Week Ending March 2, 2014

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Another work week came & went (very slowly), and we had a gradual warmup of weather. This weekend was expected to be a good one. After feeling a bit sick on Friday evening though, I wasn't expecting to get a whole lot of hiking in. Saturday, my girlfriend was going to go shopping up at the Prime Outlets in Williamsburg, about an hour or so northwest of here. I decided to go with but instead go hiking around that area since I haven't been up there to take photographs in quite a while. I have hiked a few times in an area called the Greensprings Interpretive Trail which is actually in James City County and not Williamsburg, but is very near the border. Recently, this trail has been added onto and now connects to the Powhatan Creek Trail. The Powhatan Creek Trail is very similar to the walking/biking paths I've spent a lot of time on in Fairfax County. It wanders through the canyon of a drainage basin. Since the terrain follows the creek, the ground gradually slopes downhill. The local entity in charge of collecting sewage (James City Sewer Authority) also used these areas for their collection systems (underground), since it is easy to slope the systems downhill to allow gravity to drive the passage of sewage towards their wastewater treatment plants. The reason I mention this is because there is a growing trend to place bike paths in these types of areas so they can double as access for vehicles that perform maintenance on the sanitary sewer mains & manholes you'll find scattered along the paths. It's kind of nice that this is occurring, because it is providing outdoorsfolk with lots of extra miles of paved walkways that provide easy access for birding & photography. I actually worked on a project through my company where we analyzed all the sanitary sewer systems of James City County so I feel like my true work experience finally has bled over a little bit into this blog.

Northern Cardinal along the Powhatan Creek Trail.

Anyway, James City County has a great start now to a network of walking paths through their drainage basins. You can catch up with the Powhatan Creek Trail right behind a small elementary school on Ironbound Road (just south of John Tyler Highway). From there, walking westward and southward along the trail will bring you to a large wooden bridge that has been built to pass over top of Powhatan Creek. Along the creek I saw a large number of songbirds (Northern Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird, Carolina Chickadee, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco). The main reason there was so many songbirds here is that, again, as I mentioned, the trail follows the terrain along the creek, and on both sides of the creek the ground slopes upward to where the land has been developed. Basically the trail meanders along the drainage with residential housing backyards butting up against it. Therefore, there are a lot of feeders situation in the yards and it draws in the birds. When they're tired of feeding, they move back down into the creekbed forests. After photographing many songbirds here I kept walking southward until I reached a backyard with a large number of grackles/blackbirds/starlings. You could hear them all gregariously feeding, and while listening I saw a large fast-moving shape cruise through the trees towards them, it was a large Cooper's Hawk. It didn't manage to grab any birds, but it definitely caused quite a commotion and the sky lit up with blackbirds dispersing in all directions. I never got a chance to photograph the hawk, but fortunately, after walking another mile or so, I did hear another one!

Eastern Bluebird near the junction of the Greensprings & Powhatan Creek Trails.

This time though, it was a Red-shouldered Hawk and I got close enough to take some shots before I realized I was even there. I tried to get in better position to align the sunlight on it properly but caused it to fly off instead. The Powhatan Creek Trail feeds into the Greensprings Interpretive Trail very near here and I walked this one clockwise. I saw a White-tailed Deer in the same spot that I've seen a few in the past and then made a turn along the trail to cut through the center of the wetlands that the main trail encircles. Nothing much was around in the swamps yet, but soon they'll be full of waterfowl as they start to migrate northward. Having cut east across the wetlands, I hit the main loop trail again and turned north (counterclockwise) and wrapped up and around the northern portion of the trail before again meeting up with a Red-shouldered Hawk that dropped out of the sky very swiftly. I checked again for the deer I'd seen earlier and yet again it was there so I snapped some photos, and again made the same cut across the wetlands. This time though, after crossing, I cut to the south back in the direction of the Powhatan Creek Trail's connection. It was 2 years ago, the last time I had walked this trail, that I'd found a hawk nest nearby, and photographed the fledgelings, believing them to be Red-tailed Hawks. Now I'm thinking they may have been Red-shouldered Hawks, which might actually make those my first such hawks, I need to check my records. Yet again, I found a nest, in a large pine tree at the northern edge of the forbay (drainage basin area that filters out trash) that sits right next to the trail. I'll have to come back in a month or so to see if it is indeed a hawk nest, but it sure looked like it was, and given that I'd seen the hawk twice nearby it almost must be. I hit the Powhatan Creek Trail again, and caught a lot of Eastern Bluebirds, but the last part of the 6.3 mile hike was pretty quiet, not having seen a whole lot more.

