Week Ending June 1, 2014

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Monday, having just gotten home from the trip to Chincoteague the night before, Ruth & I went down to Sandbridge to enjoy our Memorial Day off of work. Often, I'll drop her off at the beach, and then go for a hike at Back Bay, then meet back up and get myself into the ocean for an hour or so to cool down. It was an extremely hot day, in the 80s, which is about as high as I can take it, being that I'm from the Midwest, and not Southern born-and-raised. We got stuck in traffic heading down the main road of Sandbridge and it took about 30-40 minutes to finally reach Little Island Park, where the road opens up to two lanes & we could get past the jam. Ruth hopped out of the car with her beach stuff, and I continued on into Back Bay NWR to hike. Like I've been doing the last few outings, I walked the West Dike Trail down to the False Cape SP sign & back. As with recent hikes, the Red-winged Blackbirds were out all across the marsh and making quite a raucous. I found a female Boat-tailed Grackle about a mile in that gave me some nice photo opportunities. Nearby, at the first wooded edge, where a Blue Grosbeak had slipped me a couple weeks back, I found a male Orchard Oriole. This is about 4 times in a row out here now that I've found one, though this is the first time that it has been in a spot not right before the maritime forest section of the trail. I noticed that there was no longer any splashing occurring along the trail in the bay water's.

An inquisitive female Boat-tailed Grackle at Back Bay NWR!

The spawning must now be done for the Longnose Gar. However, the Redear Sunfish appear to now be on their own spawning beds in the shallow waters of the freshwater impoundments. They lay their eggs in the summer/spring in rounded out areas in the sandy shallows that they have created with their tails and bodies. It's like a bird's nest, but for fish instead. They were so shallow in several places that I was able to photograph the males sitting right above the nests protecting them from other predators. I hadn't imagined that I'd be able to photograph fish with my equipment, but it seems to keep happening lately! When I got to my first water stop, at the maritime forest, I located a Ruby-throated Hummingbird as it zoomed by and perched briefly on the tip of a large tree branch about 20 feet above the ground. I took some shots, but these tiny birds (only about 3.25 inches in length), in a shadowy spot, never turn out very well. After, walking through the forest, I got to see some Carolina Chickadees and what turned into a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers, my first in Back Bay NWR (for those keeping track, namely myself). On the way out of the forest, I was passed by the tram coming back from False Cape SP, and was told by the driver that there was a whole lot of Glossy Ibis on the marsh to the immediate left after the forest. I was glad this gentleman told me about it, as I'd never have noticed them since they were so far away, and far back at a bad angle from this direction. There appeared to be some Great & Snowy Egrets also, but after reviewing the photographs, I'm not sure if they were Snowies or just young Great Egrets. I've never had to tell the difference before. 

A male Redear Sunfish sitting atop it's nest in the shallows of the freshwater impoundments at Back Bay NWR!

From this point, I turned back, and after a quiet walk back through the maritime forest, I encountered (what I'm guessing) was the same Ruby-throated Hummingbird on the other side of the forest. This one, kept flying from tree to tree in the same area that I helped the Chain Pickerel out weeks ago. It is crazy to think about to this day, but saving that fish's life has seemingly brought every bird in the park to this spot. I got some photos as this Hummer buzzed from Honeysuckle to Honeysuckle on all the trees. From that high point, walking back I didn't see a whole lot, even after the 2 miles of walking. One thing that did stick out was seeing a Largemouth Bass about 12-15 inches long swimming in the shallows of one of the impoundments. These fish are clearly either spawning or hunting for other spawning fish's eggs (like the sunfish I saw earlier).  Further along the West Dike Trail, I finally saw my first shorebird, a Spotted Sandpiper who kept walking very near shore in camera view. From that point forward though, I didn't see a whole lot, and went straight to the car, due to the hot weather, so that I could get to Little Island and spend some time on the beach. While on the beach, rather in the water for about an hour, I felt great, but when I came out of the water, for some reason my right ankle started to give out on me everytime I put pressure on it. I'm not sure what happened since it felt fine before I went in the water, but perhaps all the getting knocked around in the surf finally got to me?

Dragonflies are now everywhere at Back Bay NWR! This one I'm told is a Spangled Skimmer!

