Week Ending November 8, 2015

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With November comes early darkness, with the end of Daylight Savings Time having occurred on November 1st, and also comes unstable weather. Throughout our first full week of the month, Virginia Beach saw temperatures ranging from highs in the low 80s on Thursday, to lows in the 40s on Saturday night/Sunday morning. The up and down temperatures didn’t stop birders from getting out and seeing some neat birds though. Waterfowl and Shorebirds continue to yield First-of-Season (FOS) sightings. At the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory’s Seawatch from Rudee Inlet, Tracy Tate recorded the first Purple Sandpipers of the season to be found in Virginia Beach. She also had views of Peregrine Falcons and Parasitic Jaegers, both of which have been found increasingly the past couple of weeks in that area. The falcons have been perching on one of the hotels at 11th Street just to the north as well, and quite a few reports have showed up this week with Peregrines noted. On Bob Ake’s impoundment survey at Back Bay NWR this week, a pair of Long-billed Dowitchers turned up, which are the first recorded in Virginia Beach this year. Additionally, a pair of late Caspian Terns was found, and both Sedge & Marsh Wrens were encountered. Waterfowl variety appeared to have increased, with the impoundments being perfect habitat for dabbling species, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Blue & Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, and Ring-necked Duck were all noted. Some other FOS sightings this week were a Ruddy Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Tundra Swan and Greater Scaup. James Marcum had a Great Horned Owl calling in his neighborhood early Saturday morning, a bird that isn’t reported often due to its nocturnal nature, though is supposedly present in good numbers across the region. Nelson’s Sparrows continue to be seen at Pleasure House Point by most parties who have attempted to find them, though never staying up too long for photographs. Wrens and Sparrows have certainly taken over the region as well, with plenty of Swamp, Song, Savannah, and White-throated Sparrow sightings. Sedge, Marsh and Winter Wrens have all popped up in reports recently as well. American Bitterns are being found primarily at Back Bay NWR, though there is likely some in the Pleasure House Point area that have just gone unnoticed. Lastly, a late entry from the previous week, the first Brants of the season were sighted up at Pleasure House Point on 1 Nov.

An American Black Duck provides a good example on how to differentiate the Mallard females with orange bills, from its yellow bill & darker body.

This week began with the tough-to-swallow realization that darkness would now occur too early to allow for any birding after work. Monday through Thursday I had to live vicariously through the reports that popped up on eBird and the photographs posted to the HRWE Facebook group. Fortunately, the ease of technology has made getting through these ‘dark’ times a bit easier, and plenty of folks were actively posting images & observations from around the region. I didn’t make it out at all until Friday afternoon when I left work at 3 PM. Ruth & I were heading up north to Fairfax County to visit her mother for the weekend, but she isn’t off work until 5 PM. So I brought my camera and binoculars to the office and on the way home I made the rounds at Kings Grant Lake, hoping to see some interesting waterfowl present. Earlier in the week someone had posted a photograph of an all black Mallard at the lake. From online searches, it turns out that this is a mixed Domestic/Mallard breed called a “Cayuga” Duck, and some can be remarkably pretty. Apparently it was released at the lake sometime prior, as it is not a wild duck, rather a feral one. Or course, Kings Grant Lake is no stranger to feral waterfowl though. The lake is home to a group of Domestic Geese that currently numbers 28 birds. These geese can often be seen holding up traffic on Kings Grant Road near the park, and don’t seem to care what goes on around them. Each year, their numbers seem to increase, and I believe there was 10 or 11 goslings out of this batch this year. Feral waterfowl are always a problem when it comes to entering birds into eBird lists, but that’s a whole other blog. I first stopped at Kings Grant Lake Park, then circled the lake clockwise, hitting the outfall area on Watergate Drive, and returning on Edinburgh Drive to Kings Grant Lake Road. Most of the waterfowl was Mallards, about 140 of them, with good numbers of Canada Geese as well. Also mixed in though was a pair of American Black Ducks, three American Wigeons, and a single Wood Duck. I always check out the Wigeons now in the hopes that one might be a Eurasian species, but so far it’s all been Americans. I was excited to get some nice photographs of the American Black Ducks though, some of which make for good comparison shots between them and the similar, but still very different, female Mallards.

One of many male Northern Cardinals seen in Fairfax County!

Having arrived up in Fairfax County about 8:30 PM after the usual, long drive on I-64 on Friday evening, Ruth & I got to bed around 10 PM. In the morning, she & her mother went shopping, which of course meant I was free to go birding. In addition to my general lack of interest in shopping, I always think the her & her mother need their time together without me around since they don’t see each other all the time anyway. So, that’s how I rationalize, and don’t feel bad about running out at 6 AM to go birding. I’m very lucky though, I have a great relationship with my mother-in-law, so it is never an issue. Thanks to the Virginia Birding Listserver, I always keep up to date on what birds are being sighted in the area, so when I visit, I have some options as to where to go. This trip, I wanted to spend some time early in the morning at Huntley Meadows Park (a map of the park can be found Here) , which is about a 15-20 minute drive from Lorton. The park is primarily forested, with a large estuary / marsh / meadow in the center. Depending on the activity level of the local American Beaver populations, this area can be dry, standing water, or anything in between. In fact, being only the second visit I’ve made to the park, I was quite surprised when I reached the Heron Trail boardwalks and found that a new Beaver lodge was built right up onto the boardwalk. Additionally, dams made primarily of mud, but with a few sticks tossed in for strength, weaved their way in and around the first portion of the boardwalk, causing a small pond to form on the upstream section of Barnyard Run. In this inundated area, a group of about 50 Canada Geese was feeding along the shorelines, providing my first photographs of the day. Unfortunately, the weather appeared to be against me this weekend, with the temperatures feeling good around 60 degrees F, but with a drizzle persisting my entire drive to the park, and continuing as I entered the trails. In fact, at several times during the drive I questioned why I was continuing towards the park. However, I’m glad I did make it.

One of the several hundred Red-winged Blackbirds seen at Huntley Meadows on Saturday!

Being my first visit to the park during the month of November, it was interesting to see just what the park looked like. The majority of leaves have now fallen to the ground, though the ones remaining on the trees had quite the color to them. Yellows were the most vibrant of the colors, but there was still some oranges and reds to be seen. Unfortunately, I have no expertise in identifying trees, though this is one area I’d like to improve since I do feel that all wildlife and nature are connected in some fashion, and understanding of one area can only help in another. Entering the park and finding a spot around 6:50 AM was nice, there was no one else around, aside from a single car that was leaving the park for whatever reason. As mentioned above, I reached the Heron Trail boardwalk relatively quickly, passing through the quarter mile or so of forested path on the way past the visitor center. After photographing the Canada Geese on the new beaver pond, I worked my way around the circular component of the boardwalk counter-clockwise. Most notably in this area, were the couple hundred Red-winged Blackbirds that had embedded themselves within the dense cattail surroundings. As I walked around the boardwalk, pausing many times to attempt to photograph the birds, they always managed to slip past me. At times I was reminded of a “Simpson’s” episode in which Homer attempts to step off a trail, only to be assaulted by a Raccoon, which jumped out of a square inch of space he hadn’t checked. While comical, this is exactly how Red-winged Blackbirds tend to behave. It is amazing just how well these birds can conceal themselves down deep in the marsh cattails & reeds, only to spring forth with no warning. With the drizzle that was ongoing, the light proved extremely tough for trying to get these birds into the camera frame, but after a good half hour of trying, I was able to get some worthwhile shots. In addition to the Red-winged Blackbirds, Sparrows were also plentiful. This time of year, there are a few species that can be expected across the Coastal Plain of Virginia (of which Fairfax County & Virginia Beach both belong too). Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows were all seen in high numbers. Most of these managed to provide quick looks, while being mainly concealed though in the cattails.

A male Downy Woodpecker seen along the Huntley Meadows boardwalks!