My first Red-shouldered Hawk on the year. This one might have a nest nearby!

I think I might have overdone it a bit though since after I finished up my walk I really didn't feel all that great. I picked Ruth up at the outlets and we headed back towards Virginia Beach. I decided to stop at Fort Monroe in Hampton on the way, just to show her the views over the bay and to check if anything interesting might be hanging out near shore. We saw the usual gulls, and Sanderlings, but not realy anythinng noteworthy before we took off in the car again. Whether its allergies or a cold, or something I ate, really doesn't matter, all I know is I felt real bad on Saturday night and just laid on the couch, and fell asleep by about 9. Sunday though, I woke up around 7 and it was very sunny outside. I didn't want to waste the day but I still didn't feel that great so I asked Ruth if she wanted to just do a couple miles at Back Bay NWR. She said that was fine so we went down and made the park by 9 o'clock. Walking my typical route (Bay Trail, around Pool D, Dune Trail, Beach, Seaside Trail, Bay Trail once more, and Kuralt Trail), we didn't really uncover a whole lot. 

White-tailed Deer just outside the wetlands in the southern half of the Greensprings Interpretive Trail loop.

I did spot an American Bittern at the end of the Bay Trail, but only after I had spooked it from afar. Heading towards the Dune Trail, one Northern Harrier was spotted searching for a meal, but I never saw it again unfortunately. Along the beach, there was some Gannets in very close, but not much else. A few Ring-billed, Herring & Great Black-backed Gulls were aflight, and one Forster's Tern as well. I took a photograph of some ducks in flight way out over the water which I believe were White-winged Scoters, and I think I may have actually gotten some Red-throated Loons finally in a photo but they're just to far out to be certain. I couldn't ID any with binoculars either so they still haven't been added to my life list, one of these days I'll get lucky though! It was the second time in a row that Back Bay has been very quiet in terms of birds, but at least it was a beautiful day out. I'm actually writing this on Monday, as I got to leave work early since we are getting a nasty freezing rainstorm, which really is making me appreciate how nice the weekend was even though I didn't feel that great, but am feeling a lot better now.

Black-backed Gull (unsure on whether Greater or Lesser as I did not see the leg color, though the patterned head does lean towards Lesser) at Back Bay NWR.

Week Ending February 23, 2014

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After several weeks of frigid weather (by Virginia standards), this week we finally got a warm up. On Wednesday, temperatures went up to 70F, and I got my first opportunity this year to get out for a neighborhood walk (6 miles) after the work day. The weather stuck around through the weekend. Saturday morning I was able to get an early start. It was mostly blue sky, except for some clouds that were stacked up right on the coastline. Unfortunately, the sun also rises over the ocean so it was hidden by these clouds. I opted to go to First Landing State Park since I wanted to at least get a long walk in if I wasn't going to get good light for photographs. I was down at the 64th Street entrance right at 8 o'clock, and found a parking spot outside the park to walk in from. I had no plans to detour around my usual walking routes, and stayed to the Cape Henry Trail southbound from 64th Street as always. I didn't find any birds in the strip along Lake Susan Constant, not even any ducks, grebes or cormorants this time. Once I crossed over 64th Street and linked up with the Long Creek Trail's eastern terminus it started to get better though. Deep in the woods, I was amazed when I frightened an adult Bald Eagle that had been perched in a pine tree right over the trail. This was the first time I'd spooked an eagle right on one of the trails, typically they are far off, and much higher up in the tallest of trees, or circling out over Broad Bay.