Throughout the week, my ankle had still bothered me. I was worried about having to go to Minnesota in a couple weeks, so I didn't push it, I stayed off it all week hoping it would get better. Thursday night I went and finally got a new pair of shoes in the hopes that they would help my ankle out. Part of why I think it started to hurt is having worn out my old pair a long time ago, but just not replacing them. On Friday, Ruth & I headed down to Fayetteville, North Carolina where her friend Amy was having a baby shower the following day. Since we were down there, and the party didn't begin til 2 PM, I went out hiking early Saturday morning, just to try out the new shoes and see how my ankle did with them. I went to Raven Rock State Park, which was just a half hour from where we were staying, and is a park that I visited last year in July just before her friend Candace's birthday party. The shoes seemed a good fit, and I did have some soreness still, but decided to only walk 5 miles or a bit less maybe, hoping not to push it too far. It actually sprinkled on me at first, but then got very clear, and very nice with temps probably in the 60s or early 70s. I walked the Raven Rock Trail & Little Creek Trail this time, whereas I did the trails at the west end of the park last year (on an awful 90 degree day that truly drained me over the few miles). It took awhile before I started to see many animals, having seen just a few Brown Thrashers early on.

A lone Pied-billed Grebe in breeding plumage at Back Bay NWR!

On the Raven Rock Trail, I ended up going down a number of steps to the Cape Fear River and realizing it was a dead end trail spur meant only to give a view of the water. When I went back up, I gave my ankle a good test, having to put all my weight on it going vertically up a hundred or more stairs. But, it still did OK. Shortly thereafter, I heard a bird chirping in a tree and stopped to look around. I looked for a couple minutes high up and then lower down in the trees, before I realized it was only about 10 feet, directly in front of me on a low branch. I was surprised to find that it was actually a Prothonotary Warbler, in all it's beautiful plump, yellow glory. I have been seeing these everywhere I go lately after having finally gotten to see a number of them at the Great Dismal Swamp this spring. This one caught me off guard though since it's voice sounded different than the ones I've seen in marshy areas, and this area is more of sandstone cliffs & creek valleys of the piedmont, not the coastal plain. I thought for a moment that it might be a Blue-winged Warbler, which look very similar to Prothonotary Warblers, but they have a black stripe between the eye & bill, which this one lacked. This sighting occurred near the end of the Raven Rock Trail, and just after I got onto the Little Creek Trail. While walking this trail I found an Eastern Box Turtle that was crawling across a sandy spot on the trail. I was taking photos of this turtle when I heard chirping that sounded close to me. I look just off trail, in the direction of a small freshwater stream, and noticed a little yellow bird hopping around. 

A tiny Spotted Sandpiper feeding its way along the shore of the F Pool at Back Bay NWR!

When I was finally able to get my lens on it (the auto focus is just getting worse and worse), I wasn't sure what it was, other than that it was a wood warbler of some sort. It had a yellow face, with a slight black ring around the head. I couldn't recall from memory just what type of bird this one was, and after a solid 10 minutes of trying to get a good shot of it, I continued on along the trail. I walked to the end of the trail, and slightly beyond since nothing was marked well, then came back again. On the way back I heard another warbler calling and upon looking around, a bright yellow and black bird came flying in close to me. This bird I recognized right away as a Hooded Warbler male. It hopped around and then flew towards me even closer and chased off what I believe to be the very same bird that I was trying to ID before. Now, the ID was made simple for me, and the original bird was a female Hooded Warbler. This time of year the wood warblers chase each other around as a mating ritual. I saw it a lot a few weeks ago in the Dismal Swamp with the Prothonotary Warblers, and it was neat to see again here in North Carolina. I took a large number of photographs but most were pretty bad with these birds moving around incessantly, and being deep in the forest, with little light coming through. Also while watching the warblers, a Black-and-White Warbler male perched on a tree nearby and I got a couple fuzzy shots of it. This is the second of the species I've seen this year, having seen the first (a female) in very early April at First Landing. It's been a great spring for Warblers, which was a big goal of mine, to photograph these tiny, colorful, and extremely quick birds; definitely my best year so far attempting to document them. Most species are just migrating through the area, heading towards the northern forests, but a few species do spend their entire summer in our area...more on this topic shortly.

A raucous Brown Thrasher that was singing from it's perch at Raven Rock State Park!