Continuing on southward towards the observation tower, I arrived just in time. Within a couple minutes of reaching the first floor (of two), the rain started to build and visibility dropped to about 10 feet. During this time, it wasn’t just me who was seeking out the shelter, but many birds around me, primarily the White-throated Sparrows, Blue Jays, and Northern Cardinals. All three species moved in closer, providing some good photographs, and even better observations. As the rain starting to slow down, I remained in this spot, just because it did seem to be a hotspot of sorts. The best bird here was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, my only one of the trip that flew in close to a tree south of the platform, and posed ever so briefly before disappearing into the underbrush. When the rain had completely halted, I continued south across the downstream end of the park, seeing a couple of Great Blue Herons out on beaver lodges in the process, and then meeting up with the Deer Trail. The Deer Trail travels through the woods heading mostly northward. Along the stretch of this trail heading north, I did find a Brown Creeper, which is a bird I consider to be uncommon throughout the Coastal Plain, and the Gold Book seems to back this opinion up. They aren’t a rarity, but they’re a bird one can be excited about when they find it. I rounded the corner and headed back to the Observation Tower area, then moved northward back onto the Heron boardwalks. Here, I was met by the same flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds again, and tried my best to photograph them as they weaved in and out of the cattail forest. Another group of birders had set up north of me, working their way slowly counter-clockwise around the boardwalks. I wondered if these might be some of the folks that have put out information on the Listserver, Harry Glasgow is one name that comes to mind. As they worked their way around the boardwalks, I moved off south again towards the Observation Tower. This time, though, I wasn’t mobbed by sparrows and other common winter species. I ended up walking the Cedar Trail north, though checking out the north end of the boardwalks one more times. I’m glad I made one more effort, as I got some fantastic photographs of some White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, Swamp Sparrows, and the Canada Geese that continued to patrol the freshly made beaver pond. Also, a Downy Woodpecker made for some nice shooting, but afterwards I headed north towards the car and headed out from the park.

One of my best shots of a White-throated Sparrow, seen at Lake Mercer, Fairfax County on Saturday morning!

Still very early in the morning, I opted to check out a spot closer to my mother-in-law’s Lorton home. In similar fashion to Williamsburg, Fairfax County seems to be big on adding multi-use paths through every available section of forest. All of the stream valleys throughout the county have become part of the “Cross County Trail”. Each time I visit Fairfax, I try to do a bit more of the trail, which is probably hundreds of miles at this point. One of my favorite sections is the loop around Lake Mercer along the South Run Stream Valley, just off Hooes Road. I stopped in here and head around the lake counter-clockwise on the loop, which I believe is close to 4 miles in length. After a few years of construction, this trail is now fully-asphalt, which makes for an easy walk, but definitely provides the feeling of not being quite so rustic. The trail initially travels up the stream towards a manmade dam that creates Lake Mercer, then continues around the north side of the lake heading westward. Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice, and several sparrow species were encountered in the more suburban areas of the trail. A favorite of mine, Eastern Chipmunk, was also seen. Why is this a favorite? Because, while these mammals are common up north in Virginia, they are unheard of here in Virginia Beach, and seeing them takes me back to my youth in Minnesota & Indiana, where these cute little critters were quite common. The further west I traveled, the more it began to rain unfortunately, and I had to throw my camera into my backpack to ensure it didn’t get damaged by the rainfall. As I worked my way around the lake, getting poured on at times, I did find a single Hermit Thrush, which was probably the bird of the weekend. Over the last couple miles, I walked essentially the whole way, arriving back at the car and heading home for a shower to warm up from the cold rains. On Sunday morning, we headed back to Virginia Beach, and I did get a good walk in around the neighborhood, but didn’t spot any new birds along the way, though I half expected to see a Great Horned Owl after Jim Marcum found one on Saturday calling outside his home. Next week could prove interesting, as the vagrant seasons continues in Virginia Beach, and Saturday is the Rarity Roundup, the first of its kind in Virginia Beach. Hopefully, I have a bit more to report this time around!

This beautiful Great Blue Heron shows off its reflection on the upstream waters of Lake Mercer on Saturday!

Week Ending November 1, 2015

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Surprisingly for the end of October, the weather actually warmed up this week and we were treated to some gorgeous days in the 70s! Even with the rising temperatures, wintering waterfowl continued to trickle into the region. This past week saw the first Long-tailed Duck up at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (Rexanne Bruno, 29 Oct), as well as Virginia Beach’s first Hooded Merganser & Brant (Swiader, 1 Nov) at Pleasure House Point Natural Area. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were reported again on 27 Oct at Pleasure House Point, however, this report could actually be of a Black-crowned Night-Heron since there are some juveniles of that species still hanging out so until I see a photograph, I can’t confirm that with certainty. Also at Pleasure House Point, a Green Heron was sighted on Friday (Chip Allen & myself), making for quite a late record of this species to still be in the area. In fact, to put into perspective this was the first one I’ve seen in the month of October, right at the end. Nelson’s Sparrows are continuing to be found in that same area as well, and Marsh Wrens have continued to be numerous at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Other winter specialties like American Bittern and Peregrine Falcons were reported as well. After the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory (CVWO) sponsored Seawatch on Thursday, Tracy Tate & Andrew Baldelli picked up a Parasitic Jaeger and a Vesper Sparrow up on the 85th Street beach at the Oceanfront. Some other interesting passerines were found as well, with Blue-headed Vireos showing up at First Landing State Park, and in a Kempsville backyard (Una Davenhill). Brown Creepers are continuing to be seen as well, which can at times be tough to find, but their numbers might still be bolstered by migrants working their way southwards still. The best bird though, was one that I never expected to come across, but was very fortunate to do so. A single Western Kingbird was found along the East Dike at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday morning, but more about this bird in my personal accounts below. With November having now arrived, it is vagrant season here in Virginia Beach, so the next several weeks could be interesting! It’ll just take some time to get used to the sun going down at 5:15 PM now that Daylight Savings Time has come to a close.

Our most vocal mimic thrush, the Northern Mockingbird, seen at Pleasure House Point!

As mentioned above, the warm weather was quite welcomed this week, but I still only managed to get out on a Friday & Saturday walk this week unfortunately. With the sun setting so early, my only viable post-work outing can occur on Fridays when I leave at 3 PM. Doing just that this week, I headed up to Pleasure House Point as quick as I could, parking along Marlin Bay Drive and heading into the park. As was reported earlier in the day, I found a pair of American Black Ducks on the largest pond, and later came across two more on the extreme upstream end of Pleasure House Creek. American Black Ducks can be found year-round in Virginia Beach, but it is nice to be seeing them out in the open again since they’re tough to find in summertime during their molt. Ducks actually drop all their flight feathers at the same time, and are left flightless for a month or so in the summer. During that timeframe, they’ll spend most of their time hiding from predators, since they can’t take to the air. This is different than most other species of birds that will typically molt 1 flight feather at a time so they are never grounded. Heading eastward towards the sandbars I had a hard time finding any birds, until I reached the area where the marshy islands sit just offshore. Here, I spotted an American Bittern as it rose up from the grasses, and flew eastwards before diving back down into another island. These beautiful birds are very tough to find here, and are only found in the wintertime. They are masters of camouflage, and unless they’re moving, they can easily go unnoticed. The sandbars held a good plenty of Laughing Gulls again, numbering in the hundreds. Herring, Lesser & Great Black-backed Gulls were also present, and I’d imagine some Ring-billed were there as well, though I couldn’t pick any out at the distance. Black Skimmers were mixed in, as were Royal Terns.

Very late in the year to be seeing this Green Heron at Pleasure House Point on Friday evening!

It seems the Speckled Trout must be running up the Lynnhaven River right now, as the last couple of times I’ve been to the park, there have been quite a number of fisherman wading out in the shallow tidal waters. I’ve yet to see anyone catch anything, but it seems to me that it is usually in mid-November when Ruth & I have seen the fisherman hauling in tons of the trout down at Oregon Inlet in the Outer Banks. Having grown up a fisherman, I have really missed it since I moved out here, but, I luckily ended up an area that is full of wildlife to view. Perhaps one year though I’ll take it back up, but for now, I’m more than happy being an avid birder, and just seeing the fisherman out there. Walking around the primary point of the park, I did uncover a couple of Nelson’s Sparrows, but wasn’t able to photograph any since they tend to be quite evasive. During the fading light in the evenings, it is even tougher since most of the sites they can be found in the park are in a westerly direction from the trails, meaning you have to look right into the sun to photograph them, which means they won’t show up well in a photo since their shaded is side is closest to you. Interestingly, no Gadwall, or any birds for that matter have showed up on the stormwater detention pond at Loch Haven Park on the northeast border. I keep checking, so hopefully soon it’ll hold some Grebe at least. Walking back around the point, and upstream I found a nice Northern Mockingbird that allowed me some good photographs, as well as a couple of Belted Kingfishers which at this time of year become hard to miss. Their incessant cackling is always a welcome sound after not seeing them at all during the summers here. Along the largest cove I picked a Savannah Sparrow out of the brush, and then had a Sharp-shinned Hawk zoom across the water right over top of me.

