Week Ending August 23, 2015

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As with the previous weeks, I didn’t get any serious birding in until Friday evening. However, on Monday evening, Ruth & I made a special trip down to Sandbridge to view the “blue tide” that has showed up along the beaches. Made up of Dinoflagellates, this blue coloration has been showing up when the sun drops down and the skies turn dark. They possess a bioluminescence that lights up the water, similar to the film The Beach’s depiction of what they called ‘plankton’. Several folks had posted photographs of the anomaly to Faecbook and the local paper even ran a couple articles about it. So Ruth & I wanted to check it out, and we parked near the large condominium tower near Little Island Park, walking south at about 9:15 PM towards the Back Bay NWR boundary line where I expected it to be extremely dark, and hopefully giving good views. Unfortunately, the winds over the last day must have shifted much of the Dinoflagellates out further to sea away from the coast. The blue wasn’t visible, but we did get to see how the sand beneath our feet glowed as we walked along, presumably also from some that had been washing in with the tide. They’re microscopic though and unable to be seen, so it wasn’t like we were stepping on a bunch of color creating crabs or anything. Speaking of crabs though, Ruth used the flashlight application on here iPhone to light up the beach around us on a couple of occasions, and we were always surrounded by Ghost Crabs. It reminded me a bit of the film, Pitch Black, in which people on an alien world are hunted by predators in the dark that fear the light, never staying far away from their torches. Fortunately for us, the Ghost Crabs aren’t dangerous, and they’re mostly just amusing to watch as they scatter away from you, though we did get close enough to actually touch a few. I was a bit bummed we missed the blue tide since I’d passed on going out the night before, which sadly was the last night it was visible. You snooze, you lose. After that nice outing though, Tuesday, Ruth & I also got out for a 4 mile walk through the neighborhood. I didn’t bring my camera on the outing, but we did see some of the typical suburban birds like American Robins, American Crows, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, and a few others. On Wednesday, we had an intense downpour hit right in Kings Grant, and while viewing the rainfall from the safety of my screened in porch, I watched a very vibrantly colored Eastern Box Turtle running for the cover of the woods behind the apartment. It was definitely the fastest I have ever seen a turtle move, and it made it quickly to safety out of the heavy downpour.

Species #186 in Virginia Beach this year! The Pectoral Sandpiper!

On Friday, as I’ve done the past 5 weeks, I went straight from work at 3 PM to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, arriving at about 3:40 PM. I parked on the east side of the visitor contact station, sprayed up with deet, tossed some sunblock on my neck and face, and started down the Loop Road towards the Dune Trail, with plans to walk the beach to False Cape State Park and back, as I’ve done 5 Fridays in a row. However, as I was passing by the marshy area to the southeast of the parking lot, my plans switched. On this marsh was a large variety of shorebirds, in good numbers. Willets, Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitcher, plenty of Least Sandpiper, and a number of Killdeer & Semipalmated Plovers were observed in a short period of time. Additionally, a Little Blue Heron juvenile, a Snowy Egret juvenile, and a Great Egret were all in close to the road, affording nice views of the characteristics that help separate these species from one another. While viewing a group of Least Sandpipers, I noticed one behaving strangely, with its wings flapping up in the air. As I viewed it through the binoculars, I couldn’t tell what was going on, but then realized that it was a Least, that was being eaten whole by a large Eastern Cottonmouth! I’ve never observed a snake predating on any bird species, so this came as a huge surprise to me. The wings were still sticking out of the snake’s mouth, and to my surprise, many other Leasts were in very close to the snake. You would think after they just watched their buddy bite the dust, that they’d at least move over a few feet away from the snake, but apparently not the case with these birds. Given the excitement that I found along this small marshy patch, I decided to forego the beach walk, and instead focus my efforts in the marshy patches along the East Dike Trail, as I had done last Sunday at the park. My hope was that the marshy fields might yield a Pectoral Sandpiper, which is the most ‘common’ bird I have yet to log this year in Virginia Beach, being reported to eBird in about 2% of the reports historically during the month of August. So having decided to do so, I headed south on the Loop Road, reaching the gate to the East Dike pretty quickly. At this point in the year, the impoundments of the park, barely viewable from the East Dike, are grown tall with vegetation, providing hiding places for deer and other animals, but preventing photographs like myself from seeing most of the wildlife that inhabits them.

Killdeer were seen in high numbers around Back Bay NWR this week!

Along the East Dike, I did see some Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbirds, which are all typical species here. The first marshy field that I reached was that at the dog-leg about 1.5 miles south on the East Dike. Here, the road takes two quick ninety degree turns, first to the west, then to the south. On the duneside corner of the road, there is a large field marsh, which during drier periods becomes more like a field with shortgrass growing in it. Semipalmated Plovers and Killdeer were instantly recognizable in good numbers out in the grasses. And, to my excitement, one larger shorebird species was also quickly observed. I walked around a bit to get into the closest spot for viewing, and when I got my binoculars on it, it was very obvious that the bird was a Pectoral Sandpiper, #186 in Virginia Beach on the year! Pectorals, which pass through our area in the fall on their southward migration, are larger than the Semipalmated Plovers, but slightly smaller than the Killdeer. Having both species present allowed for a good comparison in size. Also, the Pectorals have similar features to the Least Sandpipers, with their yellow legs the most obvious similarity. Seeing the two species together though, shows off just how much smaller the Leasts are, probably less than half the overall size, making the Pectorals look like giants by comparison. For about a half hour I watched this one bird, and took about 200 photographs of it as it meandered through the taller sections of grass searching for food that the smaller sandpipers weren’t feeding in due to the difficulty of using their short legs to propel them through the higher grass.

On of several American Bullfrogs hanging out along the ditches of the East Dike Trail at Back Bay!

After taking a sufficient number of photographs to document the bird, I decided that I was going to head back northward towards the parking area, since this was my main target on the day, and I wasn’t sure of any other targets that might be in the vicinity to search out. On the northward trip I saw a few American Bullfrogs sitting out on the dry shorelines of the ditches that have now dropped in water level during the last few weeks. Also on the shorelines was a Spotted Sandpiper juvenile that I had also seen on the way south, watching as it fluttered along with it’s almost butterfly like wing motions. Some of the bullfrogs were pretty close and provided some nice photographs. Also, in non-bird sightings, I had a pair of Eastern Cottontail rabbits stick close to the Loop Road and again give me some nice shots before heading up to the parking area again. On the final marsh, near the parking area, most of the same birds were out again, though I didn’t notice any Cottonmouths feeding on birds this time. A mother & daughter walked past and chatted for a few minutes (finding out later in the HRWE group that it was Tina Masters), and they were hoping to see the Bobcat kittens that had been sighted a couple weeks back along the Bay Trail. Of course, Bobcats are tough to come by, but the youngsters might be a little more likely to be seen closer to where people are more common. I think the older they get, the more weary of humans they become, hence why it took 31 years before I finally saw my very first (and still only) Bobcat here at the park back in April. After viewing the marsh, I took a few photographs of a young Northern Mockingbird near the car, and then hopped in and headed back towards home.

An Eastern Cottontail seen at Back Bay NWR on Friday!