After all the commotion of the warblers, I'd forgotten about the poor Box Turtle. When I'd gotten back up to it, it was already gone, and Box Turtles don't move very fast, so I'd estimate I spent at least an hour walking around and taking warbler photos. Even after looking for the turtle, I still saw more of the Hooded Warblers, and tried my damndest to get good shots, but still failed due to their seemingly ADD personalities. After, I walked a bit more, I ended up very close to the parking area, where I saw a group of folks and one ranger standing still on the trail. I stopped, thinking the ranger might be pointing something out to the others, and this time I was right. There was a Summer Tanager sitting atop a dead tree very close to the group of people. I took a couple long-distance (50 yard or so) shots, and got one good enough to ID. From there to the parking lot I didn't have any more surprises, the ankle held up OK, just some minor pain, and I got back before it got too hot, and also well before Amy's party was going to start, so had plenty of time to get back, shower, and make it there. The baby shower was set for 2 PM, and after a ride with Ruth's friend Tinya's parents, I got there just in time. I had a great time at the shower, but I mention this in my wildlife blog for one particular reason. About 9 PM, after the sun had gone down, and the remaining folks had crowded around the fire pit, we started hearing loud bird calls from the forest around us. The bird that was calling, was very obviously, due to its call, a Whip-Poor-Will, as it kept calling it's name, and very loud! I've never seen or heard one of these before, so hearing one was awesome! Also, as the sun had dropped, Amy's folks' house eventually became enshrouded by Green Treefrogs, which was one of the neater things I've ever seen!

Eastern Box Turtle crossing the trail at Raven Rock State Park!

On Friday afternoon, I will be leaving Virginia Beach, and heading for Munster, Indiana & Ely, Minnesota on a 16 day vacation from work. I hope to catch a lot of the species (Wood Warblers especially) that I didn't see during their migration through the south in these forests where they have decided to nest. Last summer, I did the same thing, and I got to add several life species to my life list like the Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated-Green Warbler, and Nashville Warbler (one that I'd seen in Ely before, but never photographed). I'm looking very forward to being away and hopefully getting a chance to see more birds to add to my life list, and getting to fish on the lakes that I used to fish with my father. It'll be great to see my family in both spots as well, as my mother just finished up her final year as an elementary school teacher & I will get to see her and celebrate the start of her retirement! I can't wait, but unfortunately my next blog entry will probably be several weeks away, so for anyone out there who follows this blog, please bear with me throughout June & I will have a lot more photos (hopefully) to post when I get back into town on June 22!

A beautiful green & black species of Damselfly seen at Raven Rock State Park!

Week Ending May 25, 2014

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Like the past week, this week I opted to get out for a couple walks in the neighborhood after work since it's tough to get home & change, then drive out to a park to take photos all evening and take care of everything else I need too. Tuesday & Wednesday I walked my 6 mile loop through the neighborhood, and on Wednesday I had a great sighting of a Broad-winged Hawk along Harris Street in Little Neck. I heard it screech twice before I finally got a look at it as it flew in low over the street, harassed closely by an American Crow. This was the first Broad-winged I've ever seen outside of Minnesota, where they were a common sight, and sound when I spent summers up there. I was quite surprised when I heard it, it's not a sound you forget apparently. Ruth & I were set to head up to Chincoteague Island for a weekend getaway, courtesy of our Comfort Suites rewards points we had a free night stay on the island on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, when rates skyrocket for everyone else. Since we just had the one night at the hotel, we planned to leave early on Saturday morning. So I was able to get out Friday as well to Pleasure House Point for a short hike, since the weather was near perfect and I couldn't justify not getting out. I parked near Loch Haven Park like usual, and got to see a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron feeding on the outlet weir of the stormwater pond there. I walked the length of the park from east to west and back, adding another 3 or slightly less miles to my week of walking. I had mainly gone to the park in the hopes that I'd be able to spot some shorebird species that I hadn't seen yet this year, but when I got to the water, I knew this wasn't going to happen.

Great Egret in the flooded marsh of Pleasure House Point!

