past, and this is my 3rd attempt this year to photograph some at the park that didn't turn any up. Perhaps some warmer weather will bring them out. Upon reaching Broad Bay I could see that it was about 50% frozen over, with large floes of ice actually sliding up onto the beaches thanks to the incoming tidal push. This is the first time I've ever heard the ice in Virginia Beach, though having grown up in Minnesota, I'm no stranger to the sounds. Several of the ice floes were moving around buoys and water level rods in the bay, knocking them backwards, but being split into two as they were pushed. With all the water iced up, there wasn't much in the way of ducks viewable, but some Buffleheads and Ruddy Ducks could be seen. Both tidal creeks that flow under wooden bridges were also frozen, so no birds were seen there. White Hill Lake was also completely frozen over on the surface, and a few Great Blue Herons were perched along the shoreline, with a couple of Hooded Mergansers visible in the creek right at the outlet site.

The most numerous of our 5 species of winter warblers, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, posing for a shot!

After crossing the large wooden bridge over the creek, the Long Creek Trail hits a junction with the White Hill Lake Trail, and I continued west along the Long Creek portion. The creek meanders through a salt marsh and then empties into the bay, and at this location a single Tundra Swan was sitting out on the water, I believe my first of the species at First Landing to date. Continuing westward, the waterway starts to constrict between the park shoreline and that of Bay Island. As it narrows, the currents get faster and faster, and therefore no ice existed on the surface here, allowing more Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and a few Mallards a place to rest. It was here that I also saw my first Osprey of the year at the park, and a Belted Kingfisher that flew past cackling as it went. After I'd reached the far western extent of the park, I turned around and headed back east, picking out a Cooper's Hawk up in a tall pine tree after hearing it calling, the first time I've ever heard one of them as opposed to just seeing one. On the way back I got a second chance at seeing pretty much the same birds, but did find 2 Fox Sparrows in the underbrush along the trail as well, my second and thirds of the year after just my first last Saturday. The temperature had warmed up considerably from the 26 degrees earlier in the morning, and amazingly, in just an hour or two, the ice had almost completely melted on Broad Bay, with large amounts of floating slush being knocked onto the shoreline by the waves.

The skies over Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge's cattail marsh along the Bay Trail!

What a change in a such a short period of time. Over the rest of the walk, I noted some songbirds like Brown Thrasher and Carolina Wren, but nothing out of the ordinary made an appearance, so when I reached the car at 11:15 AM or so, I decided to try out Pleasure House Point. Once I arrived to Dinwiddie Drive and made my way onto the park's meadows I realized it was quite quiet. Just a few Gadwall were seen on the storm water pond with the concrete weir, and no birds could be seen at the outlet location to the creek. Most of the marsh grasses along the shoreline were completely knocked down which made it easy to see across the inland islands. Perhaps it was from the heavy snows we had last week and the week before, or perhaps it was from higher than normal tides from the low pressure systems that caused the snow, or perhaps it was a combination of the two, I'm not sure. Out of the mudflats, there are still plenty of Brant visible, and the three standard gulls (Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed), but I couldn't pick out any shorebirds with my binoculars or camera lens.

Overlooked due to their abundance, the American Robin is one of our most colorful winter residents!

I did have a Greater Yellowlegs fly over, and did also find 2 of them later in the walk with their obvious long bills and bigger stature than their Lesser cousins. Not too long ago the main portion of Pleasure House Creek was teeming with ducks of several species, but this portion of the creek was near empty today. A couple of Canada Geese could be seen across the way, and plenty of Northern Shovelers were around though. When I reached the far western edge of the park, a good number of Green-winged Teal were visible, some walking on the ice that remained in the final upstream bay prior to the creek going under Shore Drive, and many Northern Shovelers were also around. Walking back eastward I stuck to the 'inland" trails that cut through the woods, hoping to see something new. I did find a Red-tailed Hawk, soaring high over the park and heading out over the Chesapeake Bay to the north, which is a species I don't see a whole lot of in northern Virginia Beach, though I know they're not exactly a rare find. An Osprey soared past as well, probably one of the pair that has overwintered along the creek the past few years. The biggest surprise to me of the outing, was just how few people I saw on such a beautiful day. Not that I'm complaining though, as it was nice and peaceful in the park, which is most definitely not always the case seeing as how close to a major corridor it is. Only 1 Great Egret and 1 Great Blue Heron were sighted today, which is low for the park, and no Snowy Egrets this time. After reaching the car this time, I headed back home to grab some lunch, and to lay down to rest up a bit.