On Saturday morning, I was driving down I-264 heading west between First Colonial and Lynnhaven when I spotted a hawk sitting up on a power pole. I was certain that the bird was smaller than the typical Red-tailed Hawks that are frequently observed on the poles, so I ran home, grabbed my stuff and headed back out to photograph it. I headed east this time from Lynnhaven, and found the hawk still on the same pole. I pulled off on the shoulder, tossed on the hazard lights of my car, and then got the binoculars up on the bird. I took about 25 photographs, thinking for sure it was a Red-shouldered, the only common hawk that I haven’t seen here this year, and headed onward towards my initial hiking destination of Pleasure House Point. Heading over the Lesner Bridge the water looked very high, and only a tiny spit of sand was viewable above the waterline where the sandbars are during lower levels. With no rush to reach this area since there would be no shorebirds present, I parked along Marlin Bay Drive. I walked into the park, hearing a couple of Eastern Towhees immediately, and the cawing of some American Crows. As I looked up to see the crows, a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk cruised on past me overhead, with the crows following in chase mode. When I’d walked up to the creek and turned eastward, the hawk again made a couple circles overhead of me, this time being chased by a pair of Eastern Kingbirds, which eventually halted their pursuit and landed atop a nearby pine tree. The Cooper’s Hawk sped off into the distance, disappearing from view into the forest across the second largest pond. From the trail, I also saw a juvenile Tricolored Heron fly on past over the creek, and shortly after ran into a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron and juvenile White Ibis sharing a tree roost together. The ibis is probably the same one that has been present at the park the past few weeks. And of course, the Yellow-crowns are quite common in the park this time of year. A single Laughing Gull was sitting out on the water of Pleasure House Creek, but gulls & terns were otherwise nonexistent at the park. I walked up to the main point, but realizing a lot of folks were out on the beach there, and more were out in the water on kayaks, I just turned around and headed back to the west.

Still showing it's spots, this is a juvenile Northern Mockingbird!

While doing so, a pair of Tricolored Herons flew in over me, landing up in a pine tree, and being joined by a third juvenile. It seems all the Tricoloreds I’ve seen this year at the park have been immature birds, at least in the last month or so. I’m a bit curious where their more colorful parents might be hiding at this point in the season, perhaps they’ve already headed further south ahead of the youngsters to get some peace and quiet. Taking a few photographs of them, plus a Snowy Egret in the area, I headed into the woods briefly, hoping to spot a warbler or two. It seems some have been seen already as their migration will get started pretty soon. Karen Beatty had an American Redstart in her yard this week, which is one of the less common warblers here, though I’ve seen a pair so far on the year. I’m hoping more for Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Blue, Cape May, or Nashvilles, some of the real rare warblers, but late September and October will be the time to seek those out as they are found, I have a few locations upmy sleeves. Walking the remainder of the trail westward, I got some nice views of a couple American Goldfinches that had perched right above the juvenile White Ibis, just a few trees down from where I’d seen it initially on the day. Still no waterfowl (ducks/geese/swans) were encountered at the park, and I haven’t seen a single one since May here. Mallards are clearly populous at some of the local ponds, along with Canada Geese, but for the most park, waterfowl are tough to find here in summer. The only other species that even breeds here is the Wood Duck, and while you may see them at Kings Grant Lake year-round, the majority of their species are off in their more native, wooded marshy habitat deep in forests like the Great Dismal Swamp. Waterfowl will begin showing up in good numbers when October rolls around, yet another major migration to go hand in hand with the songbird migration. Additionally, raptors (hawks/falcons/eagles/etc) should begin in a month or so to show up in numbers around the area. The Hawk Watch sites in the state have begun recording observation, though I haven’t yet seen anything from the Kiptopeke Hawk Watch, which is the one nearest to me. Last year’s Hawk Watcher at the site, Katie Rittenhouse, actually has been doing work in western Minnesota this summer, and thanks to Facebook I got to see some photographs she took along the North Shore over the weekend, namely at Cascade River State Park, one of my favorite places to visit when I am back in my semi-home state. Anyways, I’m rambling, back to Pleasure House Point. After the goldfinches gave me some photographs, I spotted a Green Heron and an adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, but then headed back towards the car. On the way, I almost stepped on one very large spider, a species I’ve never seen before. I snapped a photo, but as yet have not gotten an identity on it, though it was quite ominous looking, so I stayed back from it (see photos below). After this, I called it a day and headed home to get out of the heat and relax. Also, I wanted to get a look at my hawk photos from earlier, however upon inspection, I was a bit bummed to realize that the hawk was not the Red-shouldered I thought it was, and was instead another Red-tailed Hawk, the much more common species here. It was apparently in heavy molt, losing its feathers and therefore looked a bit different than they typically do. Also, it had the brown belly band that the young Red-shouldereds do not have, so it was an obvious call once I looked at it long enough, and had folks online make the call as well. So, no new birds on the day unfortunately!

Juvenile White Ibis seen at Pleasure House Point on Saturday!

Early on Sunday morning, about 7:30 AM, I headed out towards Back Bay for another visit. Going into it, I was hoping perhaps I’d see a Marbled Godwit on the beach, or a White-rumped or Stilt Sandpiper along the East Dike Trail. First though, I decided to walk the Bay Trail since I’ve neglected it over the past couple of months. In the summer time, the Bay Trail is one of the most humid areas of the park since little wind can penetrate the thick vegetation that grows tall on both sides of it. Thousands of Dragonflies can be found here during July especially, zooming all around you while walking through it; it is pretty neat! However, bird activity falls off greatly along this trail after spring migrations are finished up, so it really isn’t productive again until fall migration begins. However, I wanted to give it a tree. Walking westward I mainly saw insects and arachnids. Black-and-Yellow Garden Spiders have set up webs all along the trail, and seemed to be doing quite well for themselves. I saw one spinning up a large grasshopper for a later meal, in fact, the grasshopper was larger than the spider. And these spiders get quite large, probably 4 or 5 inches from tip of front to back legs, they can be a little alarming if you aren’t used to them. After walking both directions and not really noting any birds outside of 1 Blue Grosbeak, I headed south again on the Loop Road as I’d done on Friday. This time, at the marshy patch southeast of the parking lot, I ran into Una Davenhill and her husband Hugh. This is actually the 3rd time in a month or so that I’ve run into Una out in the field, so she must have the same mindset I do when it comes to where we might find interesting birds.

The most beautiful of the insects observed over the week, this is a Tiger Swallowtail!

Or it is blind luck, one or the other. The marsh again held some good variety, with Yellowlegs, and mainly Least Sandpipers, Killdeer and Willets, with one Great Blue Heron standing in close to the roadway. Heading down the Loop Road to the East Dike didn’t turn up much in the way of birds, probably given how hot and humid it already was. Along the East Dike, I saw some Great Egrets, another Great Blue Heron, and an Osprey out over the C-Pool, but not much else. Reaching the dogleg bend about 1.5 miles south of the parking area, there was again good numbers of Semipalmated Plovers and Least Sandpipers in view, but the Pectoral Sandpiper I had seen Friday was nowhere to be found this time. Here I again decided to head back north since there just wasn’t a whole lot going on. Back on the Loop Road, I did spot a Spotted Sandpiper, that I suspect could be the same one I’d seen Friday since this one also was a juvenile. After this though, I headed back to the vehicle, snapping some shots of the Great Blue Heron for my birding identification guide that I’ve been working on, so will add those this week. I headed out from the park, and gave another hopeful bird a shot. Marsh Wrens are currently the most ‘common’ bird I’ve yet to see this year in Virginia Beach, and since I didn’t see any at Back Bay where they are most commonly found, I thought perhaps I could find some along the roadways leading to the western shore of the bay in Pungo. I drove down Muddy Creek Road to Horn Point Road, but didn’t turn any up there. I did see some Eastern Bluebirds here though which was neat, and then tried Drum Point Road, but couldn’t spot any there either. Marsh Wrens are a bird I just recently added to my life list down at Mackay Island NWR, not far away as the wren flies, but in North Carolina, so a whole state away as the lines are drawn up.

A Black-and-Yellow Garden Spider lays in wait for unsuspecting prey at Back Bay's Bay Trail!