The Lynnhaven was so high there was almost no trail along it's shores, the water went right up into the grassland which is normal dry, even during a normal day's higher high tide (there are two high tides per day, and one is usually slightly higher than the other, termed 'higher high tide', very scientific). Due to the extreme water level (the highest I think I've ever walked in while at the park), there was no exposed mud flats or sand bars in sight, which means the smaller shorebirds had no land to walk on to search for food. This did however leave the larger birds still out, like Great Egrets, and the always present Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. I saw a total of 6 different night-herons in just an hour and a half or so, with 2 immatures mixed into a group of 3 birds. Since I wasn't spending any time looking for shorebirds, I got to concentrate a little bit more on the songbirds, the smaller, more colorful group of birds that exists at the park. I was able to track down a Pine Warbler after following it's repeated song in the high pine trees just west of the largest freshwater pond, and nearby there while trying (and failing) to photograph an Eastern Towhee breeding pair I saw my first Common Yellowthroat in the park to date. Unfortunately, the songbirds were very good at avoiding the sunlight, and excelled also at hiding in dense thickets so I didn't get any good shots. I did also find some Carolina Chickadees, but that was honestly about it for the day. One neat thing I came across was that at each of the freshwater ponds, where an outlet pipe allows high rainfall amounts to exit into the Lynnhaven River, the water was actually reverse flowing back up into the ponds, bringing brackish water into the normally freshwater areas. I wondered what effect this might have on some of the animals that live there, since a change in salinity is usually not a good thing for most wildlife species. This is the first time the tidal river has been so high that I've gotten to see it back flow, though I'm sure it happens frequently, especially during storms. Hopefully it doesn't end up having a negative affect, perhaps they need to add some flap gates to the pipes in the future like Back Bay NWR has...

A Dunlin showing it's breeding plumage (black belly and rufous back) at Chincoteague NWR!

As planned, Ruth & I left at 6 AM from Virginia Beach, and we were able to make it to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge by about 8:15 AM. The first thing we did was go to the WIldlife Loop parking area. I had expected there to be mass amounts of mosquitoes, like we've seen in past trips, even in our November 17 trip last year, but somehow there was absolutely none present. We walked the Wildlife Loop counter-clockwise, like most people do, and also walked to the Swan Cove & Marsh Loop trails that spur off the Wildlife Loop. Large amounts of peeps were all over the marsh's mud flats, but they're so small, and so hard to get good far away photos of that I can't ever seem to properly identify them. A lot of the larger ones were Dunlins, but the smaller were either Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, or a mix of both. The Bald Eagles that nest just south of the loop were present, and an immature flew into the trees near the nest when we walked past the closest approach.

The endangered, and adorable, Delmarva Fox Squirrel!

Near the Swan Cove Trail junction, we found a Rabbit feeding on the clover & grasses next to the road. This has been a hotspot for rabbits the past few times we've been up here, they seem to love this area. Nearby also, not this weekend, but on a past trip, we saw several Sika Elk feeding in the brush. The mammals seem to enjoy this area. Along the Swan Cove Trail, a few Tree Swallows were seen over the marshes, and on the nest boxes that they have taken as their own along the trail. When we reached the ocean, it was quite beautiful, very blue water and not-so-hot-temperatures. There was plenty of Atlantic Ghost Crab holes visible on the beach, and Ruth saw one running, but unfortunately I didn't get any photographs. It will be later in the summer when I get these guys I think, once it's too hot to go hiking & I start spending more time on the beach both swimming, and taking photographs of the beach wildlife. We kept on counter-clockwise around the Wildlife Loop, reaching the causeway between two more marsh areas. Here we saw a number of shorebirds (again probably Western & Semipalmated Sandpipers), and some Canada Geese, Glossey Ibis, and Mallards. We reached the portion of the loop has an offshoot that extends to the north, open only to hikers.

A Forster's Tern searching for fish in the shallow waters of a freshwater pool.

I hadn't realized prior that you could hike in this area, and will need to remember it for the future since it will help eliminate a good majority of the crowds. The crowds, which I hadn't mentioned, were extremely high (being Memorial Day weekend), and bikers were all over the place (unfortunately). On the last leg of the loop, Ruth & I were reminded of the time we were here last May, celebrating my graduation, when we got stuck in a downpour in this spot, and eventually just walked in the rain after we were completely soaked. Afterwards, we got to see a pair of Yellow-billed Cuckoos, and then walked the Marsh Loop before heading back to town to get some lunch. In the afternoon I walked to the Woodland Trail while Ruth went to the beach. On the way we got good looks at the famous Chincoteague Wild Ponies that were grazing south of the roadway. This herd is usually visible, and they almost always have a group of Cattle Egrets, which feed on insects right off the horses, nearby. In addition to the Cattle Egrets, I got to add Tricolored Heron & Little Blue Heron to my Virginia birds list for the year, having seen both near the Tom's Cove Visitor Center. Before that though, I hiked the Woodland Trail. Here I got to see a couple of the Delmarva Fox Squirrels that inhabit the island. I also found my very first House Wren, singing from a tree branch high off the ground. When I finished up the trail, I walked along the causeway near the visitor's center and photographed some terns & shorebirds that were feeding in the ponds. 