Yellow-rumped Warblers have officially taken over the region!

I trekked inland hoping to get a better view of it, but it caught me early on and zoomed through the trees. This particular spot seems to be good for the Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk, so always worth a slow walk through (area located east of the muddy meadow). Further westward, I happened to catch a glimpse of something small along the ditch that lies between the two creek-like ditches extending to Marlin Bay Drive. Much to my surprise, this bird turned out to be a young Green Heron! Green Herons (according to the Gold Book) typically depart the area on 20 Oct, so seeing one on the 30th was very late. This was the first of its kind that I’ve actually seen all month, and quite ironic to add at the end, rather than the beginning of October. At least one other was reported fairly recently, being seen by Bob Ake on one of his impoundment surveys at Back Bay NWR a week or two ago. Still further west, I enjoyed seeing the American Black Ducks again, and also a single juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron (which I think many folks might misidentify as a Yellow-crown, which should be all gone for the winter by now). Throughout the remainder of my walk west upstream, I got glances at Northern Cardinal, and potential Song Sparrows, but it was very quiet. It is amazing to see just how quiet things get by even 5 PM at this point in the year, and the sun was already very low in the sky, dipping behind the large trees that dot the western edge of Pleasure House Creek in the vicinity of Thoroughgood’s country club off Shore Drive. I ended up finishing the walk up with a few minute trip around the largest pond hoping to get in a good position to photograph the Black-crowned Night-Heron, but ultimately unable to do so. Heading home just after 5 PM does afford me a chance to relax at home this time of year, something I don’t get to do in the summertime when I like to be out as long as the sun is up. So if anything, at least it gets easier to keep up with all my photographs, my blog, and the rest of the website during the winter time. And after the intense migration period in September, and the first half of October, a slowdown is much appreciated.

A strikingly colored Song Sparrow seen near the visitor contact station at Back Bay NWR on Saturday morning!

On Saturday, I got up at 6 AM like I typically have been doing, and made it down to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge by around 7:30 AM for the sunrise, which has been getting later & later. That however, will come to a screeching halt on Sunday, as Daylight Savings Time comes to a close, and we turn the clocks backwards one hour. Saturday was also significant in that it was Halloween, being the 31st of October, but moreso significant to me in the fact that it was the final day the dike system at Back Bay NWR is open for the year. The dikes, which comprise most of the walkable distances of the park, are closed during the wintertime to protect all the waterfowl that have moved south from the tundra & boreal forests to spend the winter. Each year, from 1 Nov through 31 Mar, the East & West Dikes are closed, while during the opposing timeframe, only one will be open at a time, depending on the distribution patterns of the wildlife being protected. Because of our location along the coast, places like Back Bay are incredibly important for migrating birds, and I think we are all very lucky that organizations like the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service exist to help keep these great resources functioning. With the dikes closing on Saturday, it was my plan to walk the East Dike in its entirety, something I do try to do each year, at least the weekend before it closes. This time, I started off as I have each walk over the past couple of months, heading down the Bay Trail first, and working my way around the other trails near the visitor contact station. Yellow-rumped Warblers were again the headliner, showing up in massive numbers all across this region of the park. The highlight of the Bay Trail though was finding three gorgeous Wood Ducks within photography distance from the western overlook. Also here was a pair of American Coots, and at least a dozen Pied-billed Grebes, which are probably the same ones that frequent the pier area near the parking lot. Another great surprise was the Marsh Wrens that I heard in a pair of sites along the Bay and Bayside Trails, though I couldn’t get any to come out into view, their calls are extremely distinctive and whimsical.

Posting this Halloween Great Blue Heron since my mother always tells me they reminder her of the 'creeper' from the film, Jeepers Creepers. They're a favorite of mine in all seasons!

Behind the visitor contact station, several species of sparrows (Field, Song, Swamp, & White-throated) were all seen over a few minute span, some even affording excellent views and photographs. I didn’t spend too much time here though, as I wanted to get moving southward on the dike. With the sky completely sunny, and the temperatures in the 50s, I was really loving it. Normally by now, I’m at least wearing a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve one, but Saturday I was able to get by on just short sleeves alone. Even with the temperature reaching just into the low 60s at Back Bay, the sun was so bright with the clear, cool air, that I managed to stay plenty warm.  As I set off down the East Dike between 8-8:30 AM, I was treated to all three of our mimics (Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, and Gray Catbird), and each was singing from a perch in the sunlight. Swamp Sparrows proved to be the most numerous emberizids (the taxonomic family that sparrows belong too) of the day, and they were seen at essentially every area with cattail or phragmites in sight. While walking the gravel road I refer to as the “Loop Road”, I stayed on the bayside, eventually reaching the gate to the West Dike, which of course at this point in the season is closed. Along this stretch though, I did find another Pied-billed Grebe on the small freshwater pool that the Loop Road encircles. Also, I had flybys of Mallards, American Black Ducks, and several small Canada Geese flocks further out over the bay. A Great Blue Heron was also working the shoreline of the bay, providing a pretty view of the scenery behind it. Hooking around the south edge of the Loop Road, I worked around to where the gate to the East Dike sits. Of course, it was open, but it was a bit sad to know that soon this route will be closed. I fully support the reasons for the closure, but I do miss being able to walk this area of the park in winter. Fortunately, the beach does remain open year-round, so one can still walk all the way to False Cape State Park (or North Carolina even) if he/she feels inclined to do so. With the beautiful weather, I anticipated a lot of other folks to be out on the trails, but honestly didn’t come across a whole ton. A single tram tour did pass me up, and I believe those typically leave the visitor contact station at 9 AM, so it was likely 9:15 AM or so when it got to me, just south of the gate. A half mile or so further south, right in the vicinity of where Ron Furnish & Marie Mullins and I had spotted a half dozen Bobwhites a few weeks ago, I sadly came across an injured Dunlin. I don’t know what it is with me lately, but everywhere I go I seem to be encountering hurt animals, and I wish it wouldn’t happen. Migration season is always tough on birds, and a great number do perish; it is expected, but still sad to see firsthand.

One of the 11 beautiful adult White Ibis seen along the East Dike at Back Bay NWR!

This particular bird had a right wing injury, and given where it was found, very far inland from the beach, it likely showed up here during heavy winds, perhaps getting hooked on a power line or tree branch. Whatever the reasons though, it was injured, and wouldn’t let me anywhere near it as it flopped around. I would normally have called the Virginia Beach SPCA (757-263-4762, store that number in your phone!), however given the remoteness of the park, and the fact that the trail was going to close for the season soon, I opted to not call it in this time. Sometimes I feel that it is part of nature’s circle of life, no matter how hard it can be to swallow. Also, the past couple of animals I’ve called in for help with, both had to be put down after capture anyway, so there is never a guarantee that anyone can do anything to help them, very sadly, and it is an emotionally draining experience, I don’t know how the full-time rehabbers can handle it sometimes, but I have all the respect in the world for their love of nature. The solace I’ll take here is that perhaps another animal in the park will be helped in its own survival by the sustenance provided by the Dunlin. There are quite a number of predatory animals in the park, whether it be the Eastern Cottomouths, Raccoons, Opossums, or even Bobcats that can be found here. Moving south, it was pretty quiet until I reached the double-90-degree bend of the trail, about midway to False Cape State Park. Here I got a great view of a Great Blue Heron standing just off the trail, and I could see birds far out on the C Pool as well, likely Teal, though unable to tell for sure. Swamp Sparrows were again quite active in this area, providing some more photographs, though never of great quality since these birds act much like wrens do, hopping in and out of thick brush very quickly, never posing for long. South of the bends, a raptor was seen flying low over the marsh grasses, which frightened up a group of 10 Eastern Meadowlarks that had been hiding down in the reeds! Eastern Meadowlarks are common in numbers across Virginia Beach’s southern half, but they are tough to actually find, so I was very grateful for the assist, that came from what I’d find out soon to be a Merlin.

The Western Kingbird! So far this bird is my most noteworthy find of the year, being the first to be reported in the state of Virginia in 2015!