Beautiful skies over Back Bay as the temperature rose to 60 Degrees on Sunday! As I said, it feels like Springtime.

Sunday was the day I've been waiting for since early November, the switch to Daylight Savings Time which yields an added hour of sunlight in the evenings! As far as I'm concerned, it is the first day of Spring here in southeastern Virginia. I woke up about the same time as Saturday, though it was actually an hour later, and headed out the door en route to Back Bay NWR. They say your sense of smell is tied very strongly to memory in the brain, and this morning I can understand that a little better. Even walking to my car, something in the air just smelled like "Spring" to me. When I arrived at Back Bay NWR around 8:40 AM, the sun was up, the sky was very clear, save for a few ethereal looking clouds, and the temperatures started off the day about where they left off yesterday afternoon in the 40s. The wind was out of the south, which could be why the warm breeze felt so great. I walked from the visitor parking lot near the kayak launch along the Bay Trail after realizing there were no waterfowl visible from the lot. The short walk out along the Bay Trail was a quiet one, with just a few Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting back and forth across the trail. Most of the downed branches and trees from last week's snow have been cleaned up except for one that you still have to maneuver around. All of the snow is now essentially melted, except in very few, very shaded spots, but this should be the final day for it this season. From the first observation platform heading west, a group of ducks was visible far out, and it was mainly American Wigeon, but there were several Canvasbacks in the group as well, their bright white flanks, red head and sloping forehead visible at maximum binocular range on my 10x42s. This is the first group of Canvasbacks that I've ID'd on site, rather than from scouring through photographs after the fact, so I was excited to see them. Tundra Swans starting flying overhead, as did Snow Geese, and I probably saw several hundred during the course of time I was at the park, way up from my other outings this winter.

One of the many, many groups of Snow Geese seen at Back Bay NWR heading northward!

A group of American Coots was also out on the water off the west end observation area. After the Bay Trail, I usually walk the Loop Road, hugging the west side first while traveling south, then heading back north along the east side (counter-clockwise as I say). April 1st will be the day I can finally travel further into the park, when the West Dike Trail opens up, and the park starts charging admission again, but for the rest of the month, I'll have to stick with these few close in trails. Anyway, along the Loop Road, I was photographing (or trying to at least) some Song Sparrows on the shoulders, when I looked at the water next to me and saw a line of bubbles breaking the surface. I quickly ran ahead of them and set up, knowing that I was in for a treat. As I watched, a River Otter rose up out of the water, looked at me from only about 20 feet away, then dove back down and disappeared out into the marsh. I haven't seen any otters in the park since last winter when a few of them were actually out on the slushy ice from a storm. They're around all the time, but aren't seen often, much less than the Nutria that have overtaken the park in recent years. In a spot where the bay comes in close to the road, I caught sight of a King Rail that had darted onto the exposed mud, grabbed something, and was retreating back to safety. The walk around the Loop Road yielded more sparrows, Savannah, Swamp, and White-throated, as well as some Field Sparrows in the same spot on the east side that I see them on most outings. American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Eastern Towhees, Blue Jays were all plentiful today along the road as well. At the gate to the West Dike, I could see a pair of Scaup a hundred yards or so south in the ditch, and a pair of American Coots were nearby as well. One Northern Flicker was the only woodpecker of the day, seen on the interior of the impoundment the road goes around. Heading up and over the dunes on the southern access, it had warmed up significantly, to the point where I could take my winter hat off.

A White-throated Sparrow seen at Princess Anne Wildlife Managment Area on Sunday morning!

With almost no breeze to speak of, the ocean was exceptionally calm. 1 or 2 foot waves were breaking right on shore, so there was no surf zone today, which allowed a few loons (both Common & Red-throated) to be in close. Northern Gannets, Brown Pelicans, and Double-crested Cormorants were all over the place, and there was also a raft of Red-breasted Mergansers (several hundred) just outside of 400mm lens range. Gulls were surprisingly rare, and only 1 Forster's Tern was seen over the ocean. On the beach itself, nothing was around, no Sanderlings even, so I didn't spend much time here, I headed back up and over the dunes on the northern access. I walked the Bay Trail one more time like usual, seeing the same common birds I'd seen on the first trip out. This time though I spotted a Bald Eagle out over the water, and a great number of Tundra Swans that were flying northward along the far western shore of the bay. The Canvasbacks were all still present, and some Ruddy Ducks, Pied-billed Grebes, American Black Ducks and Mallards were also out there, with some Gadwall as well. The last piece of the park I walked was the Kuralt Trail (boardwalk off the north side of the parking area), and no activity existed along the path, but a few Mallards were seen on the small cove that the trail leads too. Heading out from the park I noted 2 Ospreys perched up on one of their towers, these being the first of the species I've seen at the park this season. After leaving Sandbridge, I drove around through Pungo en route to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area. Normally, I'll cut from Sandbridge Road onto New Bridge Road, then head south on Indian River to Muddy Creek Road, driving Charity Neck & Mason Neck roads on the way, but today there was construction on Indian River between New Bridge & Muddy Creek, so I had to go all the way around through "downtown" Pungo, taking Princess Anne Road south to Muddy Creek Road.