With finding a Marsh Wren clearly not in the cards, I decided to go after another bird that is pretty high up on my target list, and one that I know was seen this week at Stumpy Lake: the Red-shouldered Hawk. Bob McAlpine spotted one at the park and posted it on Facebook, where it was verifiable as such, much better than a lot of the reports that I still suspect are Red-tailed Hawks (just like mine turned out to be yesterday). So I went up to Stumpy Lake to check it out. I walked the figure-8 trail through the woods, which were extremely quiet of birds, but full of insect song. Cicadas, grasshoppers, everything was singing. I did find one feeding flock of songbirds (Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, and White-breasted Nuthatches), but that was it along the 2 mile loop. After this, I tried my luck along the causeway outside the forest. Walking along the road I turned up a Chipping Sparrow that posed nicely for a couple of photographs, and I had a good chuckle to myself that this was one of the tougher species to locate this year, though I’ve now seen them on my past two visits to the park. Further down along the roadway I found a pair of Great Egrets, two Laughing Gulls, and very, very high up I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk circling around. The bird was so distance I could barely make out the reddish tint to its flared out tail feathers while looking through my binoculars. Shortly after, it was joined by another hawk, and again I was so sure it must have been a Red-shouldered Hawk. Being so high up, and continuing to ride on thermals even higher, I snappedwhat photographs I could, and headed home to view them without the sunlight making it impossible to see them. However, these photographs shared the same fate as my shots from Saturday. When I got home it was readily apparent that the second hawk I’d photographed was also a Red-tailed Hawk, so the Red-shouldered Hawk remains off my list for the year. Maybe in the next week or two I can knock this one out, or possibly during the raptor migration when perhaps more of them are seen in Virginia Beach. 

One of the species that took me a while to find this year, but now seems to be popping up everywhere; the Chipping Sparrow!

Weekly Outing Galleries

Stumpy Lake Natural Area, Virginia Beach, VA - Sunday, August 23, 2015

​Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Beach, VA - Sunday, August 23, 2015

Pleasure House Point Natural Area, Virginia Beach, VA - Saturday, August 22, 2015

I-264, Virginia Beach, VA - Saturday, August 22, 2015

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia Beach, VA - Friday, August 21, 2015

Week Ending August 16, 2015

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A hectic work week, and extremely hot temperatures (again in the 90s) this week didn’t allow for any outdoor ventures until Friday evening. After work, I again walked the beach from the parking area at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to the boundary with False Cape State Park & back. One hope of mine for this outing was that perhaps I’d get another look at some Black Terns, or possibly seeing an early Marbled Godwit somewhere along the beach. Interestingly, shorebirds were almost nonexistent at the park over the first mile walking south along the beach towards False Cape, however, the further I got along on my walk, the more they began popping up. In terms of shorebirds, the Semipalmated Plovers were down in number from last Friday, but Black-bellied Plover & Ruddy Turnstones were both present in much higher numbers than I've seen on any outings over the past 5 weeks. Sanderlings and Willets were again the most numerous birds, though there wasn’t hundreds of Sanderlings like there has been in the past couple of weeks, in fact, had I been keeping an accurate count, the Willets may have actually come close to outnumbering them. There was also a lot of immature Laughing Gulls flying along the coastline, mostly moving along with the wind at their backs, with plenty of Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the air and on the beach as well. Herring, Ring-billed & Great Black-backed Gulls also present in low numbers. Royal, Common, and Least Terns all present in high numbers with a few Sandwich Terns, and I got a fabulous surprise on my northward trip when a single Gull-billed Tern flew from north to south past me, affording me my first photographs of this species for the year, though being the second sighting I’ve had. The last one I saw was in May, and I just wasn’t able to fire off any photographs before it had disappeared, so this was a nice redemption, as I always like to have a photograph of my species for my yearly lists, that removes any doubt from other birders that I did see what I reported having seen, and gives me of course a nice shot to go back to.

A young Snowy Egret seen near the parking area at Back Bay NWR!

Additionally on the northbound trip, while viewing some Black-backed Gulls in the distance I noticed that a smaller bird was harassing them at high speed. I instantly thought that it could be a Jaeger (a word that I learned from the film Pacific Rim is German for “hunter”). Jaegers typically live along the coastline, but further offshore than most terns & gulls. They feed by harassing gulls and terns into dropping their own catches, being very opportunistic feeders. There are three species that can show up along the Atlantic seaboard including Parasitic, Long-tailed, and Pomarine, however, the Parasitic is the most likely according to all my field guides to be seen from shore. So when I saw this bird chasing after the gulls, it seemed to fit the bill (pun intended), but as I got closer I realized that I was mistaken. Instead, what I was treated too, was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, the second I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks. The behavior reminded me of one I had seen a couple years ago during the springtime at First Landing, when a Peregrine chased a gull all the way across Broad Bay, not allowing it any time to recover, constantly taking dives at it with intense velocity. This falcon today also took several sweeps through the gulls, banking at seemingly break-neck speed and then quickly gaining altitude, only to come screaming back in towards them. It did this at least 3 times before rising up above the dunes, and catching the wind blowing southward, speeding off along the coastline. Of course, this bird stayed right in line with the sun, meaning the side I could see was all in shadow, but I did get a couple of photographs that were worthwhile shots to include in my weekly gallery at least! After this excitement, I finished the last mile or so of the beach, and headed back over the dunes to the Loop Road, turning north towards the parking area. At the marshy patch next to the parking lot, a pair of Greater Yellowlegs, a Willet, Great Blue Heron & Snowy Egret were all seen. So unfortunately this week, there was no Whimbrels, Piping Plovers, or Black Terns noted on my hike, but I was greatly excited to get my first photograph of a Gull-billed Tern and any day I get to watch the fastest bird on the planet (Peregrine Falcon), is a good day! So I headed back home to get some dinner (Ruth cooked up a recipe she found for mahi, but used swordfish as a seasonal replacement, and it was absolutely fantastic), and get some sleep for the next day of outdoor ventures.  

Run away! A Great Black-backed Gull being chased by the waves at Back Bay!

Saturday was August 15th, and last year on this date, Bob Ake spotted a Ruff at the Whitehurst Tract of Princess Anne WMA. Two days later, on the 17th (a Sunday), was the first time I ever visited the park, in the hopes of finding this same bird. On that particular outing, I ended up meeting David Gibson of Chesapeake, and together we attempted to find the vagrant! However, inexperienced with shorebirds at the time, I'm not sure if I would have been able to ID the bird even if I'd seen it. Since then, I have been to the park a good dozen or more times, and have become much more comfortable with identifying the shorebirds that pass through coastal Virginia. This week, while browsing back through my photographs from that outing last year, I was able to pick out a Stilt Sandpiper (likely the same one noted on eBird that day by Rexanne Bruno & Tracy Tate), and it was confirmed as such via the Hampton Roads Wildlife Enthusiasts Group on Facebook. With the excitement of adding a Life bird, though a historic one, combined with the date of the Ruff sighting last year arriving, I decided to head out early in the morning to the WMA in search of shorebirds. Of course, I've also birded this area pretty heavily over the last 6 weeks, hoping for some shorebirds to stop on the impoundments as their southward journey progresses. What I failed to recognize on my prior outings was the lack of suitable habitat. Thanks to looking through the photographs from last year's outing I realized that the entire northern cell of the southern impoundments was covered in very short grass, a great environment for the shorebirds to land and feed on. This year, all but a very narrow stretch in the center of this cell isn't overgrown with 2-3 feet of grasses. I do not know the reason for this change in habitat, perhaps different policies on the upkeep of the park? But, what I do know is that it has surely resulted in less shorebirds.

Loads of juvenile Laughing Gulls were sighted this week!