A bit further south on the east side of the dike there was a feeding flock of 16 White Ibis, including 4 juveniles, 1 first-year bird, and 11 beautifully white plumaged adults. I watched this group for a few minutes, though many of the photographs I took were just too washed out by the sunlight, which was directed right on the birds from a tough angle. This is one thing that makes the East Dike a tough one for the photographer in me, in that it goes directly north-south, and this time of year the sun doesn’t rise very high up even during midday. Having gotten my fill of the Ibis, I continued south to a point about 0.5 miles north of the limit of the East Dike. As I was walking, I spotted a number of birds moving through one isolate tree on the west side of the shoulder. As I neared, I realized they were all Eastern Bluebirds, about 15-20 of them! Bluebirds are another common bird in the southern half of the city, and at First Landing State Park for that matter, but much more so in the winter time throughout. As I watched these birds moving about in the tree, I happened to look to the other side of the trail, being the easterly side closest to the dunes. Here, in a shorter shrub/tree, a single bird was perched, and as I raised up my binoculars, my jaw dropped and my heart almost stopped! The bird had a strong black bill, a dark olive back, and very yellow underparts, distinctive features of one of the western Kingbird species! Just a week ago, I found out about the Rarity Roundup that will be taking place in Virginia Beach on November 14th, so I happened to have looked at these birds just the day before in my field guides, having recalled that Keith & Karen Roberts had spotted a western species Kingbird last year during the Caracara madness around Thanksgiving. As I frantically raised my camera, though it felt like slow-motion to me at the time, I tried to take in as many field marks as I could on the bird. I knew that it was either a Western, Tropical, or Couch’s Kingbird, but wasn’t sure of what could be used to distinguish. Thankfully, as it floated up into the air and flew westward, I furiously took a few in-flight shots, and these would prove the key to the identity when I got home.

No hike at Back Bay is complete without at least one Eastern Cottonmouth sighting!

Against my normal habits, I turned on my cell phone, and sent out a notice on the Virginia Listserver, as well as a photo to the HRWE group on Facebook after using the phone to photograph my camera’s LCD screen. The in-flight shots showed a diagnostic white edge to the sides of the tail feathers, so had I not gotten those shots, I’d likely have had to settle for it being just one of several rare species for the area. But thankfully, I was able to identify it properly to species, making this Western Kingbird my #202 on the year here in Virginia Beach! What makes this sighting such a neat one for me is that it was the first of its kind reported in 2015 in the entire state of Virginia! It likely won’t be the last, as November is ripe for western vagrants like this to show up, especially in the more agricultural areas of the Eastern Shore, but for now, it is the only sighting this year. And this is why I always love to walk to the East Dike to close out its season, one never knows what one will find! I waited around for a half hour or so nearby, hoping the bird would return but after its initial flight westward out into the A-Pool, I never did get another sighting. I did still want to walk the rest of the dike, and did so quickly, seeing a rather large Eastern Cottonmouth on the way, and my first Dark-eyed Juncos at the park this season before I touched the False Cape State Park sign and headed back north. The ibis flock was still at it, and the sun was a bit better on the way north so I took some more photographs, with some actually coming out pretty well. Walking north I had a few flocks of Common Grackles pass overhead, and I scanned them hoping for a Yellow-headed Blackbird but no luck there. The Yellow-heads are another western vagrant that shows up here in late fall, though I’m not sure of what the reasons are, there seems to be a number of species that come to be expected this time of year in very low numbers. That is what the Rarities Roundup on the 14th will be built around, so I’m looking very forward to that.

One of a pair of Dunlin sighted along the East Dike, in very atypical habitat from their normal beach scenery.

I again passed the injured Dunlin, which had been joined by a second Dunlin, the latter appearing quite healthy so I had no qualms about taking a few photographs of it. I did feel bad though knowing that the second bird was obviously there to try to assist the first, and perhaps it stayed with it throughout the rest of the day, though I had to keep onward north. I did head down the Dune Trail to the beach, and walked up to view the North Mile section before heading back over the Seaside Trail to the parking area. On the beach, a number of Royal Terns were seen, as well as the common winter gulls (Herring, Ring-billed, Lesser Black-backed & Great Black-backed). Brown Pelicans were also seen, though no Northern Gannets, Mergansers, or either species of Loons were found this outing. Soon enough though they’ll all be here in massive numbers. When I reached the parking area, a pair of Bald Eagles zoomed overhead, fighting in mid-air with talons towards one another as they sped past on several flybys! My photographs did absolutely no justice to this aerial maneuver, though it was an incredible sight to get to see in person. Walking behind the visitor contact station again yielded more sparrows, and as I walked around the small pond onto the boardwalks, I passed a pair of birders, before running right into a Yellow-billed Cuckoo sitting out in the open! I called to the birders to get them on the bird since they had walked right past it given their direction of travel didn’t afford them the same view mine did. We all photographed the bird, which is here notably late in the season, though the Gold Book lists only extreme dates for Cuckoos as opposed to average dates. Their extreme date is listed as 10 Nov, so still within that constraint, though probably one of very few individuals still this far north I suspect. After parting ways with the Cuckoo, I ran into another birder as I turned onto the Bay Trail (initially thinking it was Tim Fearington when I saw the 500mm lens approaching). As it were though, the man introduced himself as David Knopp, a peninsula birder, who miraculously was actually aware of who I was, and reads my blog! It is always good to hear from someone that the things I take time to note are actually looked at by others. David had seen some kinglets along the trail, and a Towhee as well, and on a regular day I’d probably have tried harder to locate the kinglets for a photograph, but after about 8 miles of walking, I opted to head back to the car and call it a day. Plus, I was anxious to get home and figure out what type of kingbird I had, and to get some photographs posted to eBird and my site of it since I knew it was a special bird! A great end, to a great season at Back Bay that afforded me 164 species of birds at the park this year alone! I will likely still spend plenty of time around the parking lots and the beach through November and December, but I’ll miss those long walks towards False Cape State Park on the dikes!

Another late-in-the-season sighting, this Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found on the Bayside Trail boardwalk at Back Bay. Easily my best view of one this year, and amazing that it occurred on 31 Oct!

Week Ending October 25, 2015

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The days continue to get shorter, but despite this, the birding continued to produce good results in Virginia Beach this week, though markedly less than the absurdity of two weeks ago. The weather took a nose dive last weekend, but it rose back into the 70s by mid-week, continuing to be warm through the end of the week. Some late fall migrants, like Palm Warblers, continue to trickle through the area on their southward journeys. Some will try to stay the winter, but most will end up far south of us. Wintering species continue to arrive, and this week saw the first Hermit Thrush (me & my mother at Pleasure House Point on Friday) and Great Cormorant (Ellison Orcutt on Saturday at the first island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel). Waterfowl species are being increasingly reported and this will only continue in the coming weeks as the changeover from small songbirds, to the larger, more durable ducks and geese completes. Nelson’s Sparrows are continuing to be found at Pleasure House Point, just like last year this time, for those interested in pursuing the birds. Bob Ake had some neat birds on one of his Back Bay NWR surveys, noting a White-winged Dove (only one this year here so far), a late Green Heron, late Bobolinks & Prairie Warblers, and even a Winter Wren (which I believe is only the second of the season reported). Marsh Wrens continue to be observed at both Back Bay NWR and at Pleasure House Point Natural Area. Up on the CBBT, another Lincoln’s Sparrow, though possibly the same one that was there a few weeks ago, was sighted by Ellison Orcutt. American Bitterns have been reported at both Back Bay NWR and Pleasure House Point, and a Tricolored Heron was even reported from Back Bay NWR, though it seems very late to still be seeing them & I haven’t seen a documented photo of the bird. Jim Marcum spotted a Nashville Warbler at Princess Anne WMA’s Whitehurst Tract, making it one of only 4 or 5 such sightings this fall season in Virginia Beach. The Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory’s (CVWO) seawatch program at Rudee Inlet continues to turn up both waterfowl and shorebirds. Tracy Tate performs this survey at 1 hour intervals from 7-10 AM on Thursdays. Last year, Frank Fogarty ran this seawatch and I believe Tracy assisted throughout the season. Scoters (Black & Surf), and Loons (Common & Red-throated) were all observed in low numbers. Gulls and Terns also continue in good numbers, with Bonaparte’s Gull being logged as well. Those should rise in number in the coming weeks, while the Laughing Gulls should drop back to zero as they disappear from the region for the winter months.

One of three Marsh Wrens that my mother & I got to view at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge!

