Hi Folks!
(Some quick highlights before diving in....2 Wilson's Snipe @ BBNWR, Brant
@ PHP, American Bittern @ PHP, 2 Black-crowned Night-Heron @ BBNWR & PHP, 3
Long-tailed Ducks @ CBBT).
We had a beautifully sunny day here in southeast Virginia today with
temperatures hovering just below freezing all day long. I went down to Back
Bay NWR about 7:30 this morning to give it a look. The bay itself is almost
entirely frozen over, especially the portion viewable from the parking
area. Some folks were set up here with a scope viewing the waterfowl that
was at the far western edge of the viewable waters. I walked out onto the
trails heading southwest (the Bay Trail), and there was plenty of Tundra
Swans and ducks visible out in small pools of water from the boardwalk
observation area at the west end. I got an immature Black-crowned
Night-Heron at the pond near here which was a complete surprise, and is the
first of the species I've seen at Back Bay. I walked the Loop Road (gravel
roadway heading south from the parking lot to the west & east dike
trailheads), and I scared up a Wilson's Snipe, which flew quickly out of
the area. On the beach, there was nothing at all, except for 1 lone
Sanderling and a lot of sea foam being tossed in by the heavy winds and
waves. One loon was visible out in the surf, but I can't make the
distinction with certainty from the photos. Some new sparrows for my year
were Savannah and Swamp. Also, a 2nd Wilson's Snipe flushed along the trail
to the beach near the parking area, I couldn't believe it, as seeing one
was already a great day for me.
After Back Bay I hit Little Island Park's Kayak Launch area. This small
cove of Back Bay was again entirely frozen so now waterfowl was present. I
got my first Gray Catbird and Brown Thrashers on the year here, but along
with some Carolina Chickadees & Yellow-rumped Warblerss, plus 2 Great
Egrets, that was it here.
88th Street Beach was my next stop heading north where I found a group of
10 Black Scoters swimming in the rough surf offshore. Nothing more to speak
of here, save for some Gannets, a White-throated Sparrow, House Finch, and
Mockingbirds.
Pleasure House Point was my 4th stop of the day. I found the American
Bittern at the outlet from the stormwater pond at Dinwiddie Drive where it
hits the creek (another FOY bird, though I've seen this one several times
recently). I could not re-locate the Eurasian Wigeon that has been sighted,
but it could very well be out there mixed in with Gadwalls and American
Wigeons. The light glare, and my lack of a scope make it tough to find
these types of birds. I ran into Tracy Tate for the first time and she
directed me to some Green-winged Teal along the creek as well as to an
immature Black-crowned Night-Heron (Thank You!). Some other firsts on the
day for 2015 were Eastern Bluebirds that were seen several times, a Greater
Yellowlegs that Ron Furnish & Marie Mullins were viewing when I walked up
to find them, and a group of about 45 Brant that flew in just as I had
remarked that I keep missing out on them this year. One Clapper Rail was
seen swimming across a small channel and running swiftly into the marsh.
Last stop of the day was at the first island of the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge-Tunnel. I'd been out for about 7 hours by this point so I just made
it a quick stop, and didn't drive the whole bridge like I typically enjoy
doing. From the north point there was 3 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 Surf Scoters,
and 3 Red-breasted Mergansers viewable. Some Ruddy Turnstones and
Sanderlings were also present, but it was pretty quiet otherwise. I'm still
looking for my FOY White-winged Scoters, but at least the Long-taileds were
there today. Those beautiful birds are always worth the $13 toll!
I've got a lot of shots to go through but felt the information was more
important to people in here, so wanted to get that out first. Photos will
be up in my eBird reports and added to my website (
http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150111) as soon as I can through
them all.
Hope everyone else had a productive day today, wonderful to see the sun all
day on a Saturday finally!
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