The striking Semipalmated Plover on the mudflats of Tom's Cove.

On Sunday, we did pretty much the same thing as Saturday afternoon... Ruth went to the beach, and I walked the Woodland Trail again. This time I couldn't get any photographs of the Delmarva Fox Squirrels, though I did see another pair off in the woods. I walked the causeway near the beach again and photographed some Least & Forster's Terns. Unfortunately, the Black-bellied Plover that had been out the day before wasn't around, but I did get to photograph some Semipalmated Plovers instead. They were mixed in with a group of Western/Semipalmated Sandpipers which I still can't seem to identify properly. There was several Snowy Egrets & Great Egrets flying from mudflat to mudflat looking for food. Also, there was a Great Blue Heron & a Tricolored Heron out in the marsh today. Dunlin continued to be the most numerous species that I could see out on the marshes. After photographing everything I could here, I changed & headed over to the beach, where I was surprised by the lack of birds along the beach, no Willets, no Sanderlings. Perhaps it was due to the huge number of people though that Memorial Day had brought in to the area. I opted not to walk the beach since it was just a never-ending collection of vacationers. Instead I got in the water, which is still pretty cool, and only a few others as far as I could see were in it without wet suits. I stayed in for probably a half hour or so before the cold started to get to me & I got out to dry off. I'm hoping the next time we come it'll be a lot less crowded. I should have expected crowds, but I can honestly say this is the most people I've ever seen while hiking, outside of perhaps Old Rag Mountain, which gets a ton of hikers on a daily basis. Despite the crowds however, I did get to tally several warblers on the weekend though, as we heard a Prairie Warbler & Pine Warblers on the Wildlife Loop, and I found a Blackburnian Warbler (first in VA for me) on the Woodland Trail! And, I got to add a new life bird, the House Wren, to my list, which is now at 224 species!

Double-crested Cormorant in flight over the Chincoteague marshes.

Week Ending May 18, 2014

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Another beautiful week, though a bit hotter than I usually prefer. I've found it a bit difficult to keep up with all the photographs I've been taking, if I'm also out shooting during the weeknights, so this week I stepped back a bit. I got in walks around the neighborhood of 6 miles on each of two nights but didn't bring the camera with. Of course, since I didn't bring it, I got a great opportunity to photograph a Pileated Woodpecker that probably was my best shot at one I've ever had. The bird was on the ground pecking on a dead tree when it saw me then landed a few feet away in a clear spot on a still-standing tree, then stayed there just watching me for a couple minutes. I couldn't believe it. Its really tough to not bring my camera everywhere with me, but there has to be some sort of balance between photography and being able to keep up with the hundreds of photographs I can take in an outing. So this week I didn't get out into real nature until Saturday morning when Ruth & I went down to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Fortunately this time I didn't lock myself out of the car, and was able to get started right at 9 o'clock like I should have been able to do last time out. Behind the contact station, I spotted a beautiful Indigo Bunting that was calling from the tops of the trees.

First time this year getting close enough for a decent Indigo Bunting shot!