As for my own outings around the area this week, I first got out on Wednesday evening after work, when I headed up to Pleasure House Point Natural Area. With a fairly low tide level, I was excited to see what the sandbars and mudflats might be holding. As is customary on my evening outings at the park, I started on Marlin Bay Drive, walking the shoreline trail eastwards so the setting sun was at my back. This time of year, the angle of light in the mornings and evenings makes for very tough wildlife photography though. On the eastward journey, I spotted four Northern Shovelers out on the creek, the first wintering waterfowl I’ve seen so far this season at the park! Also, I found one Nelson’s Sparrow near the drain outlet that I’ve been seeing them near, but I wasn’t able to pull off a photograph, and sadly couldn’t get the bird to come back up into view. A very quiet walk, almost nothing was in motion though I found Swamp Sparrows and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers inland of the creek. On the main point, just east of the new pier, I heard a Marsh Wren then sighted it bumbling along the ground. It didn’t behave quite as hyperactive as the ones I’ve seen at Back Bay, but I’m hoping perhaps it was just a hatch year bird and this might be why. I’d hate to think it might have been injured. It did hop out of sight eventually, so hopefully it was alright, but I grabbed some close shots while it was in view just a few feet away to document the observation, this being my first Marsh Wren at the park. Plenty of gulls, terns, cormorants and even pelicans were seen out on the sandbars, with Black Skimmers mixed in for good measure. The pond at Dinwiddie Drive still has yet to have any waterfowl on it, and I’m anxiously awaiting the return of the Gadwalls that will winter here in good numbers, providing plenty of photo opportunities soon enough. On my walk westward, I spooked another Marsh Wren near the deer carcass pond’s marshy edges, but that was essentially it, and I headed home as the sun went down, now around 6:15 PM sadly.

One of many, many Yellow-rumped Warblers seen at Back Bay!

On Thursday morning, my mother flew into town for a visit (she lives southeast of Chicago), and because of this I had taken a vacation day from work for Friday. With the day off, I took her down to Back Bay to see the sunrise over the ocean, something that is a bit tough to do in the Midwest. We arrived at the park around 7:25 AM after getting several nice looks at the sun coming up through the dunes between the Little Island Park pier lot and the entry to Back Bay. When we arrived at the parking area, I grabbed “my” spot next to the base of the Bay Trail, and we set off down it. With the sharp drop in temperatures last week, it seems all the biting bugs have really dissipated. I haven’t even been wearing bug spray these past few outings, and haven’t gotten any bites, or any ticks either; a wonderful time to be outdoors. Walking the trail westward, we had tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting through the shrubbery next to the trail, and they made for a tough morning of trying to separate any other species out. Before we could reach the connector boardwalk to the Bayside Trail, my mom spotted a pair of White-tailed Deer that moved out onto the trail a hundred or so feet further west. We watched them for a few minutes, moving up to the first ‘bridge’ to get a better view. She loves seeing deer, and though I’ve seen hundreds, if not thousands of them in my lifetime, I still relish every single sighting. When we lived in Ely, Minnesota when I was just a youngster, we used to have them in the yard all winter long. So perhaps every time I see them, it helps to remind me of my youth. While we stood watching the pair, I heard some Marsh Wrens making a raucous nearby, so we moved over to try and spot them. In the same spot that Steve Coari & I had seen them the previous week, we got good views of at least 3 different wrens as they hopped around through the thick reeds and cattails adjacent to the connector boardwalk.

A very vocal Gray Catbird seen along the entry road at Back Bay!

Having just added these to my Virginia life list last week, I was very excited to get to see them again so soon, they’re quickly becoming a favorite of mine since they just seem to have so much personality in their movements and sounds. Nearby, we also saw some Common Yellowthroats, and a few Swamp Sparrows moving through the reeds as well. Song Sparrows were found in increasing numbers too, many of which were seen feeding on the trail edges. Red-winged Blackbirds in drab plumage were moving through the reeds also, making for nice viewing and a good backdrop for photographs. Surprisingly, the remainder of the Bay Trail westward proved to be very quiet. No herons, kingfishers, or waterfowl could be found. Soon enough though, the large expanses of the bay should be covered in ducks and geese. We walked back to the parking area, then headed behind the visitor contact station, picking up a single House Wren in the process. I always say this is one of those species that I have a tough time finding, since most people who observe them do so on backyard feeders, of which I have none. We didn’t find any Eastern Phoebes this time, which put an end to my streak of at least 3 outings in a row yielding these tail-bobbers. From this area we walked west on the connector trail behind the small pond. Here we spotted a Merlin up in the largest tree behind the visitor center, but it didn’t allow me to get into a better spot with the sunlight for a photograph before it flew off. I was able to get “ID worthy” photographs, to verify the species, but nothing to write home about. Heading back again toward the visitor center we checked out the Bayside Trail, keeping the sun behind us on the first pass, then walked along the bay towards the Kuralt Trail.

First of season Hermit Thrush observed at Pleasure House Point!

Just after passing the pier, an American Bittern flew by over the bay a couple hundred feet out. We watched it descend slowly, and it appeared to have landed in the bay that the Kuralt Trail overlooks, so we quietly walked the trail in the hopes of getting a better view of the bird. Perhaps it was just hidden, but we could not find the bird when we arrived at the northern trail end. Several Raccoons had laid out trails of footprints on the morning dew of the trail, so at least that was amusing to see, and my mom spotted deer tracks heading south as well. The area around parking lot for the kayak launch proved to be quiet this outing, with only the Marsh Rabbit being present, and a couple Northern Cardinals. Definitely no Worm-eating Warblers or Larks Sparrows like I was treated too back in September one Saturday morning. Over near the kayak launch, we ran into Jim Marcum who had just arrived to the park. I mentioned the Marsh Wrens and pointed him in their direction since he said they were a bird he was still looking for this year, and from his later eBird report, he was able to re-locate them. We opted not to head down to the beach this time and instead headed out of the park, finding some Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrasher, and Northern Mockingbirds along the entry road’s shrubbery. The ditches were all at max capacity, so no shorebirds were lingering here, and no rails could be seen either. A few Tree Swallows were seen as we exited the park, but no massive blobs of them were around, which is a bit atypical this time of year, though perhaps they were present further out in the marsh and I just missed them with my binocular scans.

A striking adult Blue Jay sits high up in the bare trees at Pleasure House Point!

After leaving Sandbridge, I took my mom on a driving tour of southern Virginia Beach. We went down New Bridge, Charity Neck, Morris Neck, and Princess Anne Roads before arriving at Pungo Ferry Road. We spotted a couple of Northern Harriers cruising low above the farmfields on Morris Neck Road, and it was good to see many of the fields have now been harvested and can make for better viewing of wildlife. We drove across the Pungo Ferry Bridge, and took in the expansive views to the north and south, one of my favorite views in all of Virginia Beach in fact. At Blackwater Road we went south, past Milldam Creek’s boardwalk, and then down West Gibbs Road towards North Carolina, though turning onto Crag’s Causeway before reaching the state line. On Crag’s Causeway, we spotted several large gatherings of starlings/grackles/blackbirds, and we also found a Red-tailed Hawk in the area I’d seen the Wild Turkeys a few weeks back. Crossing over the tributary of Milldam Creek that goes under Crag’s Causeway we had thousands of murmids fly over us. We stopped on the bridge and put the windows down; the sound was almost deafening as the whole flock moved upstream over the course of a minute or more. I scanned the flock as best I could hoping to spot a Yellow-headed Blackbird, but every bird I saw was a Common Grackle. Thinking we might be able to catch them further upstream on a farmfield where I could better scan them with binoculars, we turned west onto Indian Creek Road, but before we could go far, I spotted a hawk clearing the tree line. I stopped immediately and got the binoculars on it from the driver’s seat, and the red streaking on the under body showed immediately that it was a Red-shouldered Hawk! I have spent the last 9.75 months looking for one of these magnificent raptors in Virginia Beach, always being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this time, there it was, a new county lifer for me, #201 for my yearly county list, and a great bird all around to get to see with my mom. She reads my blog every week, so I know she knew just how excited I was to finally get eyes on one, and I did manage a couple poor quality photographs through the trees, again from the driver’s seat of my car. The photos clearly show the tail patterning and coloring across the body that make it an adult Red-shouldered as opposed to any other species of buteo. Like with the murmid flock, I thought perhaps if I continued driving, that we might be able to re-locate the bird on the other side of the forested area, but in both cases we couldn’t find either species again. So, we headed up north past the pond on Blackwater Road near Fentress, noting that no Anhinga could be seen from the road, then crossed over the North Landing River, drove down Indian River Road to Independence, and shot up to Shore Drive to visit Pleasure House Point.

The majestic Black Bear we saw in Shenandoah National Park on Saturday morning!

