Week Ending November 29, 2015

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This week, the headliner was Thanksgiving. With the holiday on Thursday, and most birders (including myself) spending time with family, there was a drop off in sightings from previous weeks. Starting off where last week ended, the Gray Kingbird was seen again on Monday at Magotha Road in Northampton County, Virginia Beach’s neighbor to the north. Several folks included Rexanne Bruno, Giles, Jason Strickland, and Jim Marcum all added their names to the list of observers who managed to see this rarity while it was in town. Monday proved to be the final day for sightings though, and it hasn’t been observed since. As far as Virginia Beach observations go, things were really quiet while I was out of town, which is a swing from this same week last year when the Crested Caracara off Hungarian Road was causing a considerable amount of chaos in the birding community. On Wednesday, both Bob Ake & Rebecca Walawender observed a Razorbill flying along the beach at Back Bay NWR, being the first of the season sighted in the county. This one was mixed in a flock of Black Scoters according to Bob’s post on the Virginia Birding Listserver, so I’ll have to scan these flock as I encounter them moving forward. I’ve yet to see one in Virginia Beach, though they’re sighted commonly in winter offshore, and from the beaches by those with powerful scopes. The CVWO Seawatch at Rudee Inlet turned up the season’s first Common Eider on Thursday morning when Tracy Tate had one inside the inlet during the first hour of the 3-hour watch. Royal Terns continue to be sighted, and 25 Nov is their late date according to the Gold Book. They seem to be staying longer each year, though they definitely still depart the area before the new year begins, arriving back again in mid-March typically. A few Peregrine Falcons were seen, and Nelson’s Sparrows are still being found at Pleasure House Point. I’ve noticed a number of eBirders that seem to be annoyed by Black Skimmers flagging as rarities, and this should be fixed very soon, so hopefully it’ll quiet some folks down since the birds can be found year-round at Pleasure House Point. Interestingly, a few Palm Warblers were seen this week, and though they are said to winter here, I don’t think I’ve seen one this time of year. I primarily spot them during the transient months when their numbers are inflated by passers-by.  

A very beautiful Palm Warbler, one of the more common warblers of the southeastern US in wintertime!

Since it was a holiday week, on Wednesday evening, Ruth & I drove down to visit her sister & nephew in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, arriving just after midnight following a long post-work drive down the I-95 corridor. On Thanksgiving morning, as I’ve done the past few years, I headed out for a long hike so I could feast without feeling too guilty. The past two years we have visited South Carolina, and each visit, I’ve knocked a bit more off of the Swamp Fox Trail that winds its way through the nearby Francis Marion National Forest. Interesting, Francis Marion is the fellow who Mel Gibson’s character in The Patriot was based off of, and he was commonly referred to as The Swamp Fox, hence the trail’s name. I don’t typically see a huge volume of birds along the trail, but I do enjoy the workout, so I headed out for what would become about an 8.5 mile walk around 7 AM. Throughout the walk, I kept my eyes up and used my binoculars as much as I could, using my camera only as a backup, something I’m working more and more towards since the best birders tend to be the ones who take the least miscellaneous photographs, and only use the camera when something documentation-worthy pops up. Heading up Route 17 towards Awendaw, then northwest on Steed Creek Road, I made it to the starting point on Halfway Creek Road. The forest here looks primed for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, as it is inundated with Jackpine stands and is managed by the US Forest Service. While I did see some Northern Flickers, Red-bellied & Pileated Woodpeckers, and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, I never did come across the more endangered Red-cockadeds, so they remain a bird I’ve yet to see in my life. The forest was actually very quiet in the morning, and the air was still. While it was very peaceful, I did miss the thrill of seeing lots of birds like I do in areas I know well back home in Virginia Beach. However, I did find a few neat species along the way. The highlight for me was probably the pair of Blue-headed Vireos seen in the treetops. Surprising a group of 15 or so Wood Ducks on a small rainwater pond along the trail was also a great sighting! Of course, these birds all took off before I could even raise my camera, but I did see them clearly. Nearby, what I believe was a Red-shouldered Hawk could be seen in the trees as well. On the way back to my sister-in-law’s house, I stopped by the Pitt Street Causeway, a birding hotspot in the area, but the high tide was in and birds were scarce.

A close-in shot of a Horned Grebe, showing off their almost devil-like eyes!

On Friday morning, I went out early to a little park in the area called Shem Creek Park. Elevated boardwalks here travel through the tidal saltmarsh and often times afford good wildlife viewing. As with the past couple of years, this site didn’t disappoint, and I quickly started racking up some good species. A Seaside Sparrow and Saltmarsh Sparrow were seen in close to one another in the higher portions of the marsh. The high tide was in here, so many species like Clapper Rail weren’t seen since they tend to be seen out in the open more when the mudflats are exposed and they come out of the reeds to hunt. Common Loons and Horned Grebes were seen on the creek itself, as were Hooded Mergansers. A good size flock of Scaup flew by overhead, but the real highlights were a group of Palm Warblers that came out into the open when I rigorously pished them out. Among them were a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers, the classic winter warbler of the southeastern United States. Other species like Ring-billed, Laughing, and Herring Gulls were also observed, and Double-crested Comorants were seen in the main river offshore in healthy numbers. Brown Pelicans could be seen further out as well. The park provides a really nice view out over the main bay looking towards the city of Charleston and Ft. Sumpter. Two years ago, Ruth & I had a heck of a surprise when a Bottlenose Dolphin put on a show just a few feet off where we were standing. No such luck this time, perhaps they prefer the low tide situation when the fish are funneled into a smaller volume of water. The Horned Grebes were enjoyable finds, diving and popping up pretty close to the boardwalk, much closer than I see them up on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel at least. After walking out and back, I headed home and we spent the rest of the day in the city.

