Week Ending February 21, 2016

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Perhaps a bit of a slowdown in the quantity of rarity finds occurred over the last week, but, the quality of bird sightings remained high! On Monday morning, we were treated to another 2” of snow on the ground as it had fallen overnight while most of us slept. The snow did not seem to detour the Cape May Warbler that has been visiting the feeders of one Loretta Silvia, having been present now since 20 Jan according to eBird. On Tuesday, the snow had all melted away, but it left behind one incredible bird just outside Virginia Beach, over in the Pughsville/Shoulders Hill area of Suffolk. For the first time since 1975, a Lazuli Bunting was observed, and photographed by a homeowner (Brooke Gordon) as it fed in her backyard throughout the day. When the eBird report popped up, showing beautiful photographs, it wasn’t long before the whole trove of state birders knew about it. Many birders made a trip to the house on Wednesday in an attempt to observe this highly rare species within state borders, but it never made a return, even though it was being watched for from sun up to sun down. This is only the third record of the species for the state, so hopefully it will submitted to VARCOM by the observer, as it is a reviewable bird by the committee’s standards. Back in Virginia Beach, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak continued to be seen by Tommy Maloney through Saturday, and the Lark Sparrow at Back Bay NWR stayed all the way through the week as well, giving some nice views to some folks who had seen it prior, and some who hadn’t yet made the attempt; it has now been present for two full weeks in the same area. On Saturday, I was excited to finally put eyes on the Eurasian Wigeon drake that has been a winter resident of Wishart Lake, and was reported to our local newspaper (The Virginian Pilot) by homeowner, Keith Sutton in early February. Quite a few individuals were able to view the bird from Battle Royal Court, and from Kings Way Drive to the northeast. For this particular individual, it is a matter of timing, given that the lake is surrounded by private residences, one must have a little luck that the bird will be in the proper place to be in view from the public roadways in the neighborhood. A last spot to attempt from is the sidewalk on the south side of Wishart Road, just east of the historic Lynnhaven House which provides a narrow view northward onto the lake.

Also worth noting, the Dickcissel that was found last Sunday at Princess Anne WMA’s Whitehurst Tract (Andrew Baldelli & Tracy Tate) was not seen again this Sunday during the only open day of the week for the park. Several observers, myself included, made the attempt but no one was able to come up with this first-year individual. There was also some sightings of Razorbills this week, with one being photographed nicely by Jeff Byrd off the Little Island Pier on Saturday. Some other good birds seen around the city were Horned Grebes, White-winged Scoters, Orange-crowned Warblers and lots of Snow Geese in the air. After Monday’s snow, the weather reached 70 degrees F by Sunday, so perhaps our short-lived winter has already come to a close. We’ll see what this warmup does to the birds over the next week. More information on this week’s noteworthy observations can be found Here. Please note that I am trying out a new format on this blog due the amount of time I have available to dedicate to it. I likely will spend more time discussing the weather & general Virginia Beach birding observations (as above) than my hyper-specific, personal outing details (which probably don’t need to be broadcast online all the time). The photo above is actually a slideshow of my favorite photographs that I took during the week, just click to advance to the next one. In the past, I’ve included one photo per 4-500 words of text, but some weeks, I have more information to write, and some I have more photographs to share. So moving forward, I’ll just have the one paragraph about weather & bird observations around the city, with the photo slideshow beneath. This will allow me to still post my favorite photographs, but without having to write thousands of words to justify the # of photographs, as I’ve been doing each week. I hope this format is enjoyed by readers, it should keep things a bit cleaner, and certainly easier for me timewise!

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Week Ending February 14, 2016

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The second week of February continued the hot streak for rarities across Virginia Beach and southeastern Virginia. On Monday (8 Feb), the adult Iceland Gull seen a week prior was picked up again by Andrew Baldelli up at 40th Street Beach. Also that same day, Eric Alton & Jonathon Snyder posted up a nice photograph into the HRWE Facebook Group that they had taken of the Western Tanager previous observed at Pleasure House Point Natural Area. The bird hadn’t been seen for over a week so it was nice to see that it had indeed stuck around. Karen & Tom Beatty also picked up a Black-legged Kittiwake at Little Island, though this one appears to still be under review by eBird. While neither of these three birds were seen again throughout the remainder of the week, Tuesday (9 Feb) brought another great surprise. While doing a seawatch off the Little Island Park Pier, Andrew Badelli picked up another noteworthy sighting, this time a Pacific Loon which he was able to photograph for documentation. This was unfortunately a one-and-done observation, and it flew off shortly after he sighted it, never to be seen again locally. Somehow, Wednesday kept up the streak, when a Black-headed Gull was reported to eBird by Bob Swiader at Pleasure House Point and shortly after Chip Allen posted up a long-range photograph of the bird that Bob had pointed out to him just after observing it feeding among a group of Bonaparte’s Gulls over the creek. On Friday, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), a worldwide activity in which birders & non-birders alike tally the counts of each species they observe, and enter them into eBird. The GBBC can be a bit trying from an eBird standpoint, as a lot of unusual records will show up due to influx of a massive number of newer, less experienced birders. Fortunately for me, I was in a position to help change the acceptance of records in Virginia Beach since I joined the eBird team in November. During the Friday to Monday period, some extra checks were put in place to ensure some common misidentifications didn’t end up getting into the database without review. I think it worked quite well, and really, the reports from Virginia Beach seemed better to me than in year’s past, but of course I am a bit biased. On Saturday morning, a Lark Sparrow that was first observed late last week (7 Feb) was re-found by Matt Anthony & James Fox while at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The bird had stayed in the same place as it had been reported 6 days prior, something not all rarities are willing to do. As such, several other individuals (myself included) were able to get on the bird. Given the major successes of the week in finding rarities across the city, it was no surprise that Sunday closed out the week with yet another major surprise. While at Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area’s Whitehurst Tract, Andrew Baldelli & Tracy Tate were able to observe and photograph a first winter Dickcissel, a species for which eBird only had one prior Virginia Beach record. So, if that wasn’t a successful week (especially for Andrew), I don’t know what is!

The interior dunes of Back Bay NWR were blanketed by snow from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon!

