Hi Folks,
After my workday ended this afternoon I headed up to Pleasure House Point
to see if I could re-locate the Common Redpoll that has shown up in a pair
of reports on eBird this week. I parked at the east end of Marlin Bay Drive
to put me in a spot where I could do a loop along the water with the sun at
my back, and was very surprised to find that the Common Goldeneye female
that was seen over the weekend was still present on the pond with the deer
carcass. I tried to move into a good spot for a photo, and inadvertently
frightened off an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron that was perched in the
pine tree above me, the first adult I've seen in the park. The raucous
caused the goldeneye to fly out from the wooded pond unfortunately, but it
seems to be sticking around the park. I could not locate the Eurasian
Wigeon out in the creek, and unfortunately did not find any Redpolls
either. However, good numbers of waterfowl were present (Gadwall, American
Wigeon, Northern Shoveler, and what appeared to be Ring-necked Ducks flying
in). Also, the Brants were seen flying along the far shore but never landed
on the mudflats as the tide was coming in and covering them up. At the
small cove where the boat launch meets the main waterway, there was a male
& female Bufflehead with a female Lesser Scaup, a first on the year for me.
Also nearby I added several Tree Swallows that were flying over the field
outside the new environmental center. I cut back towards the car on the new
bike path, seeing one Cooper's Hawk along the way. The Goldeneye was not
present when I returned to the pond near my car.
Photos from both locations are up on my website here for those interested,
some good waterfowl shots tonight!
http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150118
After leaving the park I headed up to the first island (South Thimble
Island) on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. I walked the full perimeter of
the island (within the pedestrian allowed signs that is), and was pleased
to find a large number of birds present for being after 4 PM. The
Ring-billed Gulls and Rock Pigeons as usual were covering the eastern side
of the island, with a few Herring Gulls and Ruddy Turnstones mixed in. Out
on the water, a small group of Buffleheads, a lone Red-breasted Merganser,
and a few Surf Scoters were tight in to the southeastern shoreline. When
I'd reached the northern point, a pair of male Redheads were seen mixed in
with a group of both male & female Lesser Scaup. Some Black Scoters, and a
group of 5 Long-tailed Ducks were also seen. I'd hoped for a White-winged
Scoter or a Greater Scaup to show up, but I still haven't found either
species yet in 2015, hopefully next time. Walking back to the car I ran
into Karen Kearney so I stayed for a bit longer chatting and got to see a
beautiful sunset from the island as well. All in all, a very good couple
hours of birding to end out my work week. Looking forward to a nice
Saturday here in Virginia Beach! Hope everyone gets out and sees some neat
birds tomorrow.
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