A portion of the larger flock of adult White Ibises seen on the southernmost impoundment of Princess Anne WMA!

I drove around Muddy Creek Road to Horn Point Road, and checked out that area, which was devoid of any wildlife (at least any that I could see from a car). Heading south on Muddy Creek Road I spotted a single juvenile White Ibis in a roadside ditch, then also saw an American Kestrel, some Eastern Bluebirds, and tons of Robins out feeding on the residential lawns. Eventually I made it to Mason Neck Road, and then Munden Road, where the Whitehurst Tract is located. This park is only open on Sundays this time of year according to their website (http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wmas/detail.asp?pid=8) and requires a WMA access permit (please correct me if this information is not up to date). I've seen a lot of reports on eBird from non-Sundays, so perhaps folks have permission to access, or just aren't aware of the operating hours & requirements. Just a heads up to those venturing out though into the park, it'd be a bummer to get a ticket of some sort for birding there. I had parked along the roadside, which is quite muddy and sopping wet with meltwater puddles right now (bring boots if you're going). The park is currently undertaking a culvert replacement project between some of the impoundments, so heavy equipment tracks have rutted up the trails, and in the areas where digging has occurred, it's basically all mud. In this part of the park, there is a number of impoundments, which in the fall & spring are empty for the shorebirds to enjoy, but in the winter, are full of water for the waterfowl we host this time of year. I walked counter-clockwise around the impoundments south of Munden Road, hugging the west edge first so that when I did get to open water, the sun wouldn't be right in my face. I scared 5 Wood Ducks out a heavily forested ditch along the trail, not knowing they were there til I was about 20 feet away and they burst out of the brush.

Three more White Ibises flew in to join the flock!

The waterfowl here are very weary, and I wouldn't plan to get within a couple hundred feet of any of them on the impoundments. On the southernmost impoundment, there was plenty of Northern Pintail, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Gadwall, and Northern Shovelers. I was hoping maybe a Blue-winged Teal would show up but I didn't spot any today. A few Scaup and Ring-necked Ducks were also noted, and a group of Hooded Mergansers was also seen, which rounded out the duck species. In the far southeastern corner, a group of about 15 White Ibis was foraging in the shallows and though eBird considers these rarities, anyone who spends any time around the bay's tributaries is going to see them this time of year. One Northern Harrier, and one Bald Eagle were seen, in addition to a Buteo that I couldn't get a good enough look at to ID to species, though it was probably a Red-tailed Hawk as Red-shouldered are much less common here in Virginia Beach. Shorebirds were non-existent except for the shrill cries of a Killdeer overhead. Great Blue Herons & Great Egrets were present in small numbers. Sparrows were abundant, with most of them disappearing quickly off the trails, but Song, White-throated, and Savannah all being identified and photographed. I was surprised to find no Fox Sparrows today, after seeing a few yesterday at First Landing, but those should never be "expected" around here. I walked 2.3 miles in total at the park and then headed out, back north towards Kings Grant. On the way, I stopped at Sherwood Lakes, in a futile attempt to pick out the Cackling Goose that was reported yesterday on the east side of Princess Anne Road. I could see a flock of about 25-30 Canadas, and meandered through the surrounding neighborhoods to view them, but I couldn't pick out anything unusual. Though, I can't really complain about that one, I've never seen one before, so today was just no different. Sooner or later I’ll find one!

In continuing the theme of white plumaged birds, this one is a Great Egret, seen against the beautiful blue skies of Sunday afternoon at Princess Anne WMA!