As I was furiously working to update filters in eBird ahead of the GBBC timeframe, I didn’t make it out birding at all until Saturday morning. Sometimes it is just nice to revel in the observations of others, and relax at home in the evening, though our daylight is sticking around later each day, and it is only a few more weeks before I’ll again be able to get out for after-work hikes. On Saturday morning, I set my sights on Little Island Park, hoping to spot something flying past like a Razorbill or White-winged Scoters that have so far eluded me in 2016. On Friday, we had gotten about 1-2” of snow across Virginia Beach, with higher amounts in the southeast and lesser amounts in the northwest. So I woke up a bit earlier than usual, at 5:40 AM and headed out, expecting the road conditions to force some extra time in getting to Little Island. When I arrived around 7 AM, I was amazed to find another vehicle already in the parking lot. I hopped out, and put on my warmer gear for what I expected to be incredibly cold weather for Virginia Beach. It was only in the 20s, with a northwesterly wind whipping at 25 mph. The nice thing about the northwest wind is that it wouldn’t be hitting me face on while on the pier, but, it also tends to blow birds farther offshore given our coastal alignment. When I got all my gear on, I saw two people walking back from the pier, and I should have guessed when I saw the car that it was another pair of crazy birders, probably even crazier than me: Matt Anthony from Williamsburg, and James Fox from Front Royal. Immediately they said it wasn’t worth going out to the pier since all the birds were blown so far out, my binoculars would be no use. Since James always carries a scope, it was fair to take that statement as truth. The three of us checked the area across the street near the kayak launch, hoping for a Bittern or something else unusual. We spooked a Wilson’s Snipe from the ditch that flows to Back Bay’s Little Cove to the west, and we got good looks at a Fox Sparrow in a short tree. There was only a few ducks, mainly Gadwalls but also some American Black Ducks out on Little Cove, and so we didn’t stick around long. An overhead flyover of a Killdeer, and the sounds of a Gray Catbird was about it, no bittern sadly, even though this has been a pretty reliable spot to see them for me over the last couple of years, at or above the reliability of Back Bay NWR in fact.

My first rarity of the year, a Lark Sparrow that was seen at Back Bay NWR on Saturday morning!

Matt & James were both heading down to Back Bay as well, since it would be crazy to come this far southeast and not continue into the best birding park in the city. I drove on ahead, figuring we’d run into each other again and I didn’t want to get in their way. But, when I arrived and realized I was the first one at the park, I didn’t want to spook off birds that they would then miss, so I waited til they arrived and walked with them. Three Northern Harriers were the first sightings, with a pair of them doing a reversal attack in mid-air, pretty neat to watch. There was a good group of Tundra Swans in close to the kayak launch near the parking area, sticking right up against the northern shore to block the wild winds. Among the swans were some Mallards, Gadwalls, American Black Ducks, and a few American Wigeons. Surprisingly this has been about the best diversity I have seen this winter at the park, which is a bit upsetting given how it has been in past winters as far as large, variety-filled rafts of waterfowl go. We checked the Kuralt Trail and around the parking lot, but with snow on the ground, the typical birds like sparrows and wrens were not seen here. A single Northern Flicker was observed on a power line, and we had some Northern Cardinals, Song Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers moving through the thick vegetation around the parking lot. No Orange-crowned Warblers here though. We all walked over the small pond, and I opted to continue going down the Bay Trail while they splintered off and headed down the East Dike in hopes of finding the Lark Sparrow that had been reported by Sue Garvin and report to Listserv last Sunday. While walking the Bay Trail, I was enjoying myself knowing full well no one else had been down it as no footprints were visible in the snow. Birds were pretty quiet with the high winds whipping the low trees around, and again with snow on the ground there was no surface to stand on for the smaller species. Red-winged Blackbirds and Yellow-rumped Warbler was basically it as I walked out and back on the trail. So I tried the beach next, walking out on the Seaside Trail but spending very little time on the beach. The winds were pushing snow all along the beach, which while beautiful, was not the environment to see birds among. A pretty good sized group of Northern Gannets was viewable offshore, but just a few gulls and no shorebirds were observed, so I headed back over to the parking area. I ran into Erica, one of the rangers at the park, and she mentioned there was a winter waterfowl walk coming up at 9 AM, but so far no one had showed up for it. Matt & James both arrived back a minute or so later from the East Dike and reported that they had found the Lark Sparrow just northwest of the East Dike gate on the field near the waterfowl blind. With that information, I headed southward towards it, not looking forward to the walk back knowing the wind would be right in my face; something that Matt & James had just endured.

Sparrows were easiest seen during the snow since they needed to find exposed ground to feed on, helping to concentrate species like this White-throated Sparrow near roadways!

Since I had a mission in mind, I took the east side of the Loop Road south, heading directly towards the spot where the sparrow had been observed. If it had stayed 6 days afterall, hopefully another few minutes wouldn’t matter. There was an all around lack of birds en route to that spot, but a Bald Eagle did fly over, and shortly after a crow flew out and dropped a fish carcass right on the road. My thought was that it likely had picked up the eagle’s remnant meal. When I arrived at the spot, it wasn’t long before a couple of Song Sparrows flew out of the vegetation and landed on spot on the gravel road where they dug through the snow already. Moments later, the Lark Sparrow appeared, with its beautiful chestnut colored face patches, and very clean chest. I spent about 15-20 minutes taking photographs and watching the sparrow group as they repeatedly fled to the vegetation, then came back out to sift around the exposed ground for food. It is actually pretty amazing that this individual stuck around all week, even through the snowstorm that arrived on Friday afternoon/evening. I walked back north, not noticing the cold winds so much given I was excited to have gotten such a great observation of only my second Lark Sparrow. The winter waterfowl walk did have a few people show up, so I passed on the information that the sparrow was still there, and from eBird reports, at least two of the individuals went south and also photographed the bird. As I was leaving the park, I got a call from Jason Strickland, who was, amusingly, also on his way to see the bird since Matt & James had sent out a text message in the VA Rare Bird Alert text group after they’d re-found the bird. Jason probably drove right past me while I was entering my eBird list on the side of the road, but I never noticed him or I’d have back to walk with him to see the bird. He did eventually get the bird though it took a while before it came out. It was also observed by one other individual Saturday, and one more (Jason Schatti) on Sunday, so who knows if it ended up staying into the weekdays. With the success of adding a new bird to my year (#124 in VA, #121 in Virginia Beach), I excitedly headed off towards Pungo, with the hope of seeing some field birds and more sparrows that might be pushed to the roadway shoulders in search of exposed ground to feed on.

One of a pair of Horned Larks seen off Back Bay Landing Road, once again, the snows makes them much more visible!

In driving down New Bridge Road, the detour was finally closed down, and so Muddy Creek Road was passable all the way to Charity Neck Road. Driving Charity Neck Road I got a call from Andrew Baldelli asking for some information on the Lark Sparrow, but saying he was also driving around in southern Virginia Beach looking for birds just as I was. I found patches of Killdeer active in fields along Charity Neck, and as I got to Nanney’s Creek Road to the south, spotted a huge flock of Snow Geese out in the farmfield on the northwest quadrant of the intersection. I pulled over into a neighborhood street nearby hoping to pick something different out of the flock like a Ross’s Goose or a Greater White-fronted Goose, but without success due to the distance even in binoculars. A few darker birds mixed in all proved to be Blue morph Snow Geese, so not a different species, but with a different plumage, sort of how Ruffed Grouse or Screech-Owl have a red & a gray morph. Further south I drove down MorrisNeck Road, and then down Fitztown Road to Princess Anne Road. The amount of snow on the fields here was higher than what I’d encountered further north so I didn’t see a whole lot on the ground. When I turned east on Back Bay Landing Road though, a pair of birds were sitting right up on the shoulder of the road, and with binoculars turned out to be a pair of Horned Larks! I had seen one earlier this year on Munden Road, but at an extreme distance, so seeing this pair closer was great. I did get some photographs before they took to flight and headed off south on the wind. Further down the road, I encountered a group of birds that all landed on the snowy field, and immediately knew they had to be American Pipits. A quick scan into the sun with binoculars proved my hope correct, and I got a photograph to document before the flock of a dozen or so took off eastward. I texted Andrew & Jason both to let them know the birds were around, and they’d eventually get on them, though Jason missed the Pipits. A pair of American Kestrels was busily hunting this area as well. I left Back Bay Landing Road and went back north down Morris Neck & Charity Neck, eventually running into Jason on his way southbound. We had at least 3 Palm Warblers on the road between our cars when we met up, which is the most I have seen at one time in the winter here. He headed south towards the lark & pipits, and I headed back home for the day. So even though Saturday was the only day I got out during the week to go birding, it was a fruitful outing for sure, the Pipits were #125 in VA on the year (#122 in Virginia Beach), a number I didn’t achieve last year until March 30, so I still have high hopes for the year in terms of numbers with migration still a few weeks away. I am just trying to see all the winter species I can while they’re here, and though the Lark Sparrow is my first official rarity on the season, there is still time to find some of the others, hopefully next weekend!