One of the most unique among birds, this is the only bird that can break into a live Oyster shell, the American Oystercatcher!

On Saturday, my nephew got dropped off by his father and spent the day with the three of us. I had done some research on other potential wildlife outings in the area before I arrived, finding one that sounded to be a neat excursion. The Bull’s Island ferry. Leaving from Awendaw, this private ferry takes passengers out to Bull’s island, one of the barrier islands just off the coast a few miles. In between it and the mainland lies the saltmarsh, and the ferry ought to provide some great views of birds there. So the four of us took the 12:30 PM ferry to the island, hiked around for a few hours, and then headed back on the last ferry of the day at 4 PM. En route to the island, we saw a good number of American Oystercatchers, a personal favorite of mine. Horned Grebes, Buffleheads, and Hooded Mergansers were also seen. Surprisingly the Buffleheads flagged as a rarity on eBird, which had me scratching my head a bit since I saw about 40 of them throughout the afternoon. Several Bottlenose Dolphins were seen in the labyrinth of tidal creeks that flowed through the salt marsh, and the boat slowed each time we encountered them. Among the low tide mudflats, Willets, Dunlins, Dowitchers, and Black-bellied Plovers were seen. When we arrived at the island, it had taken about 45 minutes in total to navigate the shallow waters of the saltmarsh. Before we were able to step off the ferry, I noticed a large bird soaring over the island through my binoculars. With a massive bill, and outstretched white and black wings, the bird was recognizable even in shadows as a Wood Stork, a bird I’d never officially seen before, though I wonder if I had seen some in Florida when I was 17 years old when my family visited. Similar to an ibis, but much stronger looking, Wood Storks can be common along the coastline in the southeast though they don’t go much further north up the coast than this area, so I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. As it turned out, this was the only one I’d see on the day, so I’m glad I was the one that spotted it.

One of the rather large American Alligators that was pulled up on the banks of the freshwater marshes on Bull's Island in South Carolina!

After stepping off the boat and onto the island, we walked a little ways down a gravel roadway toward an open field that had a few buildings, including a bathroom. On the way, I pished a few times to get some warblers to come screaming in so Christopher could see them. Palm Warblers, Yellow-rumps, and even some Ruby-crowned Kinglets were the main species that came towards us when I’d make the pishing sounds, they seemed aggravated by it. Given the limited time on the island, we took the Turkey Walk Trail counter-clockwise, wandering through some pretty thick palmetto forest. Along the way, we saw some Eastern Phoebes, but it wasn’t until we crossed the Summerhouse Road and split between two large freshwater impoundments that the wildlife really began to show up. As we got to the first pond, birds scattered off the water and I wasn’t able to see them clearly enough, but figuring them to be Coots or Gallinules. While I was looking around for the birds, Ruth spotted a 7-8 foot long American Alligator on a mudflat out in the pond not far away. We figured we were lucky to see this one, and thought perhaps no one else from the ferry had seen any yet. From there, we walked down a side trail towards an observation platform, but the high water had overtopped the trail and we couldn’t make it to the end. There was no way I was walking through any water here after seeing the gator. When we got back to the Turkey Walk Trail, we continued on, and suddenly American Alligators started running off the trail into the waterways on both sides. There was at least 15-20 of them along the banks, and several more already swimming out in the water. One large gator held firm up on the bank, facing us, so we didn’t want to continue in our direction. Fortunately, some other people were approaching along the trail from the opposite side, and so we backed off, knowing that as they neared, the gator would run forward to escape. Once they’d cleared us a path, we kept walking, though while waiting, I did get some photographs of my very first Common Gallinules, of which there was probably 20-30 moving through the thick marsh vegetation!

My second new life bird of the trip, this is a female Common Gallinule, not showing quite as vibrant coloring as the males, but still a beautiful species!

Along the walk between the ponds, I took a lot of photographs of the gators, and it was amazing to see how well some of them could blend in with the freshwater marsh. Even some of the ones that had pulled themselves onto the bank were tough to see. From this trail, we ended up meeting back up with the Beach Road, after a half mile walk through more palmetto forest, where the mosquitoes were actually pretty bad, keeping us walking at a good pace to avoid them. At the Beach Road, we headed south and met the ocean, where we looked for shells, and Sand Dollars for a little while. Ruth found one that was still alive so we put it back in the water, and Heather finally found one that was almost complete, though Christopher accidentally broke it later in the walk, so it didn’t make it home in one piece. From the beach, it was roughly 1.5 miles back to the ferry, so we started off the walk, finding more alligators on this side of the pond, and many more Common Gallinules as well, bringing the number up to at least 30 of them seen on the day, not bad for a life bird. I tried pishing a few more times, bringing in some White-throated Sparrows, but almost exclusively Yellow-rumped Warblers. One Northern Mockingbird was added near the meadow with the bathrooms. A group of 17 White Ibis was seen out over the tidal marsh just before we reached the ferry, and while awaiting its arrival, I got some nice photographs of a brilliantly colored Savannah Sparrow in the grass while everyone else was oblivious. When we hopped back on the ferry, we had flybys of Buffleheads, and several Snowy & Great Egrets. Even on the trip back, we did good with the birds though the angle of the sun was making it hard to capture most in photos unless they were in the perfect spot. American Oystercatchers were again the highlight, but Willets, Dowitchers, and Plovers were seen as well. Only one dolphin was encountered on the return trip, and it was a brief sighting, though dolphins are tough to photograph, and most shots end up just being of the water’s surface. When we reached the dock, there was some Short-billed Dowitchers feeding alongside in the exposed mudflats, and a Great Blue Heron was also seen, adding to the wading bird count for the day. Next year, I might do the earlier ferry at 9 AM, and explore more of the island, as it seemed like quite a place for wildlife, and the further out I can get away from the casual visitors, the more I’m likely to see.

