Folks,
*Quick Notes*
Back Bay NWR - 3:35 - 6:50 PM - FOY Barn Swallow (Sandbridge), Prairie
Warblers, American Bittern, Wilson's Snipes, Tricolored Herons,
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Common Yellowthroats, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.
*Outing Photographs*
*http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150419/
<http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150419/>*
*Last Week's Recap*
*http://www.rbnature.com/blog/we-20150412
<http://www.rbnature.com/blog/we-20150412>*
*Full Outing Details*
Thanks to an afternoon meeting at the City of Virginia Beach that got out
an hour earlier, I was able to get out for a nice long 7.5 mile hike at
Back Bay NWR on Thursday evening. Driving through Sandbridge en route to
the park I saw a pair of swallows on one of the overhead power lines
paralleling the roadway, so I pulled a u-turn and parked nearby, got the
binoculars up on them and ID'd them as my first *Barn Swallows* of the
year. Though a common bird, it was nice to finally see a pair of them
sitting on a wire so they could be easily identified, even from the
driver's side of a car. I arrive at the park about 3:35 PM, and noticed
that no attendant was there today. I headed into the park, seeing a *Northern
Mockingbird* along the way in, then parked up near the Kuralt Trail and
started my walk southward towards the Loop Road. I stayed to the eastern
half of the Loop Road, and almost immediately began hearing the calls
of *Prairie
Warblers* in the scrub terrain to the east. I tried to locate the birds at
a couple of spots before I finally saw one of beautiful yellow and black
songbirds singing its heart out from the top of what I believe was a Live
Oak. These warblers were one of the highlights of the day, and could be
heard calling all along the East Dike, with their signature 'countdown'
song ringing in my ears still. *Eastern Towhees*, *Brown Thrashers*,
and *White-throated
Sparrows* were also present along the Loop Road, and all were singing as
well, making for a perfect soundtrack to walk too.
Heading southward along the East Dike Trail, I saw one massive Common
Snapping Turtle in the ditch to the east, a few *Carolina Chickadees*
hopping from shrub to shrub, and a pair of *Blue Jays* at the double
90-degree bend in the trail. *Glossy Ibis*, *White Ibis*, *Snowy Egret*,
and *Great Egrets* could all be seen out on the nearer portions of the
impoundments from this bend area, but they were too far out for 400mm
photographs to be of any quality. Some *Mallards* also could be seen, but
that was it for waterfowl, whatever is there still is far enough away that
you need a powerful scope, or a wild imagination to identify accordingly.
In this area also, I could hear a *Yellowlegs* calling from high up, but
couldn't spot it. This time of year the park is full of both Lessers &
Greaters, though with the West Dike Trail having not opened, it is more
difficult, if not impossible to be able to see the shorebirds right now.
Continuing southbound, a pair of *Common Yellowthroats* delighted me with
some great views as they hopped around the cattails on a small puddle off
the west side of the trail, and nearby, a Prairie Warbler seen close enough
to the trail for a few good photographs. Their yellow & black neck and
facial patterns, and the rusty spot on their back just make them gorgeous
birds, dare I say one of, if not, my favorite of the spring warblers.
Nearing the southernmost bend in the trail, before it starts tracking
westward towards the junction with False Cape State Park's entry road, I
was photographing a group of Yellow-rumped Warbler, and accidentally
spooked what I believe was a *Wilson's Snipe* into flight. It disappeared
extremely fast to the west unfortunately. Coming around the final bend, a
large wading bird jumped out of the foliage across the ditch, showing
itself plainly as a surprise *Black-crowned Night-Heron* adult! The bird
hopped up into the tree, then flew up and over, allowing only some photos
of half of its body, but still clear enough to separate from the much more
common Yellow-crowns. This is only the second Black-crown I've seen at the
park this year actually, the first being during the full ice over back in
February/March up near the Bay Trail.
I reached the False Cape entry trail, grabbed a drink of water, and
attempted to photograph a pair of *Blue-gray Gnatcatchers* that had flown
in to check me over. They repeatedly jumped from branch to branch, moving
through a tangle of Live Oaks, making for difficult shots, but again, some
ID worthy ones did come out of this. After this I headed back northward
along the same route, walking a bit faster this time. I'd contemplated
walking into False Cape and coming back north along the beach road, but
this adds about 2.8 miles to the hike, and being an after-work hike, I
wasn't sure if I could pull it off before the sun set. The walk northward
was a bit more quiet, though I could hear the Prairie Warblers and
Yellowthroats along the path, I mostly just walked the whole way up the
East Dike Trail quickly. I spooked another Snipe, this time getting a good
look at it in my binoculars as it landed out in the marsh, then disappeared
from view. About a hundred yards or so south of the East Dike gate, a pair
of White-tailed Deer were seen grazing up along the trail shoulders. While
watching the deer, an *American Bittern* rose out of the marsh to my east,
and then flew across the path! After it had moved far off to the west, I
moved closer to watch the deer. As I approached, they of course ran off to
the safety of the marsh to the west, but stopped, turned, and stared back
at me, making for some nice photographs. The Loop Road again was filled
with Prairie Warbler Song, and Eastern Towhees calling as well. While on
the Loop Road, a group of 5 *Tricolored Herons* flew high over me, heading
out over the ocean. This is the first time at the park that I've seen a
group flying together like this, and earlier I had actually seen a group of
a dozen or so Snowy Egrets doing the same thing. I took the southern beach
access trail out across the dunes and onto the beach itself. The strong
easterly winds were driving quite a swell into the beach, and a massive
debris line could be seen from north to south. Because of the swell, I
couldn't pick any birds out of the water aside from *Double-crested
Cormorants*, of which there were thousands due to a massive cyclone of them
off the northern mile of the beach. A few *Forster's Terns* were seen, a
single *Royal Ter*n, and the typical 4 species of *gulls* (*Ring-billed,
Herring, Lesser & Great Black-backed*), with 1 *Brown Pelican* rounded out
the beach birds. No shorebirds were observed here. I walked one last
section of the park, the Bay Trail, but by this point the sun was dropping
low in the sky, and though I could hear many *Red-winged Blackbirds*
calling, and a *King Rail* cackling off in the distance, it was pretty
quiet for birds. Two more Common Yellowthroats, and a *Swamp Sparrow* were
seen, and then I was off back towards the car and out of the refuge.
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