The intense sunlight on south facing areas melted first on Saturday, and attracted sparrows like this Song Sparrow on Back Bay Landing Road!

Week Ending February 7, 2016

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Last week set the bar high for rarities in Virginia Beach with the American White Pelicans, Iceland Gull and Western Tanager being seen over the weekend, and the nearby Snowy Owl in the East Beach neighborhood of Norfolk. This week started off with a bang on Monday, as John A. observed and photographed a Prairie Warbler at the campground area of First Landing State Park and sent the images in to me. Prairie Warblers are common summer residents in Virginia Beach but there has never been a February record that I was able to find. The only other record for the entire state of Virginia in February was an individual seen 6 Feb 2008 at Eyre Hall in Northampton County, so a very interesting unseasonal occurrence for the species. This year’s winter weather has been so mild that wood warblers seem to be surviving it locally in some cases. Throughout the remainder of the weekdays, the reports remained pretty standard for winter time, but that changed for the better when the weekend arrived. On Friday evening, the Snowy Owl was reported again in Norfolk, this time at the airport by Andrew Baldelli, and it was close to the road that wraps around the airport. I went up before sunset with hopes of finding the bird this time, but the trip ended unsuccessfully. On Saturday morning, there was a boat trip up to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel hosted by the Williamsburg Bird Club. Matt Anthony & James Fox did a little pre-trip birding down at Rudee Inlet and managed to pick up a first cycle Iceland Gull. That made at least 2 confirmed Icelands hanging around the oceanfront area this week. The boat trip itself proved a monumental success for the 60 passengers as well, with a highlight Black-legged Kittiwake being spotted on Island #3 (South Chesapeake Island) across the border in Northampton County, and also likely the same set of three Harlequin Ducks that have reported on the island since December. On the return trip to Lynnhaven Inlet, another Iceland Gull, also a first cycle but stated to be darker than the Rudee Inlet bird, was observed behind the boat in the chum slick. A group of about twenty Razorbills was also spotted on the water within Virginia Beach! On Sunday, the Northern Virginia Bird Club also hosted a trip to the islands, though no rarities were turned up by the land-based trip. The Harlequins were again spotted, and a single Common Goldeneye was observed on Island 3 (perhaps the same female from the early January HRWE outing?). A field trip at Grandview Beach turned up the area’s first Black-headed Gull on Sunday morning, mixed in with a flock of Bonaparte’s Gulls and well documented by photographs from several individuals. A few other noteworthy sightings were the area’s first Red-necked Grebe on Saturday off Oceanview in Norfolk and a Eurasian Wigeon was posted in the Virginian Pilot newspaper as having taken up residency on Lake Wishart in Virginia Beach, but there is little public land to view from, with just two small pieces of road with slim views of the lake. A Common Goldeneye was also seen at Lake Trashmore (David Clark), and the leucistic Yellow-rumped Warbler at Back Bay NWR continues to appear in reports from around the visitor center. More information on noteworthy observations within Virginia Beach can be found in this detailed table!

Not an Iceland Gull, but a beautiful, Lesser Black-backed Gull nonetheless!

Given that the adult Iceland Gull had been seen on Sunday afternoon at the oceanfront, I made an attempt at chasing it on Monday on my lunchbreak. I parked down at 6th Street and walked out to the beach where the dredge pipe outfalls from Rudee Inlet. It was again running, of which I had been notified earlier by Karen Beatty, so my hopes were high. I spent 40 minutes around the pipe outfall, watching as plenty of gulls, primarily Ring-billeds, rooted around in the soil being dredged and picking out food. A good number of Lesser Black-backeds and a few Greats, as well as Herring Gulls were in the mix as well, but, no Iceland Gull was seen. Timothy Barry also arrived, hoping for the same bird, so at least I wasn’t alone in the endeavor. We did see a Bald Eagle, and some Bonaparte’s Gulls as well, with some scoters flying past out on the ocean, and even a few Red-breasted Mergansers. So while we didn’t get to see the Iceland, we did get a good number of species. On Wednesday, there was an article in the Virginia Pilot that mentioned a Eurasian Wigeon having been seen over in the Saw Pen Point area of Virginia Beach east of Independence Boulevard. After work, I drove over, hoping to find a spot to view the lake where it was seen, with only two very short sections of road providing sightlines. I didn’t find the wigeon, and so I searched the lake to the south of Lynnhaven House (an historic property owned by the city). Viewing through the woods as far as I could get before no trespassing signs were posted, I scanned the large pond, finding my first of year American Coot & Ruddy Ducks. Up until now I’ve put a pretty heavy emphasis on my Virginia Beach list, but I think it is time I bump up to the level of my Virginia state list instead. Those species were #120 & #121 for Virginia, since I’d seen Horned Grebes, Harlequin Ducks, and a Common Goldeneye in Northampton County during January. Those 3 species I’m still missing in Virginia Beach, so my state and county lists are 3 species apart from one another right now. The tough part about county lists, is there just isn’t a lot of habitat to seek out birds, whereas the concept of state lists opens it up somewhat, and more people readily compare their state lists with one another. I was pleased to add the two species to my yearly lists, so this chase came out just fine, though of course, I didn’t find the target rarity in the Eurasian Wigeon. After this, there was a screening at 7:15 PM at the Naro theatre in Norfolk of an environmental film called “The Messenger” that I, and many other birders went to, including noteworthy folks like Bob Ake & Ned Brinkley. It was an eye-opening film about how populations of many species of birds have utterly crashed over the last half century, so while the footage of birds was enjoyable, it was hard to leave with a smile realizing that much work is to be done to help return these populations to even fractions of their former numbers. There was a question & answer session hosted after the film by a few members of the birding community, including a professor from William & Mary, Bob Ake, who has birded the world, and has an ABA (American Birdign Association) area count of near 800 species I believe. Also, Lisa Barlow of Wildlife Rehabilitators, Inc. was there to answer questions about rehabbing of birds. So while the film definitely left some sadness in my eyes, it was still a good experience, and I highly enjoy the Naro since it is an old style theatre, one of the last in our area.

A first of year bird, and a tough one to spot in winter, the Hermit Thrush!