Today, I saw only 1 Spotted Sandpiper in the park. I take this as a good lesson though, that habitat does change from year to year, and birders must also adjust their strategies to match this change. While frustrated a bit after turning up just the 1 shorebird, I kept on walking around the preserve, and was greatly rewarded for the efforts of walking through high grasses, and getting soaked by the morning dew. In the same area I'd heard & seen the Northern Bobwhites recently (near the abandoned farmhouse at the northeast corner of the property), I had a Hairy Woodpecker fly in and land very close to a Downy Woodpecker! Now, Hairy Woodpeckers seem like a common species, but there are not too many verifiable observations of them each year here in Virginia Beach. This was the the first I've seen this year that was completely distinguishable from the much more common Downy Woodpeckers, and it was pretty neat to see them in the same view through the binoculars and also through the camera lens (see gallery at link provided below). That was species #185 in Virginia Beach for the year, so yet another step closer to hitting my initial yearly goal of 200! After seeing the Hairy, and jumping up and down doing my celebratory dance that no one else is ever around to see, I walked back along Munden Road towards where I’d parked. Along the roadway, as is pretty typical, I spotted some Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks, and even an American Goldfinch, which is always a good sight to me since I don’t have bird feeders, which is where most folks will see these birds. Also, a Yellow-breasted Chat was calling its rather bizarre sounding call from a shrub on the south side of the road, and several Field Sparrows could be heard singing in the distance, though I never did see any of them. Also, while exiting the park (and entering earlier), I noted that the corn field on the northeast corner of Munden & Morris Neck Roads has been completely cleared. This field produced my very first Horned Larks earlier in the season, and I’m sure plenty of Eastern Meadowlarks use it when the crops are taken out of the equation. Also, it could be a place to locate shorebirds after heavy rains in the next month or two. So far, it is the only field I’ve noticed being cultivated in southern Virginia Beach. Once others follow suit, it’ll be easier to spot wildlife that would otherwise be able to hide.

A Least Tern transitioning from breeding to nonbreeding plumage!

Continuing onward from this area, I drove down into southwestern Virginia Beach, across the Pungo Ferry Road bridge over the North Landing River, and down Blackwater Road to the Nature Conservancy’s Milldam Creek Boardwalk. Here, I was excited to here & then see a bright yellow Prothonotary Warbler over the first creek crossing on the boardwalk, which follows through the marshes around the creek for about a quarter mile or so. Along the boardwalk, I kept my eyes peeled and ended up spotting quite a number of Green Treefrogs clinging to reeds, ranging in size from youngsters only a half inch or so in length, all the way up to the larger adults about 2 inches in length. These frogs like to curl up against the green foliage during the daytime to remain camouflaged from predators, since they are mostly active at nighttime. Every time I see them here, I’m reminded of Ruth & I’s visit to her friend Amy’s father’s home in North Carolina, where they came out by the hundreds as the sun set, and clung all over the outside of the house. It was awesome to see. Most of the frogs at Milldam Creek were visible as shaded patches on the backside of their leaves given how I was walking with the sun hitting them. That made it a bit easier to find them, just looking for a dark patch, then checking the other side of the leaf or reed for the cause. Lots of grasshoppers and Black-and-Yellow Garden Spiders were out as well. In fact, I even saw one of the massive spiders wrapping a large grasshopper up in its silk for a later meal. Nature is brutal. On the way back towards the car I was stopped dead in my tracks as a Northern Bobwhite called out several times to the north of the first creek crossing. I of course was never going to see this bird since it was far off across the creek, in ground littered by dense vegetation. After leaving the Milldam Creek parking lot, I drove south on Blackwater Road until just before it crosses into North Carolina. There I turned down Reed Road, which took me across the state line, and another right turn onto Middle Gibbs Road eventually wound me back into Virginia Beach land. This area at the very southwestern corner of the city boundary is very rural, with long gravel roads leading up to many of the homes. Actually, the homes out there are gorgeous, and have a lot of land between them, making it a nice part of the city that I doubt many people every travel through. Because of the lack of people, my hope was that perhaps I’d be able to find some Wild Turkeys here (a species that is very tough to find in Virginia Beach, though quite common throughout the rest of the state, even being seen often from the interstate highways) to add to my yearly list. While driving along Crags Causeway & Baum Road, it was apparent that all of the fields are still fully grown with corn & soy beans. Hopefully in the next couple months, the grains are harvested, and the fields become a location that birds can be found in from the roadways.

Willet in flight against the crashing waves!

Sunday, August 16th, was my fiancé Ruth’s 32nd birthday! Of course, she wanted to spend time at the beach, so in the morning we went in opposite directions, with her heading to the oceanfront, and me heading out for a bit of birding (though we met back up in the afternoon and had a great dinner at No Frill Bar & Grill, our favorite, followed by some frozen yogurt from Skinny Dip nearby). But anyway, as for the birding that was done, since this is a birding blog… On Sunday morning, after pondering the evening before just where I might be able to find a Pectoral Sandpiper, I headed out to Back Bay NWR for the second visit of the weekend. Instead of walking the beach like I have been doing each Friday evening after work, I opted instead to try my luck on the East Dike Trail. From April 1 to October 31 each year, the park staff opens the East & West Dike Trails to the public, in an alternating fashion, keeping one open and the other closed. From November 1 to March 31, both remain closed in order to protect the wintering waterfowl (ducks, geese, swans), and a few other species that use the flooded waterways like grebes and wading birds. Typically on April 1, the West Dike is the first to open, however this year the staff decided there was still too many waterfowl present on the impoundments, and instead opened up the East Dike to kick off the season. In May, the West Dike was opened up, and in July, the switch was made again to the East Dike. Now, I tend to like the West Dike much more than the East because it provides better views of the interior impoundments, and of Back Bay itself. The East Dike, in the summertime, is one of the hottest places to be in Virginia Beach, with no shad along its several mile path, and a usual lack of wind due to the dunes to the east stopping the breeze off the ocean. What the East Dike does have though, is several small fields along ditches that this time of year are a perfect spot to see migrating shorebirds that don’t prefer the beaches. This includes birds like the Pectoral Sandpiper, and often Killdeer. So anyway, I started off in the parking area, heading south on the Loop Road for the first 0.75 miles until reaching the gate to the East Dike Trail.

An adult Great Egret takes flight at Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area!

From here, the trail continues south another 3 miles or so until it reaches False Cape State Park. There are no access paths to the beach through this section of the park, so once you commit to the trail, you’re pretty well stuck on it. My first sighting of the day wasn’t that of a bird, it was actually a Black Ratsnake that was sitting off on the grassy shoulder, that I only noticed because I was getting off the trail to allow bikers to get around me. There was probably more bike riders out today than I have ever seen in the past actually. At the ‘dogleg’ bend, a double 90-degree change in direction, there is a good sized field, and today it held a number of Semipalmated Plovers, with either Least or Semipalmated Sandpipers also see but too distant to make out their leg colors to differentiate them two species. If any Pectorals had been there, they would be much larger than these species by comparison, looking like a giant version of a Least Sandpiper, also with yellow legs. After this, I heard some crows cawing loudly, and immediately thought that crows in groups will do this if a raptor is in the vicinity. As I turned around to see the crows, sure enough, a Red-tailed Hawk cruised on ahead of them, being chased off by the group. They will also do this with owls, so if you hear crows, it is always worth taking a second to check them out to see what is bothering them. Over the remainder of the southward journey, the remaining small fields turned up more Semipalmated Plovers, but no Pectorals like I had hoped for.

The Monarch's lookalike, this is actually a Viceroy!