Pine Warbler at First Landing State Park.

It caught me so off guard that I didn't get any photographs before it was gone from view. At the junction with the Osprey Trail, I took it and found few birds along it til I reached the beach at Broad Bay. Here, some Ring-billed and Herring Gulls were in photo range on the tidal flats, which were completely exposed by a low tide cycle. I scanned hard in the first salt marsh for Clapper Rails, but didn't hear or see any. I've only seen one rail in this marsh, but it seems like perfect habitat aside from the highly used trail being right next to it. If there is any place in the park that you'd find them though, this & the next tidal creek to the west are the only places I'd expect them. After crossing the first bridge, I found some songbirds causing a raucous in the marsh before the second bridge. Some Eastern Bluebirds were flying around & perching in the dead trees out in the marsh, and what I later found out was a Pine Warbler, was calling relentlessly. I had previously thought their song was a Northern Parula's, but I'm glad to have been corrected before I claimed to have heard some on eBird incorrectly. A Northern Cardinal and some Tufted Titmice were also present here, as well as a Downy Woodpecker. Next up on the trail was the western tidal creek, which was also barely running with water, and surprising held no shorebirds or herons. I expected to find some feeding on the mud flats but couldn't spot any. Heading west from the 2nd bridge, you go up the White Hill, here I spooked a pair of Mourning Doves. I always find them in pairs wherever I go, I'm wondering if they mate for life, or if it is just a coincidence. Once topped out on White Hill, the trail hits another junction with the Long Creek Trail, here I took this trail, continuing westward along the high dune plateau and then down the far end towards White Hill Lake.

Canada Goose at First Last State Park.

The hill itself is about 50 feet high, which doesn't sound like much, but it gives quite a view in all directions, especially over Broad Bay to the south & west. When you come down the west side, you hit a small observation area on the south shore of White Hill Lake. Typically there are Hooded Mergansers / Great Blue Herons all over, but today it was full of Double-crested Cormorants and Ruddy Ducks, as well as a lone Canada Goose. Continuing westward on the trail, you find around the southwest corner of the lake, and an overflow area during high tide, before reaching a large wooden bridge built over White Hill Lake's outflow creek. On the downstream end, there is a large salt marsh which today was home to several Great Blue Herons and Double-crested Cormorants. The bridge sits just south of another trail junction, this time with the White Hill Lake Trail. If you head eastward, it takes you into the center of the park back to the Cape Henry Trail. Heading westward though takes you further along the bay & creeks so that's the way I went. When I hit Broad Bay again, there was plenty of Buffleheads out on the water, common here in winter time, as well as Hooded Mergansers. I spotted another adult Bald Eagle high up in a lone pine tree in a spot where I've seen them several times. Winding around the trail, now very near Bay Island across the creek, I stopped for a drink of water on the big dune where the Long Creek Trail ends. At it's end, the Fox Run Trail continues west so as usual I took this. I found a Common Loon in Long Creek that was feeding on some type of crustacean, and also got some shots of a Brown-headed Nuthatch that had 3 leg-bands on it.

Brown-headed Nuthatch hanging out in a pine tree along the Long Creek Trail at First Landing State Park.