I opted not to go out on Thursday or Friday since the chasing just wasn’t working. However, as mentioned above, when Friday came around, there was a sighting of the Snowy Owl in Norfolk, and I was basically forced to make chase, again coming up empty handed! After that, I pretty much decided that chasing after rare bird sightings is not good for me, I drop everything I’m doing only to race to a location with heart thumping, but most often unable to find the target bird. So, with that in mind, I was looking forward to the weekend when I could spend more time just enjoying the outdoors, and hoping to come across something on my own. So, on Saturday morning, I took a trip down to Back Bay NWR with hopes of finding a few species I’ve yet to see in 2016. Targets included Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Canvasback, White-winged Scoter, and Horned Grebe. Also, whatever other species might pop up along the beach, like any of the white winged gulls. My first sighting of the day was of a striking male Common Yellowthroat, a species I don’t often come upon during the winter, and when I do, it has always been female birds so this was a colorful surprise. In walking the Bay Trail out and back, the birds seemed pretty quiet, though there was good numbers of Tundra Swans on the near bay, and plenty of Snow Geese flying northward above me as well. A surprising lack of other waterfowl though, with Gadwall, American Wigeons and a few Canada Geese interspersed among the Tundra Swans. I had one Marsh Wren making some noise off to the side of the trail, but really the smaller species didn’t want to come out. On the way back towards the Bayside Trail, I caught sight of the leucistic Yellow-rumped Warbler that so many folks have observed through the winter in that vicinity. I didn’t get much of a photograph, but, it was neat to see this mostly white (not albino) bird. Walking the Bayside Trail, I spooked a very close White-tailed Deer, which basically gave me a heart attack as it moved quickly into the phragmites next to the boardwalk and disappeared. Scanning the shoreline didn’t yield any American Bitterns, and to my surprise, no Northern Harriers were out soaring above the marshes. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I saw them here, which is highly unusual in winter when they’re typically seen every outing. Around the parking area, Northern Mockingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Field Sparrows, and Song Sparrows were all seen, with the sparrows favoring the eastern side of the lot just across the wooden fence. No unusual birds were seen on the Kuralt Trail, just some overhead Cedar Waxwings. With the relative lack of birds, I opted to try something I hadn’t fully planned on doing: I decided to walk the beach all the way to False Cape State Park and back.

A more colorful relative of the Hermit Thrush, this one is an Eastern Bluebird!

It had been a while since I’d done the 3.5 mile beach walk to the False Cape boundary, but Saturday felt like the right time to try it out. All week I’d been doing quick, short duration trips to multiple sites to bird, and frankly, it is nice just get absorbed within a single location, seeking out all the birds it has to offer. So Saturday felt right for the beach. My hope was that perhaps some of the shorebirds I haven’t yet seen (Willet, Black-bellied Plover, Red Knot) this year might be hiding out further south where most people just don’t venture. On the way southbound, I had a couple folks ahead of me the whole time (always a bummer since they often scare birds off first), and the gator (large amphibiousesque vehicle) passed me while transporting a tour group of some sort to False Cape. I scanned the ocean’s horizon as I walked, noting good numbers of Red-throated and Common Loons in flight & on the water, but no grebes were observed. It just hasn’t been a good year for Horned Grebes thus far, perhaps we just aren’t quite far enough into the winter yet? The walk actually went by pretty quickly, and before I knew it, I’d arrived at the boundary line, having spotted 37 Sanderlings and a single Killdeer to round out the shorebirds. No Willets, Plovers, or Red Knots sadly. I turned back northward and kept up the pace while looking in all directions. I passed the same Killdeer again, though it flew off over the dunes this time. Gulls were only out in small numbers, with the standard 5 species (Ring-billed, Herring, Lesser & Great Black-backed, and Bonaparte’s) all present, and also a solid number of Forster’s Terns flying offshore. Northern Gannets, Double-crested Cormorants & Brown Pelicans were also all observed; no American White Pelicans this week though, drat. A few small groups of Scoters were moving along the horizon at maximum binocular range, and some Red-breasted Mergansers could also be seen. The good thing with this is that I’m now confident in picking out these distant groups of ducks in flight, which has been helped greatly my ‘Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching’ Christmas gift. Being able to pick out minor details of distant birds in flight is truly an art, something that is often lost on most folks that just want a pretty picture, so I’m happy to be learning these skills as I progress slowly from a photographer to a true birder. I took the Dune Trail back to the Loop Road and then headed to the car, having walked about 8 miles on the outing in total, and I got one final sightings, a beautiful White-tailed Deer that stayed in view long enough for me to take in the sight before hopping into the thick brush. After Back Bay, I decided to just head back home since my legs were essentially beaten down from the walk, and frankly, I’d been hitting the outings really hard the last few weekends so calling it a day in early afternoon was a nice change of pace.

Since I was on a roll with the thrushes, I figured posting this American Robin, also from First Landing made a perfect fit!

Sunday arrived, and cloudy and cold weather was the headliner. With the Iceland Gull having been seen by James Fox & Matt Anthony on Saturday, I opted to do a quick check at Rudee Inlet, hoping the bird might still be hanging around. Though I spent only about 10 minutes at the inlet due to the intense wind, blowing about 25 mph out of the northeast, I did pick up plenty of gulls, but, surprise surprise, no Iceland. A Common Loon provided nice views in the harbor, and scoters and Red-throated Loons provided distant binocular views over the ocean. From Rudee, I quickly headed up to First Landing State Park’s 64th Street entrance, parked, and headed into the park. This weekend, my brain was apparently working backwards, since I’ll usually doing the northern half of Virginia Beach on Saturday, followed by the southern half on Sunday. Since Whitehurst Tract hasn’t been all that great at this point in the season though, I decided I could skip it, so my schedule could be flipped since it typically is the determining factor, being open only on Sundays to birding. This weekend, I didn’t have my good luck charm (my wife) with me, so I didn’t expect much out of First Landing. In walking the Cape Henry and Osprey Trails to White Hill, I was very excited to pick up my first Hermit Thrush of the year (VA #122!). During winter when the Hermits aren’t singing, they are much tougher to spot, but when spring comes around, it is impossible not to hear them. This individual was barely moving through a thicket when I spotted it, and I did grab some nice photographs of it given the overcast skies and utter lack of light. Along with this thrush, two other family members were seen in great numbers, those being Eastern Bluebirds & American Robins. The robins specifically were foraging throughout the park in huge flocks, and several hundred birds were likely seen, though there was no way to count them as they weaved incessantly through the forest canopy, grabbing red berries off Holly (?) trees. Earlier in the hike I picked up a few more Fox Sparrows as well, and spent time listening to their calls to hopefully imprint them into my memory. These birds are likely present much more than they are observed since they favor thick vegetation, and are hard to notice even when putting in the effort to do so. At First Landing, aside from the Hermit Thrush, I was still hoping for my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-headed Woodpecker, and maybe a Pine Siskin like I’d seen back in December here. Though none of those species materialized, I know they’re around, and with some luck, I hope to find them. Walking from White Hill back along the Long Creek Trail, I did also get to see some White-breasted Nuthatches, and a single Brown Creeper that were all moving along with a feeding flock of Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice. Red-winged Blackbirds had joined up with some of the American Robin flocks, and I tried hard to turn some of them into Rusty Blackbirds, but that skillset is just outside my capabilities; I can’t see what isn’t there.