Arriving there about 11 AM, we parked near Loch Haven Park on Dinwiddie Drive and went towards the sandbars. Fortunately this time there was no injured Herring Gull anywhere to be found, so I was spared that sadness this time. The flats were coated in gulls and terns, with American Oystercatchers and Black Skimmers being present in the groups, and Laughing Gulls numbering in the hundreds. A single Osprey and Great Blue Heron were also out there, two birds not seen in that spot very often, though common around the rest of the park. A student field trip must have been planned, as lots of kids were out near the beach on the main point making quite the noise. Also further west, a second group was out in the marshes walking around, not sure what they were doing exactly, other than irritating the resident wildlife at least. With all the commotion, I didn’t see any Nelson’s Sparrows, and they were likely hiding down low in the reeds near the low tide line. It is always easiest to spot these birds during high tide when their available hiding places decrease drastically. Walking west across the park, we didn’t note any Yellow-crowned Night-Herons, so I believe the cold snap of last weekend may have been the final straw for them. They haven’t been reported at the park since 18 Oct, a bit earlier departure than last year’s 30 Oct date. We’ll see if anyone else reports them moving forward though. On the smaller of the two main ponds, a single Sea Nettle jellyfish was found, and I feel like this has to be quite late for this species to be seen. It must have been pushed into the pond during a high tide event, and just hasn’t been able to get back out to the creek since. On the larger pond, one American Black Duck was seen swimming around the northern water’s, this being the first waterfowl I’ve seen using the pond for the fall. Soon enough though, Hooded Mergansers and Buffleheads should become common here. Some of the vegetation at the park has now started to change color, and I did get some nice shots of the yellow/orange/reds mixing with the greens. Walking back east along the western edge of the main pond we spooked a pair of thrushes from the ground, and they turned out to be Hermits, though I was hoping for Gray-cheeked or Swainson’s to add to my yearly list. I was excited though to find these as they were first of season (FOS) birds for me, and the county in general according to eBird. The remainder of the eastward walk was pretty quiet, though I got a nice shot of a Blue Jay. We walked the new bike path, or Marlin Bay ‘extended’ as it is known, back to Loch Haven Park. From Pleasure House Point, we went over to Taste Unlimited for lunch, which has become my mom’s favorite stop on her visits to the area. Amazingly, it was warm enough to still be sitting outside to eat, even at the end of October. It can be hard to beat the weather here when it cooperates!

Fall foliage was quite breathtaking at Twenty Minute Cliff in Nelson County!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent packing up for the weekend, and then in the evening we picked up Ruth from downtown Norfolk and headed straight out to Staunton, Virginia! The primary purpose for going out to Staunton was to give us a staging point to be able to drive the Skyline Drive or the Blue Ridge Parkway, depending on which direction afforded the best of the fall foliage in the mountains. Every year I try to get out at least one weekend to the higher elevations in Virginia & North Carolina, though I wish I had the time to go every week; it never disappoints. Before sunrise, we had all made it to the car and were up at Afton Mountain. I figured that it would make sense to head up into Shenandoah, and if it wasn’t good in terms of the colors there, we could always go south on the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the gatehouse, the park ranger told us the southern part of the park was the best, and that Wednesday was the peak in the middle of the park. The central portion is where Big Meadows and Stony Man Peak area, and that was the prime area I wanted to reach, but as we drove north it seemed the colors died down quickly, so we didn’t get but halfway to those areas before turning around. Yellows were the most vivid, with some areas of orange and red, but the further north, and higher elevation you went, the more trees were completely empty of leaves. We did at least get to see two sets of White-tailed Deer on the roadsides, three in one group and two additional thereafter. The sun wasn’t up quite high enough to give me good lighting for a photo, though we got great looks from the car as we slowly passed by them.

Water is still flowing quite well over Crabtree Falls near Montebello, VA!

Driving back south towards the gatehouse we drive past a pair of people standing on the shoulder. Ruth & I both realized quickly that they were staring at a Black Bear! We quickly pulled off the road and hopped out, hoping to get a good look at it. All three of us spotted it before it moved out of view along the ridge. We walked a nearby trail, hoping to cut it off, but couldn’t see it. On our way back to the car though I tried one more time to walk out into the woods, this time, spotting the bear, not too far off. I waved Ruth over, and my mom came up a couple minutes later. The Black Bear, a rather large one, was laying down near a tree and appeared to be either licking up ants, or hunting for grubs in the bark. We watched it for at least 15 minutes, and I took many photos through the thick vegetation of the hillside before it wandered off slowly downhill and out of view. I have seen a few bears in the wild before, all in Minnesota, so seeing one here in Virginia was a first for me, though they are not uncommon in the mountains, or even the Dismal Swamp for that matter. It was still an incredible thing to witness though, and I’m really glad that my mom & Ruth were there to see this one with me. It always makes it more exciting when someone that’s never been around them gets to be there, this being the first one in the wild Ruth has encountered (aside from our highway viewing of a yearling in Wisconsin this summer). So with the bear sighting behind us, I couldn’t imagine what could ever top that, though I was still intently watching the roadsides for Wild Turkeys and Ruffed Grouse, the latter being a species I’ve never seen in Virginia, though I did find one a couple years ago on the Blue Ridge further south in North Carolina. Exiting the park and continuing southward towards Montebello, we were treated to much better colors since we were both further south, and in lower elevation forests, that hit peak color a bit later than those in Shenandoah. Twenty Minute Cliff was beautiful as always, and the Humpback Rocks area was also very colorful. We stopped for lunch in Montebello at the trading post, enjoying what may have been the most flavorful barbecue that I’ve ever eaten.

This particular tree stood out to me as the most vibrant orange foliage along the Blue Ridge!

We watched families fishing in the trout pond across the street, and then continued down along the Crabtree Falls Highway eastward. I wanted to stop in at the trout hatchery nearby to show my mom, but upon doing so, it appeared the area was now off limits to the public so we had to skip this. We stopped next at Crabtree Falls, thinking we could at least see the lower falls area. Parking was a mess, as this is the most popular place to hike in the mountains. My mom & I hopped out and were going to see the falls while Ruth waited in the car since no spots were available, but moments after we jumped out, a space opened up right at the top of the lot and Ruth grabbed it quickly. Because of this, we were all able to get out for the walk. The hike up the mountainside is 1.7 miles to the top of the falls, but the cascade continues along the entire route and my mom made it about to the 0.7 mile mark up, where the creeks starts the lower falls area. Ruth & I hiked up to the very top, along with what seemed like a thousand other people. The forest was beautiful in this area, with lots of yellows, and one particular tree that held the most vivid orange I’d seen all day. Upon return to the car, we drove the rest of the way to Roseland, grabbing a couple pumpkins from a farm that looked back on the mountains. Driving north through the Rockfish Valley we also grabbed some apples from a roadside farm, then drove in to Charlottesville to see the downtown mall area, and one of the projects (McIntire Road interchange) that I had worked on the design of at my job. On our way back towards Staunton, I swung by the cold-water, Loth Springs in Waynesboro where the Purple Gallinule was found in the early summer of 2014 just to show Ruth & my mom what the springs look like. Some sparrows were seen, but the birds were not the focus for the day, and I actually didn’t photograph a single one in the mountains. Arriving back in Staunton around 6 PM, we grabbed dinner at a Chili’s and were all asleep pretty early. Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast downstairs, and amusingly, Lisa Rose walked into the room and said hello. I ran into Lisa the previous week down at Back Bay, a more predictable place to see her since she’s a birder from Virginia Beach, but seeing each other all the way out in Staunton was quite a surprise! After breakfast, we headed back to the beach and relaxed the remainder of the day to close out the week. One new bird made the list this week though, which was more than I expected as we head into the time of year where it is increasingly difficult to find new birds since most of the winter birds were already seen back in January, February and March. Perhaps some rarities will find their way here soon though, as there is a couple species I missed on earlier in the year. 

The lower portion of Crabtree Falls set against the fall foliage of the Blue Ridge!