One of the birds many folks refer to as "little brown jobs". Clearly, when one gets a good look or photo, there is much more than just brown to these sparrows!

Week Ending November 22, 2015

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Last week, the excitement that ran amuck throughout Virginia Beach was centered on the fallout of Franklin’s Gulls that made their way to the coastline in front of a massive Midwestern storm event. This week continued that excitement, as on Monday afternoon, the trio of Todd Day, Matt Anthony and Jason Strickland managed to pick out a Franklin’s on one of the offshore jetties at East Beach in Norfolk! During the Rarity Roundup last Saturday, the teams in the field made use of a texting group (via: GroupMe) to get information relayed back and forth between members. Due to the success of this during the Roundup, the group was continued through Monday, when it was changed to be a “VaRareBirdAlert” text. Prior to the switchup though, Matt Anthony texted out that the Franklin’s was there, and I was able to put a 4th set of eyes on the bird. Only one more sighting occurred during the week, being the next evening up at the first island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel complex by Dave Matson (posted via listserv). As with the previous week, this one held some up and down temperatures, with lows reaching into the upper 30s at night, but high still staying up to 70 degrees F. The Thursday morning Seawatch at Rudee Inlet, sponsored by the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory, continues to show good movements of typical winter arrivals like Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, all three species of Scoters, and a highlight Parasitic Jaeger. On Saturday afternnon, around 3 PM, Ellison Orcutt & Fenton Day discovered a Gray Kingbird (first of year along the East Coast north of North Carolina) along Magotha Road in Northampton County to our north, and thanks to their quick “texting-out” of the bird, several other individuals were able to get on it before the sunset, which is sadly around 4:45-4:50 PM this time of year. Though this wasn’t a Virginia Beach bird, it is most certainly worth noting here due to its close proximity to us birders here. Those that reported it on Saturday (Eli Gross, Ned Brinkley, Katie Rittenhouse, Zach Poulton and Mary & Avery Coker) were joined on Sunday when the bird decided to stick around by Matt Anthony, Nicholas Newberry, Isabel Eaton, Claire Murphy, myself, and Andrew Baldelli. Despite the 40s F temperatures and continuous rainfall, we all got great looks and many photographs of the bird before it went un-found the remainder of the day. To wrap up the local birding, some other neat finds were a single American Woodcock that Ron Furnish found outside his office in Town Center, likely a window-impact though it managed to fly off and out of sight on its own accord. American Bitterns, Nelson’s Sparrows, and Redheads all continue to be nice finds in Virginia Beach, and the Oceantfront’s Peregrine Falcons continue to impress.

A Cooper's Hawk fly in tandem with a Red-tailed Hawk at right!

Unlike the past few weeks, my own birding excursions started abruptly on Monday after Matt Anthony had texted out the location of the Franklin’s Gull at East Beach in Norfolk. Just after 4 PM, I ran out of the office, hopped in the car and was on the way towards East Beach. Of course, traffic on the interstates and secondary roads during rush hour are tough to make good time on, and one never knows how long a bird is going to stay in one place. Fortunately, as I arrived around 4:45 PM, the bird was still visible. I had to run a bit down the beach to get to where Jason, Todd & Matt were, but they let me have looks through their scopes and binoculars since I didn’t have time to even run home to get my own gear before the sun would have set. This bird had the distinctive black half-hood behind the the eye mainly, and it was nicely placed among a larger flock of Laughing Gulls. Seeing the birds side-by-side afforded good comparisons of the bills, of which the Franklin’s has a much shorter one, though I’d have a hard time picking that out on a single bird. We watched for about a half hour even after the sun had set though most of the time the bird had its head down and was facing us, making it tough to see well. Todd showed me how to digiscope a photograph by using my smartphone camera held up to his viewing scope. I clearly need practice at it though, and steadier hands it seems as my shots didn’t come out good enough to even ID properly. In addition to the Franklin’s and Laughing Gulls, there was some Ring-billed, Herring, and Great Black-backed Gulls around as well, and a group of ducks that were likely Bufflehead just out of binocular range. We had a few Mourning Doves up in the East Beach community before we all headed off in our own directions, with Todd traveling back to Culpepper, and likely sitting through some HRBT traffic on the way.

A juvenile Great Blue Heron seen at Back Bay NWR on Saturday morning!