Sometimes difficult to spot on the rocks of the CBBT islands, here is one of several Purple Sandpipers enjoying the heavy surf!

 Having knocked out a nice 5 mile walk to kick off the morning, I headed over to the first island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel next. Now, I had plans to visit Pleasure House Point, but I wanted to do at low tide since shorebirds were my hope there. With high tide having been at 7:50 AM, I figured heading up to the first island would be good for killing an hour or so, giving the water levels a bit longer to drop so the mudflats and sandbars were more open real estate to birds. Heading up to the island, there was plenty of scoters just off the beach, though I couldn’t pick out any White-wingeds while driving 55 mph. At the island itself, I assume my typical parking spot at the extreme southeast corner and then walked the full perimeter out and back, including the pier. While walking with the strong winds in my face, a fast moving Great Cormorant buzzed right past me before I could get my camera on it, the second time in a row this has happened! From then on, I held fast to the camera. The loyal flock of Ring-billed Gulls held tight to the rocks at the northeast corner of the island, which was surprising to me since that was the side taking the full force of the winds. Another interesting realization hit me at that time; nearly all of the Ring-billeds are full adult birds, and I’m surprised I’ve never really taken note of it before. I’m not sure why, perhaps the 1st or 2nd cycle birds just don’t have the strength to handle winters on the island? Off the northern point were four Long-tailed Ducks (3 male, 1 female), a few Buffleheads, and a single Surf Scoter. Some Red-breasted Mergansers and Red-throated Loons were observed on flybys as well. The Northern Gannets were putting on a show with the high winds taking them across the skies with ease, so I went out to the end of the pier where I could get closest to them. The overcast conditions and high speed movements made it tough for photographs, but it was fun to watch as they whizzed by in my binoculars.

Finally, a clear shot of a Great Cormorant, seen here from Island #1!

From the furthest point on the pier, I walked back to the island then turned southward. After passing around the restaurant, I found a group of Purple Sandpipers feeding on the rocks, with Ruddy Turnstones also nearby. A single, stoic looking Great Black-backed Gull was sitting on the large concrete platform here, with no other gulls nearby. At the far southwest corner of the island, I decided to scan the nearest bridge abutment south of the island about 100 yards or so. Maybe it was my inexperience in the past, or maybe they just aren’t usually there, but I was able to pick out two Great Cormorants on the abutment, mixed in a larger group of Double-crested Cormorants. Their larger heads, and white on the face helped set them apart from the group, and I took some extremely cropped photographs of the birds, enough to show that there were at least 2 in view of the island simultaneously, the most I’ve ever seen here. Usually they are found in higher numbers on islands 2, 3, and 4, but those are not accessible to the public without a paid police escort, therefore typically only used by tour groups that help break the per person price up a bit. I walked the perimeter of the island again back towards the car, seeing the same birds again, but this time, I spotted a Great Comorant flying towards me in time to get the camera on it! Finally, some nice shots of one in flight as it cruised on by me, though of course some sunlight would have gone a long way, but, still the best shots I’ve ever gotten of one, so something to be excited about. I scanned pretty hard to the eastern horizon, but no Horned or Red-necked Grebes were seen on the water. Interestingly, David Clark had seen a Red-necked over at Oceanview in Norfolk, which was the first one seen around the bay for the year. Perhaps they will start to show up now, though, the Great Lakes are now only at 4% frozen surface area, which doesn’t bode well for these birds being forced to the coasts. I think this is a good part of why the waterfowl numbers have seemed severely down in Virginia Beach this winter. Last year, the ice reached values of 90% or so, as it did the year prior, so we had two great winters in a row of waterfowl, leading to this year’s slow down. Of course, it is still early February, and there is a couple more weeks of winter here before March’s typical warmup. I do enjoy the winter, but I look forward each February to the beginning of March because of the extra hour of evening sunlight brought to us by Daylight Savings Time. Once that hits, I’m once again able to get out for walks in the evening after work, and it usually helps me drop some of my winter weight acquired from all my less athletic winter birding outings. At least this weekend though, I did get 16 miles of walking in. Back to the island though, after seeing the Great, I drove off towards Pleasure House Point.

Uncharacteristic of Belted Kingfishers, this male actually held a pose with me not too far away!

Arriving at Dinwiddie Drive, some Gadwall and a Snowy Egret were observed from the car on the storm water pond, but no American Bittern was present. Walking out to the main point, I looked around the sandbar, surprised to not see any Black Skimmers, which have hung around this far into winter so far. Gulls, and a good number of Sanderlings surprised me, and I’m not even sure I’ve seen them at the park before. But, there was good number of them out there, likely 25+. I didn’t see any Oystercatchers either, or Pelicans, so I walked the main shoreline trail west to the end of the park and then back eastward. I found the pair of Little Blue Herons still present in the same vicinity as they have been ever since December when I’d first seen one of them on the 12th. A collection of Red-breasted Mergansers were feeding in the creek, and interestingly a group of Bonaparte’s Gulls, and a single Forster’s Tern were feeding right above them, landing on the water and/or diving into it in the case of the tern. There must have been a school of small fish present to attract these three species. In walking the trails, I actually got some really nice photographs of a male Belted Kingfisher that held still and allowed me to get reasonably close. Typically kingfishers are the exact opposite of this behavior, flying off quickly, and cackling as they go as if mocking you for even trying to photograph them. On my way eastward, I ran into Ellison Orcutt, who is the eBird reviewer for the Richmond metro and surrounding counties. He was there with his girlfriend, Beth, and like me, they were hoping to see the Western Tanager that had been sighted the previous weekend, though not-resighted by anyone since. They mentioned that some Yellowlegs were around the next bend and we actually heard them call while talking, so I could have counted them there, but I still wanted to see them. Fortunately, I rounded the next bend just as some free-running dogs scared the yellowlegs into flight (#123). Yet again, beaten by dogs at this park, one reason it is often frustrating to try to birdwatch here. Now that Pleasure House Point is a city park, it is illegal to have dogs off-leash, but no one seems to enforce the regulations, and therefore no one follows them. How unusual. After catching back up with the yellowlegs, a birding group walked past me, and I heard the familiar ‘hello’ of one Matt Anthony. Matt was up at Grandview earlier in the morning, and had spotted a Black-headed Gull there. I had seen it reported in the Virginia Rare Bird text alert, so I was surprised to see him suddenly down in Virginia Beach. In a few weeks, we’re going out on a boat trip in via a private charter, so it was good to catch up with him before then, and be able to thank him for putting that trip together for the few of us going. More on that in a future post hopefully. From then on, the sightings were basically done, and though I did make a quick stop off at 88th Street Beach, hoping for my first of year White-winged Scoters, but unfortunately I didn't add anything new to my lists so I headed home. exhausted, but excited to have added 2 species on the day to my yearly lists. Until next week, 123 in Virginia, and 120 in Virginia Beach is where the numbers stand. 

The second new bird on the weekend, one of five Greater Yellowlegs observed near low tide at Pleasure House Point!