Week Ending March 1, 2015

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This week was dominated by frigid weather (by Virginia Beach standards that is), and we received a rather unexpected second snowfall of the season on Tuesday evening. Weather forecasters had assumed a slight dusting, but we ended up getting about 2 inches here in my neighborhood, and it resulted in a ridiculous amount of car accidents and interstate delays. Fortunately, I live just a few minutes from my office so it didn’t impact me. With the cold weather, the lakes have remained frozen for the most part, which is very tough on the wintering waterfowl. I see it daily on my drive to and from work at Kings Grant Lake, where the ducks have kept just a small area open in the ice. On Wednesday, we received our third snowfall event of the winter, this time a bit more rigorous. Snow totals were between 5-8 inches in Virginia Beach, and I think we were on the lower end in my neighborhood. The snow was deep enough though that smaller cars were unable to navigate the unplowed neighborhood streets, so I at least got a day at home on Thursday out of it. Unlike last week’s snowday though, I didn’t venture outdoors at all. So on Friday, coming off the day stuck indoors, I was more excited than usual for my Friday evening outing. After leaving work, I arrived at the first island of the CBBT about 3:25 PM, and parked at the southeastern corner of the island as usual. From the parking spot, I could see 3 female Common Goldeneyes to the south, with a group of Ruddy Ducks and Red-breasted Mergansers. After having seen my first goldeneye in Virginia Beach this January, then a group of two here last week, seeing 3 seemed to continue on the pattern tonight. Walking up around the island was a bit tough since the snow is still sitting over the walkway, and thanks to the warmer weather during the daytime, it has gotten a bit mushy.

A "raft" of Scaup riding the massive swells off the north end of South Thimble Island on Friday evening.

But, it's easier to get around than it was last week with the snow/ice combination. Amazingly we've probably received close to a foot of snow this year, the most I've seen since having moved to the region in late 2005. At the northern point of the island, a very large group of at least 100 Scaup was present. Two Redheads (1 female, 1 male) were sitting amongst the group, and several Buffleheads were also. The wind, coming out of the north/northwest was pushing up quite a swell, and the raft of ducks were riding up and down almost hypnotically. Further out in the channel, Long-tailed Ducks and many Surf Scoters were diving in the rough waves. I ended up walking out to the end of the pier just to keep the blood flowing to my hands since holding the camera and binoculars just sucks all the heat right of them. From the end of the pier, I saw 2 Red-throated Loons flyby quite far out, and also a Common Loon bobbing up and down in the waves. I could not locate any Red-necked Grebes through my binoculars, which has been my prime target the last couple of times I've been up to the island. I'm still trying to spot my very first one. Heading back around the island, mostly the same birds were still present, since it'd been only about a half hour or so since I'd walked past the first time. A few Horned Grebes were sitting on the peaceful eastern side of the island, and I had flybys of Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls. Though, hardly any gulls were actually on the ground. One single shorebird was seen tonight, a Ruddy Turnstone that flew past and then landed on the parking area of the island. Earlier in the day it looked as though the snow might be on the way out, but after being on the island for over an hour, the temperature drop was noticeable, so it isn't going to disappear overnight at least.

Tundra Swans were finally sitting on open water of Back Bay thanks to the strong northerly winds that prevented ice from forming.

On Saturday, the sun was shining right off the bat this morning, and with temperatures in the high 20s I headed out about 7:15 AM towards Back Bay NWR. I was expecting the bay to be fully frozen over like last weekend, but apparently the howling northerly winds have caused so much motion on the water that it was unable to freeze up, even in the sub-freezing temperatures we've had overnight and yesterday. Also because of the strong northerly winds, much of the water has been pushed southward and the water levels are very low. Waterfowl were taking advantage of the lack of ice fortunately, and about 25-30 Tundra Swans were visible from the parking area and surrounding boardwalks. Among the swans, one could pick out Canada Geese, and many species of ducks (Scaup, Northern Pintails, Redheads, American Wigeons, Gadwalls, American Black Ducks, Mallards, and Green-winged Teal). I initially walked the Bayside Trail and realized quickly that I wasn't going to be sneaking up on any birds today with the crunchy snow still around. Fortunately on the gravel Bay Trail, the snow was more melted, and just around in the shadiest of spots. At the west end of the trail I saw a set of King Rail tracks in the snow, which was very neat as I've never seen that before, and about 90 minutes later on my second trip down the trail I did find the Rail, for a split second before it dashed under the boardwalk and out of sight. Back on the first outing down the trail, a Great Blue Heron, a Northern Harrier, and an American Bittern were all seen out near the pond, though the crunching of the snow sent them off before I ever got close. Walking around the Loop Road proved the best section of the park, since all the snow had melted on the gravel roadways. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to see along the way, though there were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Sparrows (White-throated, Song, Savannah, Swamp, and one Field) picking out seeds or grit in the cleaned off shoulders. I took the southern access trail down to the beach, then walked northward and back to the parking area.

Small amounts of snow remain around the marshes at Back Bay, though the winds have kept the waterway fully open this weekend.