Week Ending October 18, 2015

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While last week will easily go down as the most exciting week of migration in 2015, this week still managed to hold some great birds, though noticeably less volume. As the week progressed, the temperatures dropped considerable, with highs only in the low-to-mid 50s (F) by Sunday. This was the first week where I actually had to put on some cold weather gear for my birding ventures, donning my green fleece long-sleeve shirt that I’ll now wear through the spring-time. So far, I can still get by with my Carhartt baseball cap instead of a knit one but I’m sure that transition will be made pretty soon as well. With the vast majority of warblers having moved through the previous week, I hadn’t expected a whole ton of interesting sightings, but, there was still reports this week of Magnolias, Blackpolls, Palms (many observers), a Hooded Warbler (Bob McAlpine), a Wilson’s Warbler (Lisa Rose), and even a Tennessee Warbler (Stephen Coari) down at Back Bay NWR. Prairie Warblers continue to linger around the park as well, though they are beyond their expected average date of departure by Gold Book standards. Orange-crowned Warblers were being sighted for the first time, as they’re one of our winter species, along with the Yellow-rumped Warblers that have now descended on Virginia Beach in huge masses, making it difficult to pick out the other species since you are forced to cycle through hundreds of points of movement in the trees. A Black-throated Green Warbler and a Gray-cheeked Thrush were also seen at Lake Tecumseh by Timothy Barry, both of which are likely the last ones that will be sighted this season. Many of our winter residents have now begun to show up, with Golden-crowned & Ruby-crowned Kinglets being two of the favorites. In addition, Swamp Sparrows (many sightings at many locations this week), White-throated Sparrows (Jim Marcum at Back Bay) and the Nelson’s Sparrows of Pleasure House Point have returned, and quite a few reports of Brown Creepers, mainly at Back Bay, were noted as well. The Yellow-crowned Night-Herons haven’t yet departed, and were seen through the weekend at Pleasure House Point. Waterfowl species have also started to show up more and more in the past week, with both Blue & Green-winged Teal being reported, as well as Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, and even some Red-breasted Mergansers. I haven’t yet seen any winter ducks at Kings Grant Lake, but it shouldn’t be too much longer, especially given the change in the temperatures.

A beautiful October sunset at Back Bay NWR on Tuesday evening!

One thing I wanted to start with my blog this week, was providing an area summary of what birds are being seen, and what the conditions have been like. This blog is of course a personal journal for my own outings, but I want there to be at least something in here that everyone local can relate too. The addition of the summary paragraph above should also provide me with a quick reference as to what went on each week when looking back at older blogs, noting what sightings occurred at similar weeks each year. Having said all that, my own outdoor adventures began on Tuesday evening, when I headed down to Back Bay NWR after my work day had come to a close. I had hoped to find some of the warbler species that were still being sighted but it appeared that most were early morning observations, and the warblers just aren’t as active in the evenings. When I arrived at the park around 4:40 PM, I headed right down the Bay Trail in the hopes of spotting some birds. I found that it was extremely quiet, and that all the birds I was finding were Yellow-rumped Warblers. I bumped into Mary Catherine Miguez, who was photographing a young Cottonmouth just down the trail, and after I’d walked the rest of the Bay Trail, ran into her again back in the parking area. We checked out the area east of the kayak launch but to no avail, aside from a few Field Sparrows. I checked out the Kuralt Trail and the shorter trails around the parking lots, finding a Palm Warbler and an Eastern Phoebe in the process, but those proved to be the highlights of the day as far as wildlife went. The sun is now setting at about 6:30 PM, which is proving too early to really get the most out of my after work trips. For once, the hour or so before sunset isn’t even that good because of the angle of the sunlight tending to wash out most animals even when they can be found. On the plus side though, the sunset at Back Bay was absolutely incredible, and for the rest of the month it should continue to be. Of course, once November starts, daylight savings time will come to a close, and the sunset will be around 5:15 PM, preventing me from getting out for any wildlife walks after work aside from a short jaunt on Friday evenings since I leave work about 3 PM.

Snowy Egrets are showing up more and more at Pleasure House Point NA!

Wednesday evening, I again hit the trails after work, this time opting to try out Pleasure House Point, which is usually a better evening spot this time of year than Back Bay NWR. Pleasure House Point is also a closer drive, and even when most songbirds aren’t active, there is typically plenty to see and photograph given the number & variety of wading birds, shorebirds, and larids (gulls/terns) that are present year-round. With the sun now setting so early, I started at the west end of the park, walking eastward first so as to keep the fading light behind me. My main focus was to find the Nelson’s Sparrows that are now returning to the area, as Jason Strickland had found one last Saturday here. Fortunately, it didn’t take me too long, and before I reached the main point I had found one, species #199 on the year in Virginia Beach! I got a few not-so-good shots of them, but I did find about 5 in total, and the photographs were good enough to glean an accurate identity from at least. Continuing to walk, I’d hoped to come across a Red-shouldered Hawk, or something else unexpected to finally hit that 200th species, and thereby fulfill the goal I have had all year. However, this just wasn’t the night for it, and though I was entertained by huge numbers of gulls, and a massive flying ball of Black Skimmers, I didn’t find anything that was new to my list. Songbirds proved impossible to find, as a pretty strong northerly wind made for tough conditions for any smaller birds. So I walked the park out and back, and then headed home for the evening, at least with the chance to celebrate a new species in the Nelson’s Sparrows! Since Wednesday proved to be a pretty good outing, or one that at least provided a new bird, I tried Pleasure House Point again on Thursday evening after work. The winds continued, as did fairly high water levels. Birds were even tougher to find unfortunately, and my best find of the day was a Savannah Sparrow along the shoreline that I thought for a moment could be a Seaside Sparrow. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at least provided some nice shots, and I’m glad to see them still around, it shouldn’t be more than a week or so and they’ll be gone for the winter.

An Eastern Gray Squirrel that appears to have bit off more than it can chew! 

Friday evening we had an overcast and rainy night, so I gave up on the hopes of getting out into the woods. But, when Saturday morning arrived, I headed straight down to Back Bay NWR again for a second weekly outing. I arrived a bit later than I had been earlier this month, mainly because the sun is now coming up later as well, though still was on the trail at about 7:25 AM. I parked in what has now become my ‘usual spot’ nearest the base of the Bay Trail, and headed out, finding a few Carolina Chickadees almost instantly. The Chickadees tend to have other birds with them most of the time, but these did not, so I continued west. Movement was occurring all along the trail, but it was about 99% Yellow-rumped Warblers, and by the end of the morning I had to have seen a couple hundred of them. Of course, it is great to see them, but, it makes picking out that 1 bird that is different all the more difficult. At the west end of the trail I picked up a single Sharp-shinned Hawk that had perched on the large dead tree at the south side, where the Robins and Orioles were gathering earlier in the month and in September. Kingishers were heard, but no songbirds outside of the Yellow-rumps were found on the Bay Trail unfortunately. I walked it back towards the car, and then went north towards the Kuralt Trail, finding another Eastern Phoebe behind the visitor contact station. In the parking area, I spotted Lisa Rose & Steve Coari, so I stopped over to say hi and chat for a few minutes before we all went off in different directions. I checked out the foliage line next to the parking area, but to no avail, so decided to give the Bayside Trail a chance. The previous weekend, Ruth & I had spotted something that might have been a wren or a sparrow, but it disappeared too quickly into the thick marsh reeds. So on this trip out, I paid close attention as I neared that point, and to my utter disbelief, I could hear the sounds of a small birding moving around. I watched intently as the bird slowly popped out into the open, clinging to the reeds with both legs, a Marsh Wren!!

My out-of-focus shot of a Marsh Wren, a very important bird to my county Big Year, as you will read about momentarily.

If you’ve followed my blog throughout the year, you’ll know that I saw my very first Marsh Wrens a few months ago at Mackay Island NWR just across the border from Virginia Beach in Currituck County, North Carolina. That time I was with Karen & Tom Beatty, and we heard them calling before we eventually saw them flush. At the time, I recall being almost bummed out that they were south of the Virginia Beach line, as if boundaries really make any real difference when birding. However, my goal was to get 200 species within Virginia Beach this year….and this bird at Back Bay NWR brought that goal to fruition! Marsh Wren, #200! Or so I believe at this point, hopefully none of my earlier records can be debunked, but the nice thing is, I have photographs of 199 species, with only the Northern Bobwhites escaping my camera this year, even though I have seen them on 2 occasions now, and heard them on 3 other outings. So as I am extremely excited to have reached my goal, I’d still like to get a couple more birds, just to ensure that at year’s end when I have some more knowledgeable birders review my numbers, that I stay above the 200 mark. So, with guarded enthusiasm, I say, I did it! I saw my 200th species in Virginia Beach in a single year! Now, I’ll have to see what else I can find before the year’s end. The species remaining that I’m seeing as potentials are Red-shouldered Hawk (it is amazing that I haven’t found one yet!), Winter Wren, Sedge Wren, Saltmarsh & Seaside Sparrows, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, Cackling Goose, Mute Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, King Eider, Harlequin Duck, and a few others that get increasingly less likely. Of course, anything can happen in the world of birds though, and that is why it is so exciting. Unlike other animals, birds have wings…they can show up anywhere at any time, though there are certainly times & places where they are expected, versus not expected.