On Tuesday, I turned 32 years old, and though I didn’t go birding at all, I found it ironic that I got a call from Ron Furnish early in the morning about an American Woodcock that was sitting on the sidewalk outside his office. As mentioned above, it likely was a window-hit incident, but fortunately as he tried to box the bird for a rehabber, it flew off and out of sight so hopefully it was just stunned and had recovered. On Wednesday, I went out the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel hoping to spot a Franklin’s Gull in Virginia Beach since David Matson had reported one from there on Tuesday via listserv. A really windy day, I checked all around the island for birds, but couldn’t see hardly anything until I reached the southwestern corner where the birds were sheltered. Tons of Ring-billed Gulls, some Herring Gulls, and a few Laughing Gulls were seen, but nothing I could pick out as a Franklin’s Gull candidate. I had a couple that looked possible, but they were likely just Laughing Gulls. Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings were present in good numbers as well. I couldn’t find any Purple Sandpiper, though I wasn’t looking too hard for them, focusing more on the gulls that were more visible. Double-crested Cormorants were around, but the surprise of the outing was finding an Eastern Meadowlark on the tiny patch of grass next to the maintenance building at the northeast side of the island. This bird has been reported by quite a few folks over the last few weeks, but it must be an injured bird since there can’t be much in the way of feed for it here on the island. It didn’t get reported any more after I saw, so I sort of wonder if a Peregrine Falcon didn’t find it for an easy meal given that there is almost nothing to hide in on the island from a swift falcon.

Hiding just off the Kuralt Trail at Back Bay NWR, this White-tailed Deer almost went unnoticed!

On Friday afternoon, I left work at 3 PM like usual, and made a stop off at Kings Grant Lake to assess the waterfowl situation there. Usually in winter, there can be up to about a dozen different species of ducks & geese here, and it makes for a convenient stop on my way home from work when the sun sets as early as it does this time of year. Mallards and Canada Geese were again the most abundant, which is almost always true. There was a few American Wigeons, and some Ring-necked Ducks as well this time. No Wood Ducks were in sight, though there are always some on the lakes year-round. I’ve yet to see any Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers or Hooded Mergansers, all of which are common in winter. Driving around the lake on Watergate Drive to the outlet area I got my nicest surprise. High up above me, a Red-tailed Hawk was soaring in circles around the tidal marsh downstream (north) of the lake. As it circled, a Cooper’s Hawk flew in to harass it, and I got to watch as it made dives several times, causing the Red-tailed to flip over and show its talons in flight. They duo continued this for a few minutes and I was able to get a nice shot of the two without a ton of shadow on them as they tilted slightly upwards into the sun. What I found most interesting was the opportunity to view the two species side by side to see just how much of a size difference there is. Also, the body shapes of the Red-tailed (a buteo), and the Cooper’s (an accipiter) are much different, with the buteos being larger bodied and not as aerodynamic as their speedier accipiter counterparts. Buteos feed off mammals mainly, while the faster accipiters go primarily for smaller birds, though they’ll eat mammals too. They’re the typical hawk that scopes out bird feeders, and can make a whole yard of songbirds disperse quickly into hiding when one moves through the area. I actually got to see another Cooper’s in action, but more on that later in the blog. In addition to the hawks, there were also Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets visible around the lake. Above me, Black & Turkey Vultures were also seen, and some American Crows could be heard, but that was really about it for the bird species present. After Kings Grant, I made a quick trip down to Rudee Inlet as a last ditch effort to find a Franklin’s Gull, but none were around. Pretty quiet there, I didn’t see anything unusual so I headed home after just a few mintues. Ruth & I had dinner up in Hampton at a bonfire, and we heard at least two flocks of Tundra Swans pass overhead. Also, she spotted an Opossum in our neighborhood on the drive home which is an awesome find near home!

One of my favorite winter residents to the area, the beautifully camouflaged American Bittern!

On Saturday morning, I got up early and headed down to Back Bay NWR with hopes of seeing some more Pine Siskins since I wasn’t able to photograph them last Satuday when Todd Day had pointed out a flock to me in the air. Now that the dikes are closed, I had to do my walks around the visitor contact station trails only. Yellow-rumped Warblers were again the most numerous birds along the Bay Trail, and I couldn’t pick anything else out, not even a kinglet or wren this time. A large grouping of waterfowl was present on the near waters though so I scanned the whole group, picking out Tundra Swans, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup and a single male Redhead. Pied-billed Grebes & Ruddy Ducks were also associating with the group, and a flyover flock of Northern Pintails added to the diversity. There was a much larger flock off to the north, but far too distant for me to be able to see even with binoculars. As I left the fishing pier and headed towards the Kuralt Trail, I was greatly excited to find an American Bittern sitting in close to the kayak launch, all puffed up to stay warm. The bird was very aware of my presence, looking right at me, but didn’t seem too scared. It just froze and waited until I took a few photographs and moved on. The Kuralt Trail yielded a nice look at White-tailed Deer that concealed itself just off the trail in the thick vegetation. I did end up walking the beach as well, but not finding anything there particularly interesting, at least seeing some Northern Gannets and Sanderlings to add to the day’s variety. After Back Bay, I made a quick stop at Little Island but a number of people were there making a racket so no birds were around. Next up was Pleasure House Point, which I walked east to west, being that it was still morning & I wanted the sun at my back for my first pass like normal. Lots of gulls were present on the sandbars, and I did get a Nelson’s Sparrow, as most folks who’ve been there the last month or so have. Tree Swallows were quite numerous, flying in a tight flock around the dogleg ditch area and showing off their beautiful teal upperparts when the sun hit them. A pair of Greater Yellowlegs was also seen, one of the few shorebirds that are seen at the park year-round. The neatest sighting though was an overhead flock of Tundra Swans, 59 of them to be exact, and one Canada Goose that was flying with them all the way at the end of the line!

