Folks,
*Quick Notes*
Powhatan Creek & Greensprings Interpretive Trails - 1:15 - 3:30 PM -
Prothonotary Warbler, Red-shouldered Hawk, White-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray
Gnatcatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Green Heron, Common Yellowthroat.
Other sightings from the Trip - Caspian Terns (College Creek), and Chimney
Swifts (Gloucester & Virginia Beach).
*Outing Photographs (Will post tonight to this album)*
*http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150412/
<http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150412/>*
*Last Week's Recap*
*http://www.rbnature.com/blog/we-20150405
<http://www.rbnature.com/blog/we-20150405>*
*Full Outing Details*
On Saturday morning, I awoke to overcast skies, after a rain storm had
moved through during the late night hours, providing quite a lightning
storm. My fiance, Ruth, and I had plans to head up to Gloucester County for
the annual Daffodil Festival, and needed to be up there at 8:30 AM to meet
friends for brunch. Before we could leave, I put together my pack and
camera, and grabbed my shoes off the screen porch where I keep them. From
my Virginia Beach porch I could hear an *Ovenbird* calling from the marsh
behind our apartment, which is the first one I’ve heard this year. I
couldn’t spot the little bird though, as is typical with Ovenbirds, but it
shouldn’t be too long before I do see one, since they are quite common in
the spring & summer around here. It took about 75 minutes or so to get up
to Gloucester, but on our walk from the parking area to the restaurant, I
heard and then saw two *Chimney Swifts* flying overhead, another first of
year bird. After brunch, we watched the festival’s parade, and then
meandered through the labyrinth of booths set up on all sides of the main
intersection near the old courthouse. It was about Noon or a little after
that we headed out from Gloucester, and we stuck to our plan of traveling
the Colonial Parkway over to Jamestown.
The sky was still overcast, but a strong line of blue was moving slowly our
way. When we reached the James River stretch of the road, *Caspian Terns*
could be seen passing over the shorelines near College Creek, and Powhatan
Creek. This was another first of year state bird on the day, and I hadn’t
even hiked at all yet. The blue sky finally reached us, and just in time,
since we left the parkway and headed up to the Powhatan Creek Trailhead at
Clara Byrd Baker Elementary School in James City County. This trail follows
the creek’s watershed as it travels southward, then bends off to the west
and intersects with the Greensprings Interpretive Trail. So we walked the
path, first noting a *Blue-gray Gnatcatcher*, and then seeing many of the
typical backyard birds that are common along the trail, given its proximity
to, people’s backyards: *Northern Cardinal, Common Grackle, Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-throated Sparrow*,
and probably a few others I’m forgetting at the moment. Plenty of people
were out on the asphalt path over the first couple miles, given it was in
the 70s and absolutely gorgeous out. We would up around near the
intersection with the Greensprings, and encountered some *Eastern Bluebirds*,
and a *Common Yellowthroat*. Walking the Greensprings loop clockwise, we
reached the main boardwalk, and spotted several White-tailed Deer off to
the west of the trail feeding along a small rainwater stream. We watched
them for a few minutes and then cut across the middle of the loop on a
smaller boardwalk. Here we encountered *Eastern Phoebe*, and my first
*White-eyed
Vireo* of the year! One lone *Canada Goose* was out on the beaver ponds,
but that was it this time. In the past I’ve seen lots of other waterfowl
and wading birds, including Little Blue Heron here, but it was quiet today.
We met back up with the main loop trail, and headed south towards the
Powhatan Creek Trail.
A couple of years ago, I had found a hawk nest near here and photographed
the fledglings as they peered down at me, so we kept on the lookout for it
this time, eventually locating it, high up a tree right near a small
stormwater forebay. An adult *Red-shouldered Hawk* was sighted right nearby
too, and it circled several times overhead, keeping close watch & verifying
as with last year that this is its nest, and this was another new bird for
my yearly state list. As we were continuing around the forebay, a* Green
Heron* flushed from the small trickle of water, and landed up in a tree,
staring at us with raised crest to let us know it wasn’t pleased. We
watched it for a minute or so, and then it flew off in a circle around us,
holding its head upright in flight, which is very distinctive of this
species. Linking back up with the Powhatan Creek Trail, we saw some *Dark-eyed
Juncos*, a *Northern Flicker*, and more of the same species seen earlier.
As we traveled on a stretch close to the creek, I caught sight of a flash
of yellow jutting out from behind the thick Cypress trees, realizing
quickly that it was a *Prothonotary Warbler*, yet another first of year
state bird. I was able to get a few poor shots of the bird as it moved
quickly, and often through the dense marsh vegetation. I’ve seen these
birds in the same habitat, mainly at the Dismal Swamp and at Back Bay NWR,
but this was the first I’ve seen here though many reports show them on
eBird at this location. As we continued up the watershed, we
encountered a *Great
Blue Heron* along the high bridge crossing the creek, and then it was
pretty quiet the rest of the way uphill to the parking area. Except, for a
pair of *Chipping Sparrows* that were hopping around the grass at the very
end of the trail, adding one more bird to my state list right at the end of
the walk! After the hour or so long drive back to Virginia Beach, I stepped
out of the car only to find another pair of Chimney Swifts circling high
above the apartment complex, a fitting end, and a new addition to my
hometown list for the year.
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
www.rbnature.com