I considered heading into False Cape SP, and then walking the beach back to the parking area, making it about a 10 mile loop, but my legs were still a bit cut up from the past couple days outdoors from my jeans rubbing, so I opted for the shorter, 7 mile out-and-back trek. On the northward journey, I again stopped at all the same viewing spots along the fields, and while I did add a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper, and a juvenile Willet, I didn’t find any Pectorals. Though, I am convinced if I’m going to find them anywhere in Virginia Beach this summer, it is going to be here, or possibly in a flooded farmfield in Pungo, but that would be moreso in the fall after the fields have been cultivated. Also of note, a male Common Yellowthroat was calling along the trail in some shrubbery and he responded quite abruptly to my “pishing” (saying pish pish pish out loud), which birders use to get warblers to come investigate them, so they’re actually visible in the brush. This time of year, since breeding is all done, I don’t mind doing this, but during the breeding season, when the birds are all hyperactive, and territorial, I prefer not to bother them, though I see nothing ethically wrong with doing this, since it is basically akin to saying ‘here kitty kitty’ to my cat at home. While reaching the parking area again, the marshy patch to the east held a couple of Snowy Egrets, a Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron, some Killdeer, and what was likely the same White-tailed Deer fawn that I had encountered a couple weeks back on my Friday hike. While I didn’t get my bird today, I at least made it through the weekend with another species added (the Hairy Woodpecker), so I still sit with 15 remaining to reach my goal of 200 species. Fall migration in September & especially October will be the key to either completing my goal or not. Any species I can grab before then is a bonus, and takes some pressure off finding the rarer birds as they blitz through our region! 

A young Green Treefrog resting on a reed at Milldam Creek in southwestern Virginia Beach!

Week Ending August 9, 2015

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It was another hot start to the week with highs in the 90s through Wednesday, when I made it out for my first birding venture of the week. With low tide expected to occur around 8 PM, this was an idea chance to get up to Pleasure House Point after work to scan the sandbars for shorebirds that are steadily arriving on their southbound Fall migration. Passing over the Lesner Bridge the water appeared quite low already just before 5 PM. I parked off Marlin Bay Drive like I typically do after work, and then walked the shoreline trail east towards the main point. When I arrived, the flats were loaded up with birds, with Semipalmated Plovers leading the way. At least 135 were counted through my binoculars, and there could have been more further out that I couldn’t see clearly enough to be certain. In addition to the plovers, American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, some peeps, Terns  (Royal, Sandwich), Gulls (Laughing, Herring, & Great Black-backed Gulls) were all also observed. There was very little in the way of songbird activity, with a couple Blue Grosbeaks being the only real highlight, though even those are fairly common in the park during summertime. One Clapper Rail made an appearance at long range before disappearing into the marsh grasses where the trail meanders around the interior creek connecting Crab Creek with Pleasure House Creek. I ended up doing two cycles of the park, giving the sandbars a little time to allow for more species to arrive, but on my second trip, the count was about the same. My big surprise of the day came while standing on the narrow piece of trail sandwiched between the creek and a freshwater ditch where I was seeing the Nelson’s Sparrows last Fall. Here, while watching the marshes, a raptor came flying past very quickly, and I was able to discern from the photographs and the flight profile that it was a young Peregrine Falcon! While it is isn’t a new species for me on the year, it is only the second sighting of one that I’ve had in Virginia Beach this year. The other one occurred near this same spot at Pleasure House Point, but was an adult, on April 1st. This definitely was a good sign for the week though, and an exciting observation since Peregrines are shown in the Gold Book to not arrive typically for another month, in early September. I was told that this juvenile may have hatched out not far away, and that the Peregrines have really been changing their distribution patterns up since 2007 when the Gold Book (Virginia’s Birdlife: An Annotated Checklist, Volume 4) was published. With that sighting under the belt, I headed home for the evening to get out of the 90 degree heat.

With overcast skies, this Snowy Egret's details can be seen better than during a bright, sunny day!

Thursday was a day off hiking, but on Friday, I was back at it again. As I have done now the past four Fridays in a row, I headed to Back Bay NWR to walk the beach from the parking area to False Cape State Park, and back. Leaving the office, as usual, at 3 PM, I arrived to Back Bay at 3:40 to find rain just starting to fall. I can’t count how many times it has happened that as soon as I arrived at my destination, the weather decided to give me the metaphorical middle finger. I figured that since I had already driven the distance, I might as well pull into the lot and see what the weather was going to do. On the way down the entry road towards the parking area, I had a hawk that was likely a Cooper’s Hawk pass over the car. Pulling an immediate u-turn to try to spot the bird again didn’t work, and it had already cleared the viewable sky. When I got to the parking area, drops of rain were still coming down, but it was pretty light, so I decided to just go for it. I through on some bug spray, got my camera assembled, and tossed my binoculars around my neck and headed south on the gravel Loop Road leading towards the East Dike Trail. Of course, I had no intention of walking the East Dike, but rather, to walk the beach since this time of year staying on the interior trails subjects you to horrific heat and lack of a breeze, the beach’s redeeming quality in the heat of summertime. On the E-Pool, the marshy patch to the southeast of the parking area, there was a pair of Snowy Egrets right out in the open, and close in to the road. With the overcast skies blocking the blinding sunlight, the birds were in good position for quality photographs. A pair of other photographers was nearby, and said that I “looked like I was on a mission”. I found that amusing, since I clearly was. My mission of course was to try and track down the Black Terns that I’d been hoping to see as they migrate south along the beach en route to their winter home in the tropics. Walking down the Dune Trail boardwalk, I hit the beach, and headed southward. A Great Black-backed Gull and Ruddy Turnstone were in close here, my first shorebird of the day.

The beautiful Whimbrel, with its downcurved bill, was again sighted this week at Back Bay NWR!

Looking to the north gave off quite an ominous feel, as a very dark sky was extending out into the ocean, and moving slowly my direction. I thought at best, I could continue southward and perhaps the storm would just move out of my path, or I could stay ahead of it long enough to get some birding in before I got drenched. Within 5 minutes, the fact that I chose to do the hike was well worth it, as a beautiful Whimbrel came flying past me from the south, affording me some nice in-flight shots before it passed. It actually landed on the beach to the north, but I didn’t realize it until I was going back through photographs of the black skies looking north, and could see the bird’s silhouette on the beach. Had I realized it at the time I probably would have turned around to try to get more photographs of it. But, as it was, I kept on southward, past the sea turtle nest that is fenced off, noting plenty of Sanderlings and Willets. About 1.5 miles south on the beach, I caught sight of a small, black bird out over the water, and after an agonizing minute of trying to photograph it and view it through binoculars, I couldn’t decide if what I was seeing was a Black Tern, or a Black-bellied Plover still carrying it’s breeding colors. At that distance, it was impossible to be 100% certain, so I couldn’t make the call. My heart sank a bit, thinking I may have missed my only shot at one of the birds that I have tried so hard to find the past few weeks. That sinking, was short lived! A couple hundred yards south, I found a large flock of gulls & terns sitting on the beach, probably trying to stay out of the winds caused by the thunderstorm cell to the north. As I scanned the flock with my binoculars, noting mostly Royal, Common, and Sandwich Terns, I noticed one smaller bird with all dark colors. It was a Black Tern! Adrenaline started pumping through my veins as I realized that I had just added a new bird to my Virginia Beach Big Year, making it #183! I slowly stalked up closer to the flock, hugging the dune line as best I could so as to not frighten the birds into flight. Typically with these big flocks, once one bird flies, the rest erupt as well.

My very first photograph of a Black Tern! A new addition to my life list, though I did see two as a child in Minnesota!