I hoped it would come a bit closer, but it never did, so we went on down the Loop Road. Ruth caught a Marsh Rabbit feeding on grasses alongside the road, and while I was photographing it, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, only to find a King Rail sneaking out onto the roadway just about 50 feet to our north. I motioned to Ruth to look at it, and while we were then staring down the rail, again I caught some motion to the right. This time, and I don't have any idea where it came from, but a White-tailed Deer had slinked its way into the canal, and was actually swimming across directly towards the rail. When it came out on the roadway, it inadvertently chased the rail into the marsh, and both disappeared. Usually, the action isn't so on top of one another out here but this was a pretty neat experience! Clearly, the excitement level couldn't be kept at that high level the whole day, and from there it dropped off for awhile. Walking along the remainder of the Loop Road & West Dike, the main wildlife we saw was Red-winged Blackbirds, which have taken over the park. I did get to add Black-bellied Plovers to my yearly list, after seeing a group of 5 of them flying far out over the bay. Great Blue Heron and Great Egrets were both seen, but the shorebirds have seemed to taper off lately, I only saw one Lesser Yellowlegs and a handful of Spotted Sandpipers. The freshwater impoundments have really grown up lately in terms of the marsh grasses. I think a lot of birds are just able to hide themselves better now than a few weeks ago when everything was very visible. We saw a large number of Muskrats / Nutria in the canals this time as well, I think about 4 or 5 were within a half mile of one another. The birds that have become familiar along the dike trail are still around: Orchard Orioles, Eastern Kingbirds, Indigo Buntings. We ended up walking to the False Cape State Park entry sign again, just like the last few outings.

Beautiful male Prairie Warbler seen at Back Bay NWR!

On the way back, I kept chasing an Indigo Bunting, but was never able to get into a good spot before it flew a bit farther away. In the maritime forest, Carolina Chickadees were seen and plenty of birds were singing that I unfortunately do not have the ability yet to identify. When we got back onto the Loop Road, we went around to the east to try and avoid all the bike riders that cut down the west side of the loop. Here I heard a Prairie Warbler and was able to locate it just off the trail in the scrub desert. At least I know these guys' voice, its helped me greatly in locating them this summer. Reaching the contact station, we walked the Bay Trail out & back. On the way out, I somehow missed it, but fortunately Ruth was able to spot a very small Cottonmouth on the side of the trail that was all curled up on itself, and probably no more than a foot in length. On our way back, the snake was still coiled up there, but since we had been walking slowly to pay attention for more of them, I heard a Prothonotary Warbler off the trail, which soon jumped up onto a small branch in plain sight. That is the first time I've been so close to one, after having seen tons of them this spring in the Great Dismal Swamp, but from a far off distance. This one hopped around & sang a few times before it flew deeper into the marsh. I'm still amazed that it landed so closely to us, but so happy it did, the photographs came out as my favorite Prothonotary shots to date.

Prothonotary Warbler that put on quite a show along the Bay Trail before disappearing into the marsh!

Week Ending May 11, 2014

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On Wednesday, my older sister Ellen came into town for her 5-day stay in Virginia Beach. As such, I didn't go out walking that day or Thursday, but did force her to go hiking with me on Friday since I'd requested the day off work to spend with her, and figured I might as well get her to do something I enjoyed. We went out to Merchants Millpond State Park in Gates County, North Carolina. I've taken her here in the past since its a good spot to usually see turtles out walking around this time of year laying their eggs. On the way out, just like the last time we went together, I had to stop on the road to help an Eastern Box Turtle get all the way across without getting smashed. Entering the park, we saw a Northern Copperhead warming up on the asphalt roadway. I pulled over and walked back to take some photographs since this is the first one I've seen since 2009, when I saw one at Northwest River Park in Chesapeake. After watching the Copperhead slither off the road and out into the forest, we went to the parking area for the Lassiter Trail. This trail is a 6 mile or so loop from the parking area, but we only ended up walking about 4 miles this time. For one of my shorter walks, we saw a lot of wildlife. The trail dives down a hillside right away, and then crosses a marshy inlet of the millpond with a boardwalk. From the boardwalk, I heard and then spotted a Prothonotary Warbler, and also saw a couple adult Canada Geese with seven young ones with them. We saw an absolute ton of Cricket Frogs hopping around on the trail and adjacent areas. Pretty much everywhere we walked, they were hopping out of the way into the forest debris. We took the Lassiter Trail clockwise, which goes up a creek valley until it hits a fire road, then south on the road to where it meets up with the trail once again. Along the creek valley, I got looks at my first Hooded Warbler and Red-eyed Vireos of the year as well. While walking down the fire road, we encountered a very good size Red-bellied Watersnake that seemed out of place, being a half mile or so from water, and in a jackpine forest.

My first Copperhead in about 5 years!