One of a trio of Sanderlings that was running the beach at Back Bay NWR!

Late on Saturday afternoon, as mentioned in the introduction above, Ellison Orcutt & Fenton Day found a Gray Kingbird on the Eastern Shore. Since I didn’t have enough sunlight left to make it up there in time, I wanted to take a shot on Sunday morning for it. So, I left very early, getting onto the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel before sunrise, though it rained the whole way across and temperatures were only in the 40s F. Of course, I wasn’t the only person trying for this particular bird, since it is the only one that has been seen in Virginia since 2004, so actually it is the only of its kind to be here since I moved to the state. Andrew Baldelli (also of Virginia Beach) was driving around, as was a chunk of the William & Mary Bird Club. While searching it out, I also found a Ring-necked Pheasant that was a released bird from a private hunter, an all too-common practice on the Eastern Shore it seems. It was an incredibly beautiful bird, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it escape those hunting it. Other birds seen included Eastern Bluebirds, Mourning Doves, Swamp & Savannah Sparrows. In fact, I was looking at sparrows when Matt Anthony sent a text message out that he’d re-sighted the kingbird. So I immediately stopped and dashed over to Magotha Road, where I was able to get in on the action with the other 5 folks looking at the bird in the rain. Photographs came out poor at best, but showed the identity positively at least. After observing the bird for a half hour in the rain, I headed over to Kiptopeke State Park to try and find some Cave Swallows that have been sighted near the Taylor Pond and the hawkwatch site. On the way, I had an incredible sight as a Cooper’s Hawk burst over top of the car in pursuit of a Mourning Dove. As it cleared the vehicle and crossed the road, the dove turned into a puff of feathers in midair, and the Hawk landed on the front yard of a farmhouse to finish off the bird! I have actually never seen this before, though I’ve seen plenty of remains of birds being eating, but it was an astonishing sight to see the speed and accuracy of the hawk as it closed in. At Kiptopeke, I walked the trails to the pond, which held a Ruddy Duck and a few Buffleheads, but nothing else. I walked around it and ran into Andrew Baldelli again. We walked back towards the car, and had a flyover group of swallows which he ID’d as Caves. With the overcast skies and rain though, I couldn’t see any coloration and am not familiar enough with their flight characteristics to call them as such. They didn’t appear as bright on the bottom side as Tree Swallows are, but for what would be a life bird, I like to be certain. Probability points to Cave though, but I’ll try them again hopefully soon. I actually walked back to the pond again hoping to get better looks if they dropped down over the water to feed, but they never did. I was hoping to get them in front of a colorful background where their own colors could stand out instead of being washed out by the clouds. After this I headed back to the southside, though on the CBBT I was lucky enough to have a Great Cormorant fly parallel with my car as I approached North Chesapeake Island (Island #4). The bird stayed just off the bridge, and spent 3-4 minutes traveling right with me at 55-60 mph, an incredible speed, though aided greatly by the strong northerly winds. At times it was so close to me that through my rolled down passenger window I was able to get distinctive looks at the white face and massive head. Thus finished off my week, a soaking wet day, but a new lifer in the Gray Kingbird, and I think I’m the only person in the state who was seen 3 species of Kingbirds this year, having found that Western Kingbird at Back Bay on 31 Oct!

One of our permanent residents, this is a Greater Yellowlegs seen at Pleasure House Point NA on Saturday!

Week Ending November 15, 2015

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This week had a bit of a slow start, but it managed to turn itself into one of the most exciting weeks of the year to date! Temperatures ranged from night-time lows in the 30s & 40s to daytime highs close to 80 degrees F. After clouds on Monday and Tuesday departed, the remainder of the week was filled with beautiful, completely sunny skies. The CVWO Seawatch at Rudee Inlet continues to log some of our interesting winter visitors to the immediate coastline included Horned Grebes, Red-throated & Common Loons, and increasingly more & more waterfowl, especially Black, Surf, and White-winged Scoters. On Friday morning, a barrage of excitement occurred when Ned Brinkley issued a report via the Virginia Birding Listserv that a ‘fallout’ of Franklin’s Gulls was occurring on the mid-Atlantic coastline. Due to a massive storm that passed through the Midwest on Wednesday and Thursday, these gulls were forced out ahead of the windfield, and made their ‘landfall’ in New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and as of Friday morning, Virginia! Ned & Eli Gross (Kiptopeke’s seasonal hawkwatcher) were able to pick up 17 on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in the morning hours. With Saturday having been planned as the day of the Rarities Roundup in Virginia Beach, there was a number of birders already en route to the coastline, which lined up perfectly for a shot at seeing this very unlikely birds. The last fallout apparently occurred in 1998 under similar circumstances. However, this was such a unique event that even eBird posted a news headline about the happening to their main page. Over the course of Friday, the birds were found also by Linda Chittum on South Thimble Island of the CBBT complex, and on Saturday morning the ‘roundup’ group of James Fox, Jason Strickland & Lisa Rose also got to see one at Rudee Inlet right on the beach! There was also a report of one from Sunday on the Fort Story property by Rexanne Bruno, but unfortunately without military access, this one wasn’t a chaseable sighting. In addition to the Franklin’s Gull excitement, quite a few neat species were observed by members of the Rarities Roundup on Saturday. Matt Anthony & Nicholas Newberry were able to be permitted access to Back Bay NWR’s dike system, and in doing so were able to find a White-winged Dove, a leucistic Yellow-rumped Warbler (bird showing lots of white, atypically) and large numbers of Pine Siskins that had first been seen on Thursday by Jim Marcum. Todd Day, who had taken me out for the day around Virginia Beach also was responsible for adding a Eurasian Wigeon to the top birds, and a first of season for the county Redhead at Back Bay NWR!