Week Ending January 31, 2016

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While our brush with a powerful nor’easter was the headline last week, this final week of January will likely be remembered for the arrival of a Snowy Owl to Norfolk! In the wake of last weekend’s cold spell, the temperatures were on the rise from Monday through Wednesday, so it came as a great surprise when a report of a Snowy Owl was posted on the Virginia Pilot website by Mary Reid Barrow early on Thursday morning. Apparently, the bird had taken up residence on a rooftop in the bayside community of East Beach, just a few blocks away from the Virginia Beach city line. The owl was first sighted by residents Monnica & Dick O’Connor, and photographs were quickly sent in. Prior to this sighting, the nearest Snowy Owl to our region this winter was one up on Maryland’s Eastern Shore early in the month, and with this winter not appearing to be an irruptive season for most species that winter north of us, the owl’s sudden appearance was quite a surprise. Throughout the day, report after report, and photo after photo came pouring in via Listserv, eBird, and Facebook. But, as silently as the bird arrived, so too did it disappear. Unfortunately I think I was the first person who managed to miss the beauty, as I arrived on Friday morning before sunrise, hoping it might have stayed through the night. After about 45 minutes of intensive searching of rooftops, and along the beach & dunes to the north, I couldn’t turn up the owl. I wasn’t alone, as many individuals kept searching through the morning hours, but to no avail, and the bird was not re-found again over the weekend. Ironically, this weekend was also that of the Winter Wildlife Festival, so there was a great deal of folks in town to attend the various field trips that covered Virginia Beach and the surrounding counties. On one such trip, a Western Tanager (likely the same one seen last year) was found at Pleasure House Point Natural Area (PHPNA)! The bird was reported quickly by trip leader Rexanne Bruno, and Andrew Baldelli & Tracy Tate secured a nice photograph which is included in their eBird report. This wasn’t the only great find at PHPNA though, as on Friday evening, Stephen Living of the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) spotted a flock of American White Pelicans sitting out on the main bay sandbars. The flock was re-found on Saturday mid-morning by Tracy & Andrew, with other observers nearby getting to see them as well, some from Dockside Inn while awaiting the departure of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (CBBT) boat ride, and at least one instance of an individual viewing from out on the bay (Kristin Swanbeck via HRWE on Facebook). For a week that boasted this plethora of sightings, it was pretty incredible that an adult Iceland “Kumlien’s” Gull was spotted at the Virginia Beach oceanfront on Sunday afternoon, though the report didn’t show up on Listserv until the evening hours. Apparently, the bird was observed feeding around the outlet of a dredge pipe that removes soils from Rudee Inlet, and pumps them onto the beach as a replenishment project by the city’s public works department. All of these birds are rarities when it comes to Virginia Beach, so anyone who got to see them should consider themselves quite fortunate, and each sighting has been added to the ‘Noteworthy Observations’ section of this site (under the Distribution heading).

A Sanderling takes refuge from the winds on South Thimble Island Friday evening!

Unfortunately for me, I got held up by a phone call at work on Thursday just as I was preparing to head out in search of the Snowy Owl, so I had to wait until Friday morning to give it a shot. As mentioned above though, the bird was not re-found on Saturday, and while I searched every rooftop in the neighborhood, with a quick trip down to the beach to scan the rock jetties, it never showed, and I had to get into work. I threw up another ‘hail Mary’ pass on Friday evening, heading up to the CBBT in hopes that maybe it perched up on a light post there, but that of course was a fruitless effort. It was also a bit disheartening to find very little in the way of waterfowl on the first island. As I pulled into a parking spot, a highlight Great Cormorant cruised past me heading northward, already showing white feather on the neck, and a vibrant white hip patch for the breeding season. It was clearly identifiable even before I hopped out of the car and put binoculars on it, but I didn’t get a chance to photograph unfortunately as it sped northward away from me. For the waterfowl, only a single male Surf Scoter, a few Bufflehead, and a few flybys of Red-breasted Merganser were observed; a paltry showing for what should be a great time to see waterfowl here. Red-throated and Common Loons were seen, and the typical gulls and shorebirds as well, but nothing that stands out. The wind had really whipped up throughout the day, and 25-30 mph northwesterlies were battering the island with massive swells. Because of the swells, I figured that the water levels at Pleasure House Point would be too high for anything to be seen on the mudflats, so I drove home via Independence Boulevard instead. To my amazement, when I’d gotten home, a report of American White Pelicans came in via Listserv, but it was just too late to make the drive back up to PHP in hopes of seeing the birds. I briefly debated about driving to the back of Kings Grant, in the hopes that I might see them across the bay, but I didn’t give it a shot, though I probably should have. When Saturday morning arrived, my wife & I had plans to go for a longer hike at First Landing State Park, partly because I need some exercise since I sit at a desk all week, and partly because there are a number of woodland birds that I haven’t logged yet in 2016. We stopped up at Pleasure House Point as the sun was rising over the horizon, hoping to catch the pelicans still there, but despite low tide, the birds weren’t seen on the flats. Tracy Tate & Andrew Baldelli were also there, and already set up with scopes. I introduced them both to my wife, wished them a quick good luck, and we headed off back to the car. On the storm water pond, a pair of Black-crowned Night-Herons were seen, but we departed quickly towards First Landing State Park.

While the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have all moved further south for the winter, this juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron can still be found at Pleasure House Point!

Arriving at First Landing State Park around 7:30 AM, we headed into the 64th Street entrance, and hooked a left at the Cape Henry Trail like I usually do. Ruth asked me how far I was planning to go, and I laughingly said, as far as I need to in order to get 5 birds off my target list. Not two minutes later, we found ourselves in a mixed flock of woodland songbirds. For about 15-20 minutes, we stood on the trail, reeling in sighting after sighting. The first bird I noticed was actually a raptor perched high above the trail, noting the barring on the chest with no stomach band, and a short-tail, it was clearly a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk; a new bird for me at First Landing SP and #106 on my yearly county list. As I took a couple shots, the sounds of the songbirds moving through caught my attention, and my focus shifted. In fact, the hawk flew off at some point and neither of us realized it. Carolina Wrens were singing from all available perches, Carolina Chickadees, and Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through in good numbers. A pair of Fox Sparrows hopped out from the thick underbrush (#107), and a Golden-crowned Kinglet (#108) hovered around a tree almost like a Ruby-throated Hummingbird would. On nearby trees, White-breasted Nuthatch (#109), and a Brown Creeper (#110) all came seemingly out of the woodwork! Now, if you’re counting, that was 5 birds off my target list, and we’d only walked a quarter of a mile. So, I had to explain to Ruth that it didn’t count, and we kept on walking down the trail, eventually doing the full 6 mile loop to White Hill Creek and back. We continued down the Cape Henry Trail around Lake Susan Constant, which was nearly iced up in totality with just the edges remaining freed. Here a Pied-billed Grebe emerged from the depths, and then a few seconds individual popped up as well. I recalled well having photographed grebes at this same spot under similar conditions, though laying down to shoot under the vegetation along the shoreline. Near the lake, the entry road gets very close, and allows for a crossover from the Cape Henry Trail to the start of the Long Creek Trail.