This one stayed in place on the gravel roadway for quite a while, and we walked right around it without scaring it into moving off. I'm guessing it was just trying to warm up. I did notice that this snake flattened its head against the ground once we got close though. Also on the fire road, I found a hatchling Yellow-bellied bellied Slider that was extremely tiny, about the size of a quarter only, and helped move it off the roadway. Not surprising in this habitat, a Pine Warbler also showed up and jumped around on the ground, then flew back up into the canopy. We found a hole in the ground with cracked turtle eggs around it, which was most likely the nest that the earlier slider had hatched out of. It was in the same spot that the two of us got to see a slider laying eggs in a couple years ago. Around the bend was a location that I had photographed my very first Green Treefrog back in 2011 or 2012 (can't remember which off the top of my head). When we reached this area, a low spot, with wild Iris plants growing in it, I scanned the area and was extremely excited to find not one, but two Green Treefrogs curled up on the leaves! I pointed them out to Ellen, and then took a bunch of photographs while they napped, very well hidden from most predators.

Green Treefrog resting on a leaf!

The next section of the trail cross a small piece of water, flowing under the trail in a culvert, and then goes through a young jackpine stand in a formerly burnt out area. Here we found a Mud Turtle that was laying eggs in the soft sandy surface, and saw a number of Dragonflies as well. This was the first part of the trail that you could really feel the heat of the day, which was in the 80s. Over the next mile or so, the trail goes up into the hills on the north side of the millpond and becomes more of a rugged walk over tree roots and washed out areas. We spotted a large snake, either a Rat or Racer, but it disappeared very quickly. I also had an encounter with a large yellow bird of which at the time I wasn't sure what it could be, possibly an Oriole female, but it managed to get away without me getting too good of photos. Fortunately, at the end of the walk, I encountered another, with a male, and was able to realize that they were actually Summer Tanagers, another first on the year for me. The bright red male stayed up in a tree that I could get photographs of thankfully. We also saw some Southeastern Five-lined Skinks in the final mile, and several Ovenbirds. Right near the end, a second Red-bellied Watersnake made an appearance as well. And even when I thought we were done, on the way out of the park, a Wild Turkey was feeding on the entry road shoulder, and ran alongside the vehicle for a little while before dashing into the woods. So for only a 4 mile walk, and an 80 degree day, we saw a lot of wildlife!

First Summer Tanagers of the season at Merchants Millpond State Park!

Saturday morning Ruth took my sister out shopping for the day so I was relieved to be able to get out for a full hike. I went over to Back Bay NWR and left the house about 8 AM. I got to the park before 9 and had hopped out of the car to put my bug spray on. Then, the wind suddenly came up and I heard the door close behind me. I had made the mistake of already locking the vehicle, and my keys were sitting in my backpack in the back seat, so I officially locked myself out for the very first time in my life. Since my phone was also in the car, I had to go into the contact station to see about getting a phone & number for a locksmith. Very fortunately for me that the previous week, Liza Eckhardt, a volunteer at the park had introduced me to Erica Locher, a ranger at the park and she was able to get my squared away with the number and a phone, and not the hammer I'd initially requested...just had to wait about 45 minutes for the pop-a-lock representative to arrive at the park and get me going again. So 45 minutes, and 45 dollars later, I finally got started on my hike. I did the same walk that I've done the past few outings, just down the Loop Road, West Dike Trail to the False Cape State Park entry sign and back, plus the Bay Trail out and back for about 8 miles or thereabouts.

Finally got a decent photograph of a male Orchard Oriole at Back Bay!

The water at the park has receded back to a more normal, but still high level. So the animals are no longer trapped up in the areas nearest the road, as the marsh isn't full of water anymore. I did still hear the Longnose Gar breeding in the shallows in a few spots though, since they're right on the surface and moving their fins around. The most common birds out in the park right now are definitely the Red-winged Blackbirds, they're out in huge numbers all throughout the park. The number of shorebirds I was seeing the past couple outings here seems to have dropped though, I only saw a couple of Greater Yellowlegs, and a few spotted Sandpipers. The Egrets seem to have moved off as well, where I'd seen a hundred Snowy Egrets before, I didn't see a single one today. But fortunately, the songbirds seem to be showing up in more numbers each outing. Like the last two times, I again located the Orchard Orioles in the trees just before the trail goes into the maritime forest. There was again 2 adult males, and this time a female was also with them, so I've seen at least four different orioles in this spot now. Among the trees was also some Eastern Kingbirds, and my first two Yellow Warblers in Virginia. I've only ever seen the Yellows one time before, being last spring in Indiana. Walking through the maritime forest, I heard birds, but wasn't really able to locate any, until I was just about to exit the forest. Here I finally located my first verifiable Indigo Bunting on the season, a brilliant male that was singing from a perch in the forest through thick cover.