Afterwards this trail heads towards the western boundary of the park before looping back up towards the Shore Drive entrance's visitor center. I always stop at the furthest point west, then just turn around so I avoid the crowds of people that walk the trails closest to the visitor center. At this far western point, there are some marshy ponds nearby that are home to Spotted Turtles in the springtime. I could hear tons of frogs calling for the first time this season, but couldn't locate any of the tiny turtles. We are actually supposed to get snow next week again somehow, so I hope all the frogs that have already come out of hibernation manage to survive the coming cold weather. Heading back eastward now I chased a Tufted Titmouse around for a few minutes while only succeeding in getting several poorly focused photos of branches. After this, there was fairly long spell without any birds in sight. It wasn't until I got up near the White Hill Lake creek that I finally saw something worth noting. I had been hearing loud scraping sounds up in a tree, and finally locked in on the location. It was coming from a very tall pine tree, but only about 20 feet off the ground. I could see a dark shape behind pine boughs and thought at first it must be a Raccoon scraping bark off the tree for some reason. When I got into the right position I could finally see that it was actually a subadult Bald Eagle with a large fish in it's talons. The sound was from the fish scraping off the loose bark when the eagle tried biting into it. I took some photos of it from behind cover, trying not to scare it, and surprisingly two different sets of people walked by with dogs and it didn't flush. I wandered out into the marsh to get some better shots, and it finally flew off when the next round of un-leashed dogs came by. Still under cloudy skies, the photos could have been better, but the blue sky just didn't want to make it's way over to Virginia Beach, you could just see it hanging out to the northwest. I walked past White Hill Lake and up White Hill to the dual tidal creeks where I didn't find anything new. It wasn't until I'd almost reached the park entrance that I heard Snow Geese flying overhead and counted around 100 of them in one long line spanning across the sky. The was the first time I've seen them flying over the park, and they appeared to be heading south, must be on the way to meet up with the large flock that has been feeding in Pungo fields the last week or so. After that, my 9 mile hike was over with and I headed home for some lunch. 

Subadult Bald Eagle (note head not all white) eating a large fish in a pine tree at First Landing State Park.

Ruth & I decided to go out for pizza for lunch at Pungo Pizza (first time there, delicious), and then went to the Hunt Club Farm petting zoo afterwards. While there, the sun finally reached Virginia Beach, so I wanted to get back out to take photographs. I took her up to East Beach to try and spot the Iceland & Black-headed Gulls that were reported in the area. We quickly caught up with two Black-headed Gulls that were surrounded by several people with telescopes & cameras and were apparently from a NC birding club. We didn't get to find the Iceland, but while looking, a flock of 9 Brants flew in over the bay and landed out by the easternmost jetty. I didn't get close enough for good photographs but the ones I got were good enough for IDs. It turned out to be quite a beautiful afternoon, in the 60s and beautifully sunny. We drove to the tip of Willoughby Spit before heading back home for the evening, but didn't happen upon any Snowy Owls, though one had been "seen" in the area last week. 

Ring-billed Gull showing off his side-stepping moves at East Beach, Norfolk, VA.

On Sunday, I woke up extremely exhausted from the 16-odd miles I'd walked the past few days. I decided I didn't need to do another long hike today so I went down to Back Bay NWR. Off to a slightly later start than normal, I got to the park close to 9:30, which, is a little embarassing for a self-proclaimed outdoorsman. I parked in my usual spot northwest of the visitor's center and headed out. While passing the small freshwater pool nearest the kayak launch I saw John Coleman, who told me he'd seen the American Bittern hanging around earlier in the morning. Clearly, the early bird gets the bird in this case. I walked the boardwalks out to the Bay Trail, then headed west on it towards the observation area. The trail was exceedingly quiet this morning, with no birds on the sides running around or flying from tree to tree like is typical. I actually didn't see anything en route to the observation area, and nothing on the way back towards the visitor's center. Heading south on the gravel road towards the west dike access I scared up a couple of Mallards but again this part of the park seemed relatively quiet. I did see some Tundra Swans very high up, and some Red-winged Blackbirds though. Rounding around the D Pool and then heading back north on the east dike gravel road I finally started seeing some more wildlife. In the same place I've been seeing them lately, several Field Sparrows made appearances on the shrubbery, and then ran along the ground in an attempt to hide. In the same area, I could see a large number of turtles (guessing Yellow-bellied Sliders) sitting on the banks of the D Pool. They always managed to slide back into the water before I get too close, so I decided to just leave the lot alone.

Beautiful day along the coastline at Back Bay NWR in Virginia Beach.