First of season (FOS) Horned Grebe in flight at Rudee Inlet on Friday evening!

As mentioned above, the week started off a bit rough, but when Friday came around, I was ready to run out into the field and see what I could find. For the Rarity Roundup on Saturday, I was teamed up with Todd Day, mostly due to the fact that I recently started volunteering for eBird as a statewide filter editor, and Todd oversees the entire state. I’ve had so many questions recently on how to do this part of the job, so being able to spend a day birding together was a great way to be able to address all the questions. It also was incredibly beneficial for me as a newer birder to have a veteran be able to take me out and teach me. It isn’t often that I feel stupid or foolish while out birding, but when you have a birder of Todd’s caliber around, it’s tough not to feel that way. Fortunately, he was able to point out tons of keys to identification, audio hints, and whatever else he could to assist me. I feel like my knowledge doubled in just one day. I also learned that while I love taking pretty photographs of birds, that the less I am a slave to the camera, the more time I spend observing behavioral ticks to each species, and the better I can identify birds at a distance, or with quick glimpses. This year has been all about trying to find as many species in Virginia Beach to photograph and document. Next year might very well be all about careful observation and study, so my blog might drop off a bit with a sort of change in my mindset after this weekend, but it will obviously continue to be published each weekend, but maybe not with 20 photographs included. Of course, documentation of unusual species is very important, so I’ll still be taking photographs. Anyways though, on Friday Todd arrived into the area and I met him down at Rudee Inlet at 3:20ish after I’d left from work. We of course were hoping to get a look at the Franklin’s Gulls that were moving south along the East Coast.

A new addition to my life list this week, an American Pipit! One of 86 of them found in a field in Pungo!

Armed with his powerful viewing scope, my binoculars and 400mm camera lens were next to useless, but it was nice if I spotted something, he’d be able to get a great look at it. We stood along the northern jetty until around sunset, but never did get any Franklin’s Gulls. While standing there, Linda Chittum, who had seem them up on the CBBT earlier stopped by. She had walked the beachfront, hoping to scan flocks of gulls on the beach & out over the ocean but to no avail. Also, Jim Marcum arrived next, hoping as all of were to find the birds. Karen & Tom Beatty also showed up, though they didn’t stay too long, armed like me with just binoculars. While watching from the jetty, there was a number of other species at least to keep things interesting. Boat-tailed Grackles & Rock Pigeons were all over the place, as is quite typical at the oceanfront. Out on the water between the north jetty and offshore breakwater there was a few Black Scoters, some Red-breasted Mergansers, a single Surf Scoter and also a Horned Grebe in sight. All four species were first of season (FOS) birds for me, as I haven’t seen any since they departed back in the springtime. There was also a Red-throated Loon pretty far offshore that I could see much better through Todd’s scope than through my own binoculars. Laughing, Ring-billed, Herring, Lesser & Great Black-backed Gulls were all present at the inlet as well which is pretty typical. Lessers are a species that stays here year-round now, but this is a recent development along the coastline. Out on the breakwater, we got looks at three different shorebirds, each of a different species. A late Spotted Sandpiper (late date is 15 Oct per the Gold Book) was seen first, with a Purple Sandpiper and Dunlin also being seen on the far left side of the breakwater. After exhausting the view and finding no Franklin’s Gulls we headed out though, stopping at the 11th Street Taphouse to go over some of the eBird questions I’ve had, and then continuing on to dinner at Dockside on Shore Drive to meet up with the other folks in town for the Rarity Roundup which included James Fox, Jason Strickland, Lisa Rose, Ed Eder, Bryan Barmore, Sharon Burton, Linda Chittum, and others I’m probably just forgetting names on. After a quick blackened tuna dinner, I headed home so I could be up early, since I needed to meet Todd in Pungo (southern Virginia Beach) at 5:45 AM, and it is a good 35-40 minutes from home.

A first of year (FOY) county bird, this Blue-headed Vireo was found on Munden Road at the parking lot of Princess Anne WMA's Whitehurst Tract!

4:30 AM came all too quickly on Saturday morning, though I was up and ready to go very quickly since I had been excited all week. Honestly, I felt like a kid on Christmas day, with the thought of finding some rare birds right here in my home county. After I gave some bad directions, Todd still managed to find the spot we were meeting at, apparently the Sea Crest Restaurant is no longer there, but the parking lot was a good spot to leave my car for this day since he planned to do the driving. With the sunrise not occurring until 6:40 AM, we had some time to check out some areas in the dark. We drove down Morris Neck Road, checking out Munden Road into Princess Anne WMA, and then continued on towards the south where we drove into Back Bay Landing Road. Here, it was starting to get light enough, and with the northwesterly winds being cut by the forest, we opted to get out and check for some birds. As soon as we got out of the vehicle Todd said, “Great Horned Owl”, and it took me a little bit longer to actually hear their faint calls. He also picked up an American Wigeon’s sound off the water to the east, something I didn’t even know could be identified based on sound alone. Clearly, I was in for an exciting day, though feeling a bit in the dark. We drove back westward closer to the owls as the sun continued to close in on the horizon. Walking south and around a 90 degree bend we saw a number of species, including White Ibis, Mourning Doves by the 50s, which I’ve never seen before, and lots of Wrens and Sparrows in the adjacent hedgerow. Crows were bombing an area of forest, so we assumed the owl was nearby, but we never did get a chance to see it. As Todd was the one inputting the eBird lists, Great Horned Owl became my 203rd species in Virginia Beach on the year, though it remains heard only so I’ve still seen only 202.