The surf zone was quite wide today, so nothing was in close, and no shorebirds were out. Just a few Ring-billed and Great Black-backed Gulls in the air. There was a group of about a dozen Common Loons out of camera range though, but no ducks were visible with the strong winds crashing up the surf. With the snow situation inland, I'd wanted to walk the beach, but the catch 22 today was heading south, the sun was right in your eyes, and heading north, the wind was, so not exactly ideal conditions for observing and documenting wildlife. After arriving back at the parking area, I did one quick jaunt out the Bay Trail (seeing the King Rail this time), and running into Jim Marcum, who made mention of just how tough the snowfall had been on the smaller trees along the trail, causing many branches to break off, and in a few spots blocking the trail, though I'm sure the staff will have them cleaned up pretty quickly. I left the park about 9:45 AM and drove back north on Sandbridge Road. While driving I caught eye of a flock of birds and thought I'd seen the tail of a Cedar Waxwing as it passed over, so I pulled a couple U-turns, and meandered through the gridded streets, finally finding where they landed. There was about 20 Cedar Waxwings, and some Brown-headed Cowbirds, American Robins, and European Starlings all sipping water off the roadway and dining in the nearby front yard. I snapped a couple of shots from the vehicle as the Waxwings were another new species for me (#113 in Virginia Beach this year) and then kept going.

My very faithful Great Blue Heron at Back Bay NWR that always shows up for photographs, even when the wind has all the other birds in hiding.

After passing westward over the bridge at Hells Point Creek, I saw a juvenile White Ibis in the ditch on the north side of the road right where the RV Park entrance is. I'm surprised eBird still classifies these as 'rarities', they're quite regular around the tributaries that feed Back Bay in the winter time. It was kind enough to pose for some shots from my car as I sat in the turn lane for the RV park though, a beautiful bird. After I'd arrived back home, thinking the birding was all done for the day, I was excited to find out that the ibis was the 100th species I'd seen in Virginia Beach this month, but, it wasn't quite over yet. While heading out the door to go catch a matinee showing of the film Focus, a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Dark-eyed Juncos were flitting about in my very tiny front yard, and another bird flew in. Thinking it was something I hadn't yet seen this year I ran back upstairs, grabbed my binoculars and went back down to find that it was a Fox Sparrow, another first of year bird (#114!). Fortunately it stayed long enough for me to again run back upstairs, grab my camera this time, and head out the door. I know a lot of folks see this birds regularly in winter around here, but without having feeders anywhere near my home, this was quite a surprise for me, and is actually only the second Fox I've seen & photographed in my life. After that wonderful surprise, Ruth & I headed out to the movie, though I probably should just spent the rest of the day birding, and saved the movie for Sunday since the weather was hovering right at freezing, and it just drizzled on and off throughout the day, which unfortunately put an end to my outdoor excursions. Or so I thought...

First Cedar Waxwings of the year! I had to track these birds down after seeing the flock fly over my car driving down Sandpiper Road in Sandbridge.

Late on Sunday evening, about 9 PM I received a text message from Ron Furnish, who lives just around a couple of corners in my neighborhood. He had an Eastern Screech-Owl show up on his fence at his house. At the time of the message, I was dozing off on the couch and didn't read it til about 9:30 PM. Fortunately, Ron said that the owl was still present, and so Ruth & I grabbed on some warmer clothes, and I grabbed my camera & we drove over in the hopes of getting a look at it. It had stayed during our drive time, and when we pulled up, we were able to stand within about 15-20 feet of the bird without it getting spooked. Ruth & I watched with Ron & Marie Mullins as it dove to a clear spot on the ground free of snow, grabbed an earthworm in its bill, and then flew up into a nearby tree to feed. I took a few photographs while it remained still on the fence, and though they mostly came out a bit fuzzy, it was just so neat to see this bird that I didn't even care. This is the first time I've ever photographed an owl before, so I'm glad I woke up on the couch in time! I didn't expect to start the month of March off with an owl as the very first monthly species, but I'm surely excited about it kicking it off with a new county, state, and life bird! This upcoming week should be an exciting one as next Sunday, we set the clocks forward an hour, which means I can finally start going for hikes on Friday evenings instead of just quick birding outings before the sun sets. It also means I can move those shorter jaunts to the other days of the week, so I’ve really been looking forward to March getting here, and it has finally arrived! In just a few shorts weeks, spring migration will begin, and a whirlwind of colorful birds will move through the area. March is the month of anticipation though, so let the excitement commence!

A very beautiful juvenile White Ibis seen along Sandbridge Road on my home from Back Bay NWR on Saturday morning, with just a little bit of snow remaining in the woods!