I reached the Dune Trail boardwalk and headed up towards the beach. On the way, I saw a small Ladybug sitting on one of the handrails. This was the first one I've seen this year so I was pretty excited, being that it was in the 50s today, and had reached about 70 yesterday, it seemed as though spring was definitely getting here. However, Virginia is notorious for flip-flopping temperatures in February & March, and even April so it's hard to get too excited by the random nice days that are then followed by 30 degree temps. But, for now, it was exciting. The views over the dunes onto the ocean were incredible today, the clear, dry air made the blue a vivid blue, and the few clouds & jet trails added to it some much needed contrast for my photographs. The waves weren't huge, but were steadily coming in from the east/southeast. On the beach, it was the gulls that were most abundant, as is usually the case. I didn't see any loons or ducks today which is not very common, especially this time of year. But at least the Ring-billed & Great Black-backed Gulls provided some photo ops. Reaching the north end of the beach, I watched as a truck was driving in the restricted area between the Back Bay NWR boundary to the north, and the restricted access boundary at the south. I was waiting to see if it came close enough for photographs of the license plate, which I intended on giving to the park officials, but when it got close enough I realized it was actually a park owned vehicle.

Another shot of the beautiful shoreline of Back Bay NWR.

I get really irritated when I see random folks walking, and especially driving in this restricted area, so I was happy to see it was an official parks vehicle. I headed back up the Seaside Trail boardwalk and reached the visitor's center. As usual, I gave the Bay Trail another try. This time I saw a few White-throated Sparrows on my way westward, but some oncoming pedestrian traffic prevented me from photographing them. I reached the large pond at the end, and just as I did, a pair of female Hooded Mergansers came in for landing. They must not have noticed me at all, and I very slowly raised my camera and took a couple of shots. As soon as I tried to move my legs though, they spotted me, and the water erupted very swiftly and they zoomed out of sight. I headed back towards the visitor's center for a second time on the day, and finally got my photo ops. The White-throated Sparrows that had been spooked earlier were back at it, feeding in the thick brush adjacent to the trail, so for about 15 minutes I patiently took photo after photo of them moving through that brush, and did finally get a couple ID worthy shots, though the sunlight didn't work out to well where I was shooting from. I walked again over the boardwalks along the bay and say some folks with spotting scopes set up. An older couple, they were showing a younger child some Redheads through the scope...always nice to see kids showing interest in birds. I hit the Kuralt Trail boardwalk next, and saw a Gray Catbird, but as with most catbirds, this one made it deep into the foliage before I could even try to take a photograph. I didn't come across any other birds on the short trail, so I headed back to my vehicle and left the park. On my way out, I saw an American Bittern standing in one of the entry road's ditches. It was like a big sign that said "get here earlier next time". 

Ring-billed Gull in the surf at Back Bay NWR, Virginia Beach.

I stopped off at the Little Island parking area and walked the short trails across the road just to see if any wildlife might be out there. This spot seems to be a good one, and the water body here is referred to locally as "Little Cove". The cove held one Great Egret, which actually was in a great spot for some pretty photos, situated on the outlet creek between two shores of reeds. I spotted a pair of female Buffleheads also before I went back to the car and headed northward. My girlfriend, Ruth, was up on the boardwalk at the oceanfront riding her bike in the gorgeous weather, so I went up to Rudee Inlet to meet her. While waiting I checked out the jetty for the Glaucous Gull that has been being sighted, and it was out there yet again! This time, I got some better photographs of it from the north jetty, still about 700 feet away, and past the limits of my camera lens for 'quality' photographs, but some did turn out well enough to again verify the ID of the bird. After I finished up at Rudee, I was ready to take a break from the camera and lay down for a bit, it had been one heck of a week, and until next week, I hope you enjoyed the blog entry & all the photos that came with it!

Great Egret in the tidal marsh near the Little Island Kayak Launch. 

Week Ending February 16, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week Ending February 9, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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