My first Fox Sparrow of the year, seen at First Landing SP early on Saturday morning!

After passing through the gates of the Long Creek Trail, meant to keep bikes out (though we saw 1 biker!), there is a patch of lowland where rainwater tends to form small pools. In this area, I’ve seen a good number of Hermit Thrushes over the years, so I always keep quiet in this spot, and listen for subtle movements in the leaf litter that covers the forest floor around the pools. No Hermit Thrush showed up, but I did hear a slight movement, and quickly got on a pair of Fox Sparrow that jumped up into the thicker vegetation and out of view. Additionally, and a great surprise, a tiny Winter Wren hopped into view for a brief moment, then worked its way back into the brush. This was only my third Winter Wren ever, and second sighting at First Landing, making it also #111 on the year in Virginia Beach. Having only walked a mile, it was an incredibly fruitful hike already. Things quieted down as far as new birds after that, though we did get to see an adult Bald Eagle as it came across Broad Bay, and there was a few Buffelheads on the water to entertain as well. Eastern Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings were seen in fair numbers, though most at a distance. American Robins were everywhere along our return trip on the Long Creek Trail, with over a hundred likely seen. White Hill Lake was actually frozen over completely, so no ducks or comorants were there, though some Great Blue Herons were still standing on my unfrozen shorelines. The next flurry of excitement didn’t occur until we had actually arrived back to the entry road at the base of the Long Creek Trail. Here, some drumming on a tree had us searching the nearby pines for a Woodpecker in hopes that it was something other than a Downy, Red-bellied, or Pileated since we’d seen those already. Ruth was the first to spot it, and when I got my binoculars on it, the massive bill stood out immediately, confirmed my first Hairy Woodpecker (#112) of the year! Much larger than the extremely similar Downy Woodpeckers, this bird just exuded power as it moved around the large Southern Yellow Pine tree. As we were watching, an SUV drove up on us, and Ruth looked at me and said something to effect of ‘you must know this person, their license plate says chirp’. Of course, this is the instantly recognizable trademark of Karen & Tom Beatty. I told Karen what we were watching and she hopped out for a look, also having not seen a Hairy on the year. The bird actually played nice, staying in view well enough for binocular looks, and then vocalized. Karen knows the different vocalization between Downy & Hairy, which makes the ID much easier than just a sight of it, so I was happy to have the additional confirmation, and tried to file that sound away in my memory for future use. I found out later that Karen was able to pick up a Hermit Thrush & a Ruby-crowned Kinglet at the park, both of which we missed, but there is still plenty of time before either species departs in April/May to track them down. January is really about getting the year off to a good start, February will be more for filling the holes. After Karen & Tom headed down the road westward, Ruth & I continued back towards the car parked out on 64th Street, with a massive 7 new birds on the year that I accredit to having my good luck charm with me.

Packing one of the strongest voices in the woods, this small Carolina Wren was singing up a storm at First Landing!

Upon arrival at the car, I checked my phone, and to my amazement, the rare bird alert text group had been lit up with messages, as had listserv. During our time in First Landing, the American White Pelicans were found at Pleasure House Point. Apparently with the rising tide, their hiding place among the vegetation out in the marshes forced them to rise up into the air and head to the north across the bay. Of course, I wasn’t patient enough to see these birds first thing in the morning, but, I will have to remember how this occurred for next time, and at least some individuals did get to see the birds and document them further. They were even spotted out over the bay by at least one boater (Kristin Swanbeck), and had been seen taking off by Tracy Tate & Andrew Baldelli, as well as by some of the folks that were getting on the CBBT islands cruise like James Marcum. What was amazing though, the pelicans weren’t the only sighting at Pleasure House Point. A trip being led by Rexanne Bruno revealed a female Western Tanager at the same spot one was sighted last year by Ernie Miller! Though I made the attempt several times last winter, I never did get to see this bird, so I was excited that it had seemingly returned for a second year. With all this information flying across the radio waves, I returned to Pleasure House Point (as I had expected to do anyway), but with more focus than I likely would have had. I parked at Dinwiddie and immediately scanned the mudflats for birds, though no pelicans could be seen outside of a single Brown. A few Black Skimmers were sitting on the flats though, which is interesting since eBird doesn’t have much in the way of Jan-Feb sightings listed, though perhaps with the weather being so fair this winter, they’ve stuck around. I caught up with another birder, David Clark of Norfolk, who was also looking for the Tanager, and Kathy Spencer and Mike DeRousse were also searching the area. None of us ever found the bird, but Andrew Baldelli got a nice photograph of it for his eBird report so it is surely around somewhere. The story at Pleasure House continues to be a lack of waterfowl though, as I’ve yet to see any large groups of ducks out on the creek this winter. Last year it was full of them, and yielded the Eurasian Wigeon seen by so many during January and February. American Black Ducks, Buffleheads, and Red-breasted Mergansers were all I could pull though. Mike & I did get looks at a pair of eagles, and a Cooper’s Hawk that flew over, but the best sighting came when I was on my own back at the east end of the park. Here, a group of 27 American Oystercatchers was flying out over the shoreline far to the east side of the Lynnhaven River. They landed on an oyster bed and I pulled some poor quality photographs, but that was the 8th new species on the day, and #113 now on the year! After leaving Pleasure House, I stopped up at the islands but it was so quiet for birds it almost isn’t worth mentioning, and I didn’t stick around too long.

Similar to Mallards, the key to identifying these American Black Ducks is their all yellow bills and drabber, darker bodies, seen at Pleasure House Point!

Given the great success of Saturday, I couldn’t wait for Sunday morning to arrive so I’d have a fresh set of legs to venture out into nature with. Another sunny day, though already warmer than Saturday first thing in the morning (40s), it was expected to rise up into the 60s (F) and it did just that. My first stop was at Back Bay NWR, where I’d hoped to fill some gaps in my waterfowl list. Earlier in the week, Canvasbacks had been noted here by James Marcum and later by Karen & Tom Beatty. Upon arrival to the park though, the bay was nearly empty of waterfowl to my dismay. A small group of Gadwall was in close, but nothing else was viewable. In the air however, large groups of Tundra Swans and also Snow Geese were moving northward. The Snow Geese have just started showing up here in good numbers, though there are plenty further south of here at Pea Island NWR in the Outer Banks already. I looked hard for birds that might be Ross’s Geese mixed in with the white birds, but nothing stood out as sizably different. It was fun to watch the mixed groups of Snows and Tundras though, with the Tundras being much more massive with their lengthy necks jutting out in front of them. In walking the Bay Trail, I spooked a Cooper’s Hawk into a low level flight down the extent of the trail. A Belted Kingfisher and Great Egret were out on the western pond, but no King Rails were seen on the day sadly. Warblers were out in huge numbers as usual, but every single one I put eyes on was a Yellow-rumped Warbler. The target here is always Orange-crowned Warblers since southeastern Virginia is the only part of the state they’re found in a typical winter. Most out of towners come here in hopes of seeing those, along with the variety of waterfowl the park can be host too at times. While I didn’t find the Orange-crowned Warbler, I did run into Hugh & Una Davenhill on the Kuralt Trail. As we walked back towards the Bayside Trail, I spotted a very distant group of American Wigeon out on the bay, to which Una said they were a lifer, so at least I could help in securing that for someone on the outing. We passed the area where my mother & I had seen some Marsh Wrens back in October, and I could hear some movement under the reeds, but couldn’t spot anything. The Davenhills continued down the Bay Trail and I stayed put, hoping one would pop up. I tried pishing a bit, and sure enough, one popped right up into view for a moment, not long enough for a photograph, but good for a solid ID confirmation, making Marsh Wren #114 on my county year!