I worked up close and took several shots of the flock (for some comparison photographs of the different species), and many of the Black Tern, which was meandering through the flock almost like Cackling Geese do in large groups of Canada Geese, where they are easy to overlook. Fortunately in the case of the Black Tern, its colors are distinctive among the surrounding mainly white terns, so it stood out like the ‘black sheep’ of the collective ‘family’. Eventually, the flock did take to the air, though they didn’t move far down the beach behind me, so I decided to move on, excited that I had gotten the tern I’d been hoping for. It wasn’t until afterward that I had realized that my camera settings had been altered, and were on creative auto, rather than on auto, which could explain some of the trouble I had focusing on the birds in flight, and forcing me to use manual focusing when it wasn’t ideal. An amateur mistake, I need to be better about checking the dial before I head out from now on. Fortunately, photos still came out OK. Continuing south, I got another look at a Black Tern in nonbreeding plumage as it flew past. Lots of juvenile terns were out today, which is a big reason the Fall is a very tough birding time. In Spring, almost all of the birds passing through during migration are breeding adults heading north to their species respective breeding grounds. Because of this, they’re all vibrantly colored, with fresh feathers. By Fall, even the adults have begun molting feathers, and many have transitioned altogether into their non-breeding plumage. Additionally, the youngsters born on the breeding grounds are also moving southward, adding to the confusing plumages seen in most species. So essentially, Spring is the easiest time of year to maximize the number of species seen, and to be able to identify them the quickest. Fall, is a lot more challenging, but can be more rewarding, since the variety of plumages among the age groups makes for a more interesting study. As I neared the boundary line with False Cape State Park, I spotted a Piping Plover, making it the 3rd of 4 outings in a row that I’d see one here at the park. Perhaps the same bird, but it isn’t banded or distinctly marked so I can’t be sure. When I turned around to head back north, I was amazed to find that the storm north of me had essentially dissipated into just standard overcast skies. Meanwhile, another cell had started growing further south, where it wasn’t of much danger to me.

In between a pair of very turbulent storm cells, the terns decided to seek out refuge on the beach. Black Tern can be seen here at left!

It was of great surprise that I never got rained on during the southward hike, especially after getting some drops right at the get go. On the way north, I passed the Pipign Plover again, and then also found a second one further north to my surprise. Semipalmated Plovers were picked up in a few spots, with again associating with a Piping Plover as was the case a couple weeks back. To my amazement, a group of 6 Black Terns passed right over me on the beach, and another pair was seen out over the water. I had never anticipated seeing at least 9 of the birds in one outing! In fact, all the other eBird reports through the years here in Virginia Beach are of mainly individual birds being picked out, not large groups. Over the course of the weekend, many others went out in search of the Black Terns, but no one else managed to find any unfortunately. I almost feel as if those birds were meant specifically for me. Why do I perceive it this way? Well, August 10th just a couple of days away, would have been my father’s 67th birthday. Back in July 1996, when I was just 13 years old (and was already crazy about birds & the outdoors), my father and I were out canoeing and we saw a breeding pair of these birds on the north end of Low Lake outside Ely, MN. I was so taken back by their beauty in flight, that I still vivdly remember that sighting to this day. In my 31 years, those were the only 2 Black Terns I'd ever seen until this weekend, and while they do tend to pass along the Virginia coast this time of year on their southbound migration, I just do not believe it was a mere coincidence that I happened to be standing on the beach during a timeframe when I spotted 9 of these over a couple hours! Perhaps it was just my lucky day, or the culmination of considerable effort (28 miles of walking the past 4 Fridays), or any combination of possibilities, but I'd prefer to think these birds were there this weekend for a reason, and they certainly made me remember all the times spent outdoors with my father, which always becomes more and more vivid in my daily thoughts around his birthday, perhaps because this is the time of year I’d typically be returning from my summer’s up north to head back to school in Indiana (my own annual migration, maybe that is why I like birds so much?). So these Black Terns were very special to me! They were a great way to end my workweek, and a great way to start the weekend! Throughout the remainder of my walk, I mostly saw the same species again, and the thunderstorm cell to the south was ever-growing northward, so I picked up the pace quite a bit, arriving back at the car just ahead of it. Some shorebirds were out in the E-Pool, but I couldn’t ID them properly at the distance, so I called it a night and headed home.

Common & Sandwich Terns were the most frequently seen birds at Back Bay, along with the non-pictured-here Royal Terns!

On Saturday morning, I drove out towards Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area, but the rainfall just wouldn’t allow me to get out to hike, so I ended up turning around and coming home. Ruth & I went out to brunch instead at Hair of the Dog just down the street, which was really good. After we swung by the movie theatre, and then I worked on my photographs from Friday through the afternoon. Eventually the rain cleared, and we had a beautiful evening in the 60s/70s! I’ve waited all summer for that weather. On Sunday morning, after enduring the extremely rainy weather Saturday, I again headed out for some birding. Leaving early, as I was chomping at the bit, I got out of the apartment at 6:30 AM. Also, I needed to be back home in time to shower & drive out to Chesapeake for a meeting at 10 AM. So, I headed quickly down to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area’s Whitehurst Tract in the hopes of finding the Pectoral Sandpipers that I’m hoping will show up there this month as they did last year in mid-August. Arriving to the park about 7:10 AM, I stepped out into beautiful 67 degree F weather, with no clouds visible in the sky. While spraying myself up with deet, I was already tallying birds as they zoomed past, with Northern Cardinal, and swallows being seen, and Field Sparrows being heard. Somehow, the nozzle on my spray bottle got locked in place and I inadvertently sprayed some right into my eye. Of course, it burned pretty bad, as deet is not supposed to be sprayed on the face in general, much less right at the eyes. I spent a few minutes quickly flushing my eye out with water from my drinking bottles, which fortunately I always carry two 64-oz bottles with me during the Spring through Fall due to the heat. After feeling satisfied that I’d gotten all the chemical completely rinsed away, and when the burning stopped, I headed southbound onto the trails. Moral of this story is don’t ever be in a hurry when getting ready to head out hiking, it will only hurt you in the end.

A beautiful Willet in flight along the breakers, showing off its distinctive black and white wing patterning!

Birds were quiet along the entry trail, which is seemingly not as overgrown as it had been even a month ago, perhaps due to the grasses starting to die off a bit, or the competition for nutrients is sapping some of them. Dragonflies were common here as usual, with Great Blue Skimmers and Needham’s Skimmers the most active, even this early in the morning and on a “cold” day comparative to what we’ve been having recently. Actually, it felt amazing out I must say, I wish it could be this temperature year round, but, I do enjoy having 4 distinct seasons here which all provide their unique bird species sightings. When I reached the choke point between the northern and southern halves of the park, I walked counter-clockwise along the tree line, wrapping around the western impoundment first, then splitting between the southern and middle impoundments til I was at the southwestern edge of the impoundment nearest the barn house. By doing this, it ensures that when I reach the northern impoundment, the sun will be behind me. This is important for two reasons, first, it means that any photographs I take will have the subject matter illuminated, and second, it means any wildlife on the impoundment will be forced to look towards the sun to spot me approaching, which makes it slightly easier to sneak into a better position without being noticed. Along the prior stretch, I had a group of 17 Canada Geese fly over me, and 2 Great Blue Herons did flush from the middle impoundment. Also in the middle impoundment, a single Eastern Meadowlark flushed and then landed atop a series of Cattails out in the center. Indigo Buntings, Northern Cardinals, and Blue Grosbeaks were also encountered. Upon moving northward towards the northernmost impoundment where the Ruff was seen last year, a Spotted Sandpiper took off and hovered/flew along for a ways before disappearing.

Quite a successful catch for this nonbreeding Royal Tern at Back Bay NWR on Friday evening!