Sightings of butterflies and moths should be coming to a close soon, so this Monarch was a true surprise! It can be easily identified from the similar Viceroys by the weblike, black patterning on the lower body.

After I pulled off a couple of poor photographs of the Marsh Wren, I continued around the boardwalks, where I again ran into Steve Coari. I told him about my sighting and I’m sure he could tell just how excited I was. While we were chatting, the same small bird sound appeared, and to my utter astonishment, another Marsh Wren came out into the open, just feet away from us. We both froze and then tried to photograph it, for the next 20 minutes as it weaved its way through the thick cattails and grasses of the marsh. Eventually I did get some nicer shots of this bird than the first one, but still out of focus. Even out of focus though, their markings are distinctive among wrens. What was most awesome about this second encounter, was being able to hear their little chatter (or rattle) calls as they moved about, hidden from view. Since this is a species I’ve never spent time with, the chance to really observe and hear them made for a fantastic opportunity! Additionally, I instantly felt the pressure of “having” to reach 200 species lifted off me, and I think not being a slave to the number anymore might also have enhanced the remainder of the outing. I’m not sure if Steve managed to get any shots of the Marsh Wrens, but after returning home, he posted a photograph of an Orange-crowned Warbler…which upon further investigation by Frank Fogarty turned out to actually be a Tennessee Warbler! A fantastic find for our region, and one that I’ve never seen before. So it seemed even with all the Yellow-rumps moving around, he was able to find the 1 bird that was different, and I surely was excited to see it. That meant that perhaps the fall migration is 100% done yet, and maybe there is a couple more surprises out there waiting to be seen before the window closes for good. Throughout the rest of my time at Back Bay, I checked out the beach, seeing some Sanderlings, a few gulls and terns, and Brown Pelicans, and then returned to the visitor center area where I found a Swamp Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, and more Yellow-rumps. I headed off from the park around 9:30 AM, since I had to meet some folks in Norfolk at 11:30 AM at the Fall Wine Festival and to see Ruth since she was going to be working it all weekend, and had actually left before I did in the morning to start.

Somehow I snuck up on this Northern Flicker, and got arguably my best photographs of one ever!

Sunday, I followed up the successful Back Bay outing by heading up to Pleasure House Point for the 3rd time on the week. I was hoping for a Saltmarsh or Seaside Sparrow, and still that Red-shouldered Hawk that has evaded me thus far. Since I was up there in the morning hours, I parked off Dinwiddie Drive, walking the park east to west in order to keep the sunlight behind me on the first trip across the park. Why do I do this? Well, I feel that my first trip across the park is the one where my eyes pick up the most wildlife, and I want the conditions to be perfect for it so I don’t scare anything off with the favorable sunlight. Keeping the sunlight behind me is important also because it allows me to see clearly ahead, and it prevents forward birds from seeing me very well. So a double-edged sword, if you will. As I got out of the car, gulls had exploded into the air by the hundreds. I looked around quickly and spotted the culprit, a juvenile Bald Eagle that had flown across the sky, frightening all the other birds into the air. Black Skimmers were among the gulls, in numbers probably close to 100 or more. I walked around the main point of the park, and snuck up on a pair of birders who were intently watching marsh sparrows through their binoculars: Karen & Tom Beatty. It seemed that the Nelson’s Sparrows I had seen on Wednesday were again present, but in even better number this time, with at least 5 being seen at this single location, possibly as many as 7. I chatted with Karen & Tom for a while, and we walked together westward for a little bit, hearing & seeing a Killdeer in the process, and 3 other shorebirds in flight that were unidentifiable. Additionally, we caught a Northern Mockingbird in a nearby shrub across a ditch, and saw some Ospreys overhead.

I am unsure of the species seen here, but, it is nice to see some flowers blooming in Virginia Beach, knowing full well that the winter is now coming soon!

When I’d moved ahead of the birding pair, I cut inland and spotted a Cooper’s Hawk working a grassy meadow off the main trail. Continuing west, I passed the ‘deer carcass pond’ and spotted some movement in the nearby shrubbery that sat right up against the saltmarsh. After intently watching for a few minutes, a small wren came darting out of the thick foliage, but paused only long enough for me to catch some rudimentary details. I thought at the time that it was perhaps a Winter Wren, or a Sedge Wren, but after arriving home and going through field guides, I think it is more likely that it was a House Wren. Though, from a split second viewing, it is impossible to say for certain. Either of the first two species would be a new year bird for me, and so of course my mind would try to rationalize those sightings over the House Wren that I’ve already seen. This is a big reason why I like to photograph everything I see, so that it isn’t left up to personal impression, and I have a proven set of documentation when it comes to the species I encounter. The ears and eyes can play tricks, but a firm photographs, does not. Of course, photographs aren’t always possible, and poor shots can be as tricky to ID as a poor look, so this method is only truly verifiable with high quality shots. The remainder of the westward hike, I’d hoped to spot some flocks of waterfowl, but never came upon any. While still walking with Karen & Tom, we had run into a birder that had seen a flock of Green-winged Teal passing by, which got me excited for the idea, but it never panned out. He had also seen both Ruby & Golden-crowned Kinglets, neither of which I was able to see on the outing. Looking back at eBird reports I believe this fellow was the one who doesn’t use his full name on eBird, but instead goes under the simplified name of “Swiader” only. Heading west to east, I passed Karen & Tom again, on a couple occasions, noting that the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were still around, which was a bird Karen wanted to see so she could add to her monthly list. In addition to the Yellow-crowns, they spotted a single juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron that I believe I missed altogether on the second largest pond. This species tends to show up more in winter here as the Yellow-crowns are moving southward, and I’ve seen a few over the past couple of weeks, so not a terrible miss.

One of several Eastern Phoebes seen on the week, posing nicely for me at Pleasure House Point on Sunday morning!

After passing the Beattys and walking through the pine forest around the ‘deer carcass pond’ one last time, I found a very polite Eastern Phoebe that allowed me to take a number of shots of it as it worked around the edges of the ‘pond’. I’m not certain, but it seems that more Phoebes are present right now than are typical, and I’m thinking it is because they’ve departed the areas further north where they also nest, and the combination of migrating birds passing through, and those who stay here for winter has magnified their population in Virginia Beach. Of the 50 or so photographs I snapped of this bird, I did get a couple I liked, and they reminded me a bit of the pair that was nesting last year on the house I grew up in, in northern Minnesota. They were a lot of fun to watch as they’d bring food back to their young, and also watch from perches on branches around the house, constantly flicking their tails up and down. With a satisfactory amount of Phoebe photographs, I continued east, and my next bird of interest was a pair of Nelson’s Sparrows that I found near the outfalling culvert near the 90 degree trail bend. This was actually the same spot as I first found them earlier in the week, and I grabbed a lot of photographs as they slowly worked through the marsh reeds. Anyone who has photographed these ‘sharp-tailed’ sparrows knows how frustrating it can be, since they like to hide most of the time, popping up just briefly as they see fit. I am still not certain that the birds are all Nelson’s, but I haven’t gotten a photograph that undeniably shows a Saltmarsh Sparrow. The two species are incredibly similar, and even my different field guides can’t agree on all the ways to differentiate them, so for now, I’m calling them all Nelson’s. Hopefully though, I can pick out a Saltmarsh in the future, and be able to add another species to the ones I can ID properly. The remainder of the hike, I spotted the same birds I’d seen on the way out westward, gulls, terns, and a big grouping of Black Skimmers. Associating with the perched skimmers were a grouping of 8 American Oystercatchers, always a nice sight, though so far out that binoculars were much more useful than the camera. On the way home from the park, I made a quick stop at Kings Grant Lakes to see if any interesting birds could be found. The top bird was a Pied-billed Grebe, the first one I’ve seen on the lakes this season, though it was pretty quiet otherwise. With the weather changing for the colder, it seems Fall migration has pretty much come to a halt, but I’ll get to embrace seeing the wintering birds more and more as they arrive. Hopefully next week the waterfowl will make their main arrival into the area, and perhaps I’ll get to add something new to the list, to truly solidify my number of 200! Also worth noting, since the sun is setting so early now, I will likely only have Friday evening, and Saturday/Sunday outings from now until March. This should make my blogs considerably shorter, but should also allow me more time to build up the other areas of my site, so keep checking around for updates, especially to the Guide!

One of the many 'sharp-tailed' sparrows seen at Pleasure House Point this week. I believe this is a Nelson's Sparrow, but a Saltmarsh Sparrow is not yet out of the question. These birds are TOUGH to tell apart!