My first clean shot of a Red-shouldered Hawk in Virginia Beach, seen here at Mill Dam Creek off Blackwater Road!

After Back Bay Landing Road we headed out towards Princess Anne Road and headed north into the Creeds area of Virginia Beach. At the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Morris Neck Road we encountered a large flock of icterids (blackbirds/cowbirds/grackles). We scanned the flock intently, hoping for something out of the ordinary like a Yellow-headed Blackbird or a Shiny Cowbird, but to no avail. The bulk of the flock was Brown-headed Cowbirds & Common Grackles, though some groups of Red-winged Blackbirds were also in the grouping, and seen shortly afterward flying over the field to the east. Continuing eastward on Morris Neck Road we could see some Killdeer out in the field to the left as we neared Fitztown Road. Suddenly, Todd exclaimed “Pipit” and pulled off into the nearby church parking area, grabbed his scope, and we walked over to a nearby telephone pole to ‘hide’ next to it in plain sight. Looking through my binoculars, I got my first look at the American Pipits, much smaller than I had originally thought this species was, being more sparrow-sized than robin-sized as I had thought. As I counted up to 10 or 12 of them (#203 on my ‘seen’ birds list in the county), Todd chuckled and said he was on 86. Clearly, my counting skills need some work, and I really need to get a scope so I can more clearly see the birds I’m trying to add up. There was also close to 100 Killdeer out in the field, and we had European Starling nearby in good numbers as well as a single Savannah Sparrow that we spooked, which I never even saw. Next up, we drove up to Campbell’s Landing Road in the hopes of seeing some more species, which we were able too. Due to the southerly winds we’d had the past couple of days, the water in Back Bay was high enough that it had flooded the roadway as we approached the turnaround on the shoreline. Our view of the bay yielded no waterfowl at all unfortunately, but the trip back up the road started to give way to some birds. Eastern Bluebirds, Mourning Doves, and Eastern Phoebes were seen along the residential properties heading west. Also, Chipping Sparrows, tons of Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a Golden-crowned Kinglet appeared in the tree line nearby. American Goldfinches were also heard in the area. Carolina Wrens and Chickadees, and Northern Cardinals were also seen here, so the species count was starting to stack up, though no real rare birds were seen. The Eastern Phoebes were at least late by Gold Book standards, though it seems to me that they do hang out around Virginia Beach year-round nowadays.

A striking Lesser Black-backed Gull seen at Little Island Park on Saturday afternoon!

From Campbell’s Landing Road we headed north on Morris Neck back to Munden Road and drove into Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area. This park is closed Monday to Saturday for hunting purposes this time of year, and is only really open to birders on Sundays. However, Munden Road is a public street, and one can bird along it anytime of the week. The hunting zones don’t begin for a couple hundred yards in either direction to protect this public right-of-way. We stopped at the parking area and scanned the treeline at the north side for any birds we could find. Todd showed me a couple tricks to try and sight the birds among the foliage, and he called out a Blue-headed Vireo that I didn’t even see move in. I was really excited for this bird since they are a tough find in Virginia Beach. Mostly seen during November & December at First Landing State Park, seeing one here made it so that I wouldn’t need to hike around First Landing in the coming weeks, hoping to come across one in the forest. This was #204 to my list for Virginia Beach this year. All the other birds at this site were the expected ones, with the typical sparrows (Song, Swamp & White-throated), Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, Chickadees & Wrens, and a Black Vulture were all seen. As we were heading out from the park after driving all the way east and north along Munden Road, we did spot a Northern Harrier flying a bit high over the field on the south side of the street. Typically, when I see Northern Harriers in this area, they are rocking back and forth while soaring just a few feet over the vegetation in fields or in marshy areas. So seeing one higher up had my initially scratching my head but it was an obvious ID once the white rump was seen on the bird.

It won't be too long before all the Royal Terns have departed, so I'm taking in shots whenever I get the chance!

From Munden Road we headed south again on Morris Neck Road, taking Princess Anne Road towards North Carolina, but taking a bit of a detour on Fitztown Road’s western section when we spotted a Northern Harrier (Gray Ghost) in this case. The adults are referred to as such since they are much grayer than the more brown juveniles which seem to be much more common around here in the winters. I mentioned that my wife & I often call our cat Buster “The Gray Ghost” as he has similar colors and runs around the apartment so quickly he almost seems to be floating above the ground at times. Feeling a bit crazy it was nice to hear Todd say he also had a cat named Kestrel, named after his markings, so I’m not alone in my connection with birds & cats apparently. While driving west on Fitztown Road, we spotted a Bald Eagle high over the fields, and had another Harrier as well. I had expected to find some icterids here but none were seen. Continuing south, we crossed into North Carolina, then headed across the Knott’s Island Causeway eastward. Todd had wanted to see the small component of Knott’s Island that was in Virginia Beach, just because it is an interesting area due to the requirement of crossing into North Carolina in order to see it. I had assumed that it was the only area of the state that one must pass through another state to see, however, Todd mentioned a few areas up in the mountains that have roads only accessible from West Virginia, which made sense to me. Topography plays an interesting role in the delineation of states & counties, and it reminds me of the Northwest Angle in Minnesota that can only be accessed by going first into Canada, which makes this site more interesting than any state to state transfer in my opinion. Not noting anything really interesting, we headed back up Princess Anne Road northward, then cut across the Pungo Ferry Road’s bridge into the Blackwater area of southwestern Virginia Beach.