The rains over the last 24 hours clearly had an impact on the water levels of the park. The northern impoundments was considerably higher than it had been last week, essentially flooding out all the available mudflat space out in the middle. Because of this rise in water, the habitat shifted just across the line to being unsuitable for most shorebirds, and the only birds on the impoundment were 4 Spotted Sandpipers. No peeps were seen this time, and no Killdeer encountered at this spot, though 3 did fly over as I stood on the shoreline. A bit bummed out, I continued on, realizing I was not going to get my Pectorals again this weekend. However, while walking around the northern half of the park, I did spot another few Killdeer, and I had a flurry of excitement when a songbird showing much yellow landed in a tree near me. It turned out to be a juvenile Yellow-breasted Chat, but I was so sure early on it was a rarer warbler species due to the marking which I was unfamiliar with at the time. Field Sparrows continued to sing, but for the third outing in a row, Northern Bobwhites were not heard calling, so I’m glad I did get to enjoy their presence back in July when they seemed to be hanging around the area. At the abandoned farmhouse at the northeast corner of the park, the large trees to the west again held a few species of birds including Mourning Doves, a pair of juvenile Eastern Bluebirds, a Red-winged Blackbird, and a Northern Mockingbird. Typically at this point in my circuit of the park, the species count starts to stack up as the songbirds seem to prefer the habitat here and along Munden Road. No Orchard Orioles showed up this time, but I did see a pair of American Goldfinches along the roadway, and more buntings and grosbeaks were seen on the power line wires as well. I reached the car at about 8:10 AM, and headed back towards home to shower up and head out for my 10 AM meeting. Upon leaving the park, I ran into an American Kestrel that was sitting up on the power line over the roadway. I pulled the car over quickly, assembled my camera for a photograph, and then realized it had flown away during the commotion, as they do basically every time I go through this process. They’re one of the toughest birds to photograph since they’re speedy falcons that don’t typically like people being around them. Usually they’re also at far distances out over fields also. After this, I did head home.

With it's scaled back, black bill, and black face, this is a juvenile Common Tern! The youngster are really showing up now, and making identification of all the birds a bit more difficult. 

After my meeting, it was still so gorgeous out, though closer to 80 degrees, I decided to head out again, this time going north to Pleasure House Point Natural Area off Shore Drive. Parking along Marlin Bay Drive, I quickly entered the park and headed eastward towards the sandbars. I had anticipated that with the beautiful weather, and being later in the day now, there would be a lot of visitors to the park. I was sadly correct. I ran into many walkers and beachgoers along the trails. Sadly, at the sandbars, which were showing quite well, there were tons of boats and kayaks pulled up on every available spot. Because of this, there was no gulls, terns, or shorebirds standing on the tide-exposed ground. A group of a few Short-billed Dowitchers flew over me on the trails, but that was the only shorebird encounter I had. Wading birds were out in typical numbers, and I again saw at least two juvenile Tricolored Herons, which have been quite numerous over the last month at the park. Young Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were also scattered about the shorelines, though I only saw one adult this outing. Great Egrets and a flyover by a Green Heron rounded out the waders. Songbirds were only seen in low variety which is pretty common. This could partially be since I walk the shoreline trails and stay out of the woods for the most part, where they’re probably more commonly seen. The highlight for the songbirds was a few American Goldfinches that flew over while showing off their brilliant yellow feathers. Ospreys were seen at several times but there was unfortunately no repeat of the Peregrine Falcon I spotted on Wednesday evening. After doing the quick out-and-back on the trails, I decided to head out, and forego a second loop just because of the volume of people on the trails.

While not uncommon birds, Mourning Doves just have a beautiful aura about them, seen here at Princess Anne WMA!

After arriving back home, I started the at times trying portion of photography, going through all my photographs from the week and editing them for inclusion into this blog & the other sections of the website. Needing a break, I sat down on the couch to watch some television, which quickly turned into an unplanned nap. Apparently while I was sleeping, my phone had rang, as Ron Furnish, who lives in my neighborhood, had called to let me know there was a Black-and-White Warbler hanging out in the tree in his front yard. His house seems to always bring in the birds somehow, with the Mississippi Kites landing in his backyard quite often, something that doesn’t just happen to anyone. Ruth had been down at the apartment complex’s pool, and when she came back at 4 PM, she woke me up. I then saw the missed called and text message, and immediately grabbed my gear and headed out the door. Arriving a half hour or so after he’d first tried to call, I didn’t have high hopes. But, we stood under the tree chatting for a while anyway. After a half hour or so, to my amazement, the Mississippi Kite that had been showing up there, showed up! It cruised across a blue portion of the sky, and I snapped some quick in-flight shots of it as it rode a thermal higher and higher up into the air before disappearing. This was now only the second time I’ve seen the Kites, which are nesting a couple miles away by air, across the Lynnhaven River, up in the Thoroughgood neighborhood. After viewing the Kite, we went back to staring up into the tree, watching for movement. A Northern Cardinal, and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird passed through while we were watching, and then suddenly the warbler appeared! From high up in the tree, it began working its way down one of the larger limbs, then proceed to hop across to other limbs, working them in a similar fashion. For probably 15 minutes, the bird hopped about, though never pausing for very long. Since my lens has been having issues lately, I had to manually focus every shot, which on a hyperactive little bird makes for tough shooting. I’m actually a bit embarrassed that I didn’t get some better shots given how close I was too it, and how cooperative (in terms of warblers) it had been. However, I got plenty of ID-worthy photographs, and this being a first of year bird for me, was now #184! After the rainy day on Saturday, and the tough pair of outings to Whitehurst Tract & Pleasure House Point earlier in the day, I really needed this sighting to keep me optimistic! Now with 16 species remaining to meet my goal of seeing 200 species in Virginia Beach this year, I’m starting to get anxious. Each species I add, becomes one less species that is available to me. At this point, I’m going to have to find quite a few birds I’ve never seen before in Virginia Beach, and also need some luck in terms of rarities showing up. I am still going to give the Pectoral Sandpipers another shot, though they aren’t showing up in local reports anywhere chaseable. Hopefully this coming week, I will finally pick one out, though a Marbled Godwit, or White-rumped Sandpiper on the beach at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge would also be a great blessing!

Species #184 in Virginia Beach this year, the Black-and-White Warbler that descended upon Ron Furnish & Marie Mullins' front yard on Sunday. Thanks to you both for notifying me about it!

Week Ending August 2, 2015

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Hot, summer weather continued this week, with almost all the days reaching 90 degrees. On Friday evening again, I walked the beach to False Cape State Park's northern boundary as I've done the past couple of Fridays now. The 90+ degree temperature was enough to make it a tougher than normal walk, but the abundance of birds made it well worthwhile. No Piping Plovers were seen for the first time in the three ‘Fall migration’ outings, but I did spot a pair of Killdeers, one of whom was on the beach & quite a surprise to see there! Semipalmated Plovers were observed in higher numbers this week than last, with 13 individuals counted. So far, no Black-bellied Plovers have showed up to the beach as of yet. Nearing the False Cape line I watched a group of large shorebirds lift off from the beach and fly south, most of the birds were clearly Willets, showing the bright white & black wing patterns even at a significant distance, but I just couldn't make out what the other birds were since they were headed away from me, not showing their bills. They were either Whimbrels (more likely), or Marbled Godwits (less likely but a possibility). Either species would have been an excellent add to this list of birds though if I could have just seen more of them. Sanderlings were again the dominant species along the beaches, which should continue through Fall. Their numbers were likely in excess of my rough estimate of 300 birds, and Willets were in similar numbers to last week at about 35 birds. A single Ruddy Turnstone also was noted about 50 feet across the border into False Cape State Park, and then the bird suddenly flew northward, which was a relief to me as I then didn't have to create a second eBird checklist for the sighting in False Cape, and then start a third for my trip north in Back Bay so the times all worked properly. Thank you Turnstone for making life a bit easier on me with just the 1 checklist being needed.  Terns (Royal, Common, Sandwich, Caspian, Least) in descending order of number seen,Gulls (Laughing, Lesser Black-backed, Ring-billed, Great Black-backed, Herring), and a single Black Skimmer were all observed. No Black Terns which again were my hope, though it is still early as most sightings here in past years according to eBird are mid to late August, but, keeping my fingers crossed each week. Osprey were out in huge numbers today and were never out of sight. Brown Pelicans were in typical numbers at about 15 or so. No waterfowl of any species seen which was a relief after the injured White-winged Scoter I saw a couple weeks ago, and the injured Common Eider seen back in June were both picked up by a local rehabber on Sunday after both were re-sighted up on the North Mile of the beach by refuge staff. Hopefully no more of these very beautiful out of range ducks are found injured this summer along the beach.