Painted Lady & some other bug at Back Bay!

In the open section of the trail that comes up next, I scared a Red-breasted Merganser out from the flow control device that keeps the impoundment at a set water level. I'm thinking this is the same one that I saw a couple weeks ago further north and got really crisp photographs of. I saw a couple Spotted Sandpiper flying up and back on the narrow impoundment, got to the False Cape sign (my southern terminus for the hike), and then headed back to the maritime forest. This time, I couldn't locate the Indigo Bunting again, but did hear it out there. It was quiet through the forest, but at the north end, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher made an appearance in the same spot where I photographed some a few weeks back, these birds seem to stick to the same area I guess. After leaving the forest, the trees that have given me so many birds over the past month again yielded more. I chased down the Orchard Orioles again, and this time when they flew off, another bird flew in. I was right up close to it, but spooked it into flying off over the marsh where it perched in a tree. It had an extremely long tail and I thought at first it was a hawk of some species, but when I zoomed in, I found out that it was a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. That is two weeks in a row seeing a bird I'd only seen one time before in my life! This spot on the trail happens to be about 50 feet away from where a couple weeks ago I was able to save the Chain Pickerel from choking.

An adult Great Blue Heron that let me get super close for a good shot!

It's very, very interesting to me that since then, I've seen a half dozen bird species that I hadn't yet seen this year, within a hundred feet of the bizarre occurrence. I can't help but feel like I'm being rewarded for helping an animal in need, whether that could ever be proven true or not isn't possible, but regardless, it feels this way to me. On the way back, I managed to botch a perfect shot of a Blue Grosbeak perched about 20 feet away from me in a wide open tree. My autofocus on my camera continues to get worse & I really need to get it shipped off to Canon to be looked at, but who can live without a lens for any timeframe? I did happen upon a couple small Northern Watersnakes today as well, but the light didn't play well for me today in the photographs. While heading from the Loop Road onto the Bay Trail, I saw a King Rail run across the path and by the time I got up to where it was, clearly it had disappeared into the marsh. I'm amazed at these birds, they are truly the ninjas of Back Bay. I didn't see much in the way of wildlife on the way out to the end of the trail, but on the way back, I had a Marsh Rabbit hop slowly across the trail, then relax and start feeding right in front of me, they're not exactly shy apparently. This one's ears were pretty cut up (see photos in the gallery), but it seemed like it was perfectly healthy. It finally moved off into the thorns & marsh when I walked past it on the trail just a few feet away. While walking on the boardwalks, I was in treefrog scanning mode, and to my surprise I actually found one right where Liza had showed me the Ribbonsnake last week! That was  two days in a row with treefrogs, pretty awesome for me since I almost never find these camouflaged little fellows. After that, I headed back to the car and took off out of the park.

Marsh Rabbit along the Bay Trail of Back Bay NWR!

Sunday I decided to take my sister across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel just to show her something she wouldn't normal get to be around. We stopped at the first island on the way out & I told her about all the wildlife I'd seen from there during the cold winter months. It seems that the birds really do like this spot solely as a wintering location. There were a lot of Rock Pigeons, but that was really it. The Ring-billed Gulls I got used to seeing in the thousands this winter were all gone, and the ducks were essentially nonexistent except for 3 Red-breasted Mergansers on the northwest shore. A few Herring Gulls were all the way out on the rocky point, and also a couple of Ruddy Turnstones, but no Purple Sandpipers were to be found. A lone Spotted Sandpiper was walking around the rocks nearest the walking around, which are all covered in green algae now, much different looking than they had been earlier this year. Sadly, the drive across the bridge & back yielded no sea ducks either, they've all exited the area and moved northward to their breeding grounds in the Canadian tundra it appears. Another warm day, this week finished off with several days in the 80s, much too hot in my opinion, but this is only the beginning as I'm sure June will just be even hotter. It seems Spring has really transitioned into Summer this week, regardless of what any calendars say. Here's hoping next week yields some more new ones!

Two days in a row seeing Green Treefrogs!