Last week's blog featured a pair of male Buffleheads, well this is their female counterpart, also a striking bird!

I tracked down the Davenhills and told them about the wren, hoping they’d get to see it on their way back. I found out later that they didn’t see the wrens, but just after I left, they spotted a leucistic (all white, not albino) Yellow-rumped Warbler. This same individual has been spotted a few times by birders in the vicinity of the visitor contact station, and of course, it was another white bird that gave me the snub this week to go along with the Snowy Owl, American White Pelicans, and the Iceland Gull that would be seen Sunday afternoon at the oceanfront! I didn’t even go to the beach on the day, since the birds were just so quiet, and instead headed off towards Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area’s Whitehurst Tract since it is only open to birding on Sundays this time of year. In turning from Morris Neck Road onto Munden Road, I kept watch over the fields for Eastern Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, and American Pipits. To my astonishment, a single bird moved on the south side of the road just prior to the red house’s mud driveway. A distant look provided a good view of the yellow throat with black outlining to the head, a Horned Lark! Last year, the only Horned Larks I got all year in Virginia Beach were on the north side of this very road, so it came as a surprise that one would actually turn up in almost the same spot this year. I got some ID-worthy photographs from the driver’s seat, and then headed into the Whitehurst Tract with #115 now under my belt. A school bus was sitting in the parking lot, so I realized quickly that there was a Winter Wildlife Festival field trip somewhere in the area. I walked my standard path, hugging the western side of the park and heading south to reach the impoundments. Lots of sparrows including White-throated, Song, Swamp, Field, and Savannah turned up, and good numbers of Chickadees and Yellow-rumps were seen, but there was an astonishing lack of waterfowl present. In circling the impoundments, a grand total of only 2 Mallards were observed. Perhaps since hunting is allowed here Monday-Saturday, there just isn’t enough turnover time for new waterfowl to arrive? Hopefully when hunting ceases, this will again become a hotbed for duck activity, and it will hopefully yield some Blue-winged Teal, as they can be hard to track down anywhere else in Virginia Beach, especially in winter since they are probably the only duck that we are actually on the northern limit of their winter range; most others we are the southern limit or somewhere in between.

Tundra Swans were flying across the sky in full force early Sunday morning at Back Bay NWR!

I eventually spotted the group of folks out birding, so I walked the cross dikes to avoid them, though I felt a bit weird with a dozen or so camera and scopes probably watching me to see if I’d scare up any birds. I found one beautiful Savannah Sparrow in the vicinity, which had me thrown for a minute since it was so light and I thought it could be something else, but wasn’t. While walking a cross dike, a spooked an American Bittern into the air, and nearly had a heart attack in the process. I got a great photograph of the tree line that it had dropped below too quickly for the focus on my camera to get on it, but, #116 on the year nonetheless! The bird probably dropped down in the next impoundment, so I did walk over to the group and tell them it was probably there, meeting the leader Stephen Living in the process. Steve works for the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries and manages this refuge as far as I know, he was also the individual who first report the American White Pelicans on Friday evening, so a bit ironic that I ended up meeting him this weekend, but not the pelicans. Peggy Bryan heard me mention my name to him and recognized me from HRWE so it was the first time I got to meet her as well. The group headed back north to the road and over to the buses, so I took the opposite route, heading west, then north, arriving at my car about the same time, and without any new sightings to speak of. I checked for the lark on my way out of the park as well, but couldn’t find it. While scanning, a pair of smaller birds flew in and landed, and I instantly though, Pipits! However, with binoculars right on them, their ID was obvious, showing yellow undertail coverts and a beautiful eyeline, they were both Palm Warblers. Now I’d already seen one this year, but they aren’t that common in winter here, so anytime I see one is worth celebrating, and this time there was two of them side by side. Eventually, I drove most of the road in Pungo, hoping for a Cattle Egret near the border of North Carolina on Princess Anne Road, but finding only Cattle present, and no egrets. Red-tailed Hawks were seen on wires, and a Red-shouldered Hawk adult cruised over me at one point, showing off its beautifully marked tail in the process, another bird I don’t see often, but am starting to find more reliably this past few months.

Not my first of the year, but I always enjoy seeing Field Sparrows like this one at Whitehurst Tract!

So through January, I finished with 116 species in Virginia Beach, a number which I didn’t reach until March 6. Now, I’m ahead of schedule clearly, but I would like to point out that most of the birds I’ve seen so far, I did find last year as well, just not as quickly. What this says to me is I’m more observant now, and I know where to find species better than a year ago; all fine and dandy. However, it also means I’m likely to start stagnating sooner, as I’m mostly seeing common winter residents and permanent residents. I have missed on all the true rarities I’ve gone after thus far. Though, birds like Blue-headed Vireo, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk, Fox Sparrow, Brown Creeper are all good ones to knock out early, most of which I only saw 1 of all last year. Winter Wren is the only bird on my 2016 list that didn’t get seen in 2015, so I can at least say I’m perhaps 1 ahead for the moment, though my actual number makes a different suggestion. It will be interesting to see what February brings, if anything, in knocking out the common birds, I have a more clear focus for the coming month, and I hope to pick up something off my Code 4 (green) list if one looks under the Distribution section of my site and goes to the Comprehensive Checklist. There are certainly birds I’m missing that I will find over the course of the year without effort like American Coot or Ruddy Duck, but so far I’ve missed them. Other common birds include Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush and House Wren. Those will come if I keep making an effort to be in forested areas. Horned Grebe and White-winged Scoter have been very difficult for anyone to find in Virginia Beach this year, with almost no confirmed records thus far. White-winged Scoters are a species that is said to be bound to the % of ice on the great lakes. Last week, the ice did make it up to 15% coverage, but has been melting and dropping ever since. Last year, with the ice at 90%+, we had large influxes of Red-necked Grebe & White-winged Scoter, something that just hasn’t happened here. In fact, the Red-necked Grebes have only come as far south as New Jersey thus far in 2016, a bit of a bummer for us in Virginia given the last two winters were excellent for seeing these irruptive winter birds. Some other irruptive species like Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and Red-breasted Nuthatch can be seen in huge numbers here some winters, and all but impossible to find in others. Siskins have been sighted, but no reliable Purple Finch reports (a lot of newer birders misidentify House Finches as Purples), and not a single Red-breasted Nuthatch to date. Having said all this, there are plenty of birds to be seen, and if I had to toss out a goal for February, it would be to add another 15-20 species to my yearly list. We’ll see how that turns out though, as each add, makes the next one that much harder!

Probably my favorite photograph of this week, this is a Savannah Sparrow that was seen working the edges of an impoundment at Whitehurst Tract, before finally stopping for a split second for this shot!