A very cooperative White-tailed Deer fawn seen at Back Bay NWR on Friday evening!

On Saturday, I got out to an early start, heading out before 7 AM, I ran out to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area (Whitehurst Tract) to check for shorebirds, and for the first time in the last couple of weekends I regret to mention that I was a bit disappointed. Of course, I was only disappointed since the last couple of weeks the variety & counts have been pretty firm, but they appeared to take a step backward this weekend, which could probably be chalked up to many reasons. While working my way around the southern group of impoundments counter-clockwise (hugging west edge towards south, then east, then north along the east boundary) in order to keep the sunlight positioned properly for my arrival to the northernmost impoundment that has held the shorebirds recently. To my astonishment though, I noted only four Spotted Sandpipers out on the impoundment. I could hear a Killdeer calling elsewhere, and did eventually run into a few of them further north, but not seeing any here were last week at least a dozen were, was quite a surprise. In fact, the previous visit to the impoundment yielded Least, Solitary, & Spotted Sandpipers, and the dozen or so Killdeer. So for the first time in my several weeks of checking this spot out, the numbers had dropped considerably when they should be increasing. My goal for the walk (as it has been the last couple of weeks) was to spot my first Pectoral Sandpipers of the year, but unfortunately that goal was unmet again this weekend. Perhaps in a week or two they'll start showing up at this site, which seems a perfect habitat, and one that I saw a couple (though at the time was unable to properly ID and have since done so via photographs). I am sure there are plenty of spots throughout Virginia where Pectorals are common, especially during their migration when essentially 'anything goes', however, I haven't yet found any members of the species here that I can count for my 'County Big Year' which still sits at 182 species, with my goal from the start of the year being to identify 200 species by sight. Even if I don't manage to find them here in Virginia Beach this year, the attempt at seeing as many birds as I can here in my home city/county equivalent has definitely challenged me to learn as much as I can about each species and I feel that through the outings & the writings I've tried to share afterwards have surely helped to increase my knowledge of the birds that are found in this region.

Showing its reddish bill & feet, and grayish chest & belly, this is a Common Tern, seen in flight at Back Bay NWR!

But, I'd still like to spot some Pectorals, given that I did see them here last mid-August when seeking out the Ruff that Bob Ake initially spotted. Another Ruff would also be a great bird to see for the first time, but I’m not holding my breath for that one since they’re quite rare up and down the East Coast in the Fall time. I purchased “The Shorebird Guide” this past week, and it has been a fun one to study, and is definitely helping this time of year with those birds being the first migrants to show up in our area. In addition to that book, last week I had purchased “The Warbler Guide”, and “The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior” which goes well beyond just the simpler field identification skills, and focuses more on teaching birders things like migration patterns, what birds eat and why, what habitats species typically use and why, and how to properly be able to tell the age of birds based on feather wear and changed in molt. Incredibly interesting stuff, and I already feel a lot smarter in just a week or so of using it as a reference. I’d recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about birds than just the ability to identify species in the field. Also of importance, I did not hear the Bobwhites during this outing that I've heard while out the last couple of weeks. Perhaps they aren't happy with someone stopping in each week to check them out, and are instead used to this area being a dead zone for birders until mid-August as the eBird reports suggest. With checking the park each week through these hot, summer months, I realize why most folks tend to avoid this area in summertime since the activity of most birds, and the variety of species tends to die down after most were already observed during the springtime.

Still showing some breeding colors, this Ruddy Turnstone is starting its molting period and will lose some of its brightness soon.

I know that not everyone birds according to a list of sorts, or a # of species goal for the year, but the descending amount of activity, and the increase in ticks/chiggers at the park must have something to do with other birders' lack of observations posted for the park during the heat of summer, or so I speculate. And I must say, they are right to do so, as the ticks can get quite bad in this area throughout the hot, humid summers. Fortunately, I've only pulled a few of the blood-suckers out of me this year, relying heavily on high % Deet to keep them off me, but still finding a few individuals unaffected by my efforts to thwart them. A risk that is taken in the name of observing birds though, and therefore, a worthwhile one. After the hour at at PAWMA, I headed back towards home, but quickly changed the itinerary, realizing it might be an opportune time to target a bird I still haven't seen here in my home county, the Hairy Woodpecker. This attempt unfortunately, as with the attempt at Black Terns and Pectoral Sandpipers, also proved futile, as very little bird activity was observed within the roughly 2-mile figure-8 loop through the forests. Upon exiting the forest though, and walking back towards my vehicle, I met up with another birder, Una Davenhill, and was delighted to see several species while chatting, including at least 3 Eastern Wood-Pewees, which while they are plenty common birds, they are a species I've only seen once so far within the Virginia Beach boundaries this year so I consider them quite a catch. We also noted some Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Pine Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Chipping Sparrows, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and a Great Egret while standing still in the forested area between the hiking & golf course parking areas. I had plans to swing by Pleasure House Point afterwards, but it was already in the 90s by 10:30 AM, and I was ready to just head home to lay down. I will try to check out PAWMA again next week just to give an idea of what species are seen there since it appears to be an area not many eBirders arrive at during August, unless there is a Ruff present!

A pair of Willets in flight against the beautiful backdrop of the surging coastal wave break!

On Sunday, Ruth & I headed up to the town of Irvington up on the Northern Neck (in Lancaster County), where the owner of her company was hosting a 2-day picnic for the full-time staff and their guests. She was even kind enough to put everyone up in the nearby Tides Inn, which was a really neat hotel, and happened to be less than a mile away from her own property. Situated right on a cove of the Rappahannock River, the hotel offered free usage of bicycles, kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats, motor boats, etc. Ruth tried the paddle board for a bit & I did a little kayaking in a two-seater since it was the only one available. Not long into it, she decided to hop in with me in the kayak since the paddleboard was a bit unnerving, so we pulled back up onto the dock to get her loaded up. Unfortunately, the lady that launched us back into the water from the dock pushed us so the back end went angled into the water, rather than on top of it, and we quickly started to fill with water from the back side until the kayak sank with us still sitting in it. We had to swim back to shore, only 50 feet away, but pushing the swamped kayak back and getting it up-righted was a bit of a challenge. After spending a good chunk of my life paddling in canoes in northern Minnesota, I can see that my first kayak experience was a bit tougher than I expected. Even the feel of paddling in one is just a lot different than canoes, using different muscles since you sit so much lower towards the water. After our swamping of the kayak, we just spent the afternoon at the pool rather than swimming in the river. Just walking around the grounds of the hotel, I could hear Pine Warblers calling, lots of Ospreys out over the cove, and we saw a few Cottontail rabbits as well. We spent the evening over at her boss’ property, situated on a point of the cove and featuring some pretty amazing views of the water. Despite our unanticipated swim earlier in the day, I was really glad we got the chance to spent time up at the hotel, definitely a spot I’d like to go back too sometime. Now that is is August, the shorebird migration should really start to kick into high gear, so hopefully this coming week is a good one, featuring some interesting sights. It’d be nice to get back on pace for my 200 species after not picking up any now the last couple of weeks. 

Showing up this week in better numbers, the Semipalmated Plovers have really begun to arrive at Back Bay NWR!