One of our most abundant sparrows around the region right now, the striking Song Sparrow!

Driving south on Blackwater Road, we made a stop at Mill Dam Creek’s Boardwalk and I was delighted to actually see some birds here, since the Green Treefrogs were now completely gone from the area. During a few minutes of watching from the eastern end of the boardwalk we had a Red-tailed Hawk overhead, a likely Sharp-shinned Hawk out over the water distant, a Red-shouldered Hawk adult that posed nicely on a tree branch, and a Cooper’s Hawk that dropped down into the forest, only to come up shortly after to harass the Red-shouldered! This is a spot I’ve always hoped to see a Least Bittern, but they’re all much further south at this point. Todd spotted a Northern Flicker that I missed, and we had some Carolina Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, a single Common Grackle and some Yellow-rumped Warblers, which were present essentially everywhere during the day. After leaving the boardwalk, we checked out West Gibbs Road, Crags Causeway, Indian Creek Road, and Baum Road, then headed up Blackwater Road towards the Anhinga Pond in Chesapeake. We checked out every side street here, seeing a Red-tailed Hawk overhead on Blackwater Loop that was staring right back down on us through the sunroof. After thoroughly checking out every single road we had access to in our area, we decided to head down towards Back Bay NWR since Matt Anthony & Nicholas Newberry had turned up some good birds there earlier including a White-winged Dove, Prairie Warbler, and leucistic Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler. I thought perhaps we’d encounter some large flocks of geese en route, or possibly some Ibis, but none were to be found along New Bridge or Sandbridge Road. Arriving at Back Bay NWR we quickly grabbed a spot near the Kayak Launch north of the visitor contact station and headed towards the Bayside Trail. As we got to the pier, a flock of small passerines flew overhead and Todd quickly identified them off their calls and translucent wing patch as Pine Siskins, an ID I’d never have been able to make even though I’ve seen tons of these birds in Minnesota as a kid. These were the first I’d ever seen in Virginia, and they were #205 for the year in Virginia Beach. We ended up walking the entire Bay Trail westward without seeing anything, but on the return trip we checked out the northern observation area which looks north onto Back Bay. Armed with his powerful scope, Todd was able to pick apart the massive flock of waterfowl that was easily a half a mile away. The group was comprised mainly of Gadwall, American Wigeons, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Ducks, but also held a single Eurasian Wigeon, and some Redheads! The Eurasian Wigeon was a bird I’d missed repeatedly at Pleasure House Point earlier in the year, and was one I’d hoped to get before the year ended so this was as perfect as could be. After a Bald Eagle flyby and a pass-by of some kayakers, the flock moved a bit closer to us, giving good looks in the scope, and affording a couple low-res photographs to me. The wigeon became #206 on my ‘seen’ list and #207 in eBird since the Great Horned Owl was reported but only heard. I will have to target this species in that area again before the end of the year. After this we headed up to Little Island Park and did some seawatching, though nothing crazy was found. We did have a pair of American Coots on the pond across from the parking area, and one under the pier, as well as my first Bonaparte’s Gulls of the season out over the water. I departed shortly afterwards, as Todd drove me back to my car, but it was a pretty incredible day, and I feel like my birding IQ doubled from everything I learned.

Even more common right now than the Song Sparrow above, this Swamp Sparrow is a good study to see the similar structure but different features!

Ironically, just after we had left, a Jaeger was spotted at Back Bay NWR, but they were expected along the coastline this time of year. On Sunday morning, I made another attempt to spot Franklin’s Gulls at Rudee Inlet, but again was unable to come up with them. Royal Terns (3) were still hanging out along the beach, and the other more common gulls were all present there. Tree Swallows were also flying all over the place, though no Cave Swallows were seen, these birds being an ‘expected rarity’ along the Virginia Coast this time of year. I went from Rudee Inlet down into Pungo to check out Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area, hoping again to find a Blue-headed Vireo or something else that might be new. Walking the park counter-clockwise from the parking area I had a number of sparrows (Field, Savannah, White-throated, Song & Swamp in order or ascending numbers) and Wrens also including both Carolina and several House Wrens. To my amazement, after walking a mile or so along the tree line, I discovered the impoundments were completely dry and had not been flooded to accommodate migratory waterfowl. I have no idea why this has not yet happened, but it was a bit frustrating to find only a pair of Wood Ducks in the entire area. I continued to walk the whole park, though not revealing anything new. After I left the park, I tried to re-find the American Pipit flock from the previous day, so I checked out every farmfield I could come across in southern Virginia Beach, but unfortunately could not find the flock. I did see some Killdeer, and some raptors, but that was it. But, it was worth the effort I suppose & it gave me hope for the coming week!

A third species of sparrow, this one a Savannah, which will again display some different markings including some yellowing on the lore & face, seen also at Princess Anne WMA on Sunday!

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!