Folks,
I meant to send this out yesterday but couldn't get it finished til now, so
a bit late.
*Quick Notes*
First Landing State Park - 3:50 - 5:50 PM - 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 2
Eastern Phoebes, Hermit Thrush, & FOY Brown Creeper (been trying to find
that one all winter)...very windy, tough to spot any passerines. Long Creek
Trail has now been disconnected (covered in branches & logs) at eastern
junction with Osprey Trail, not sure if this is temporary or a permanent
closure.
*Outing Photographs*
*http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150405/
<http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150405/>*
*Full Outing Details*
For possibly the first time this year, we had gorgeous weather for a 4th
day in a row. Though today started off with frost on the windshield (and
temperatures right around 30 degrees F at 7 AM), it warmed up swiftly to
about 65 degrees F. The same high-pressure system that was to our west
yesterday and driving northern winds (thanks to the clockwise flow) into
us, moved eastward, and then started driving southward winds to us, thanks
to the clockwise flow again. Tomorrow is a thankful holiday for my company,
so I didn't feel too guilty about leaving a few minutes early, and hitting
First Landing State Park at 3:50 PM. As with Tuesday evening's walk, I
parked in one of the stalls along the north side of 64th Street, just west
of Pacific Avenue, outside of the park. Walking into the park, then taking
a left at the Cape Henry Trail intersection as I always do, I could tell it
was a quiet day for the birds. I continued past Lake Susan Constant, and
then took the unofficial connector trail back to 64th Street. Here I heard
a Pileated Woodpecker calling, and was able to grab a couple of
photographs, though they were long distance shots, as it was hanging out on
the side of a large tree to the south. I walked the short amount of 64th
Street that leads to the Long Creek Trail, then followed it. Like Tuesday,
I encountered a small, mixed flock of songbirds along the trail. Today's
flock consisted of 2 Carolina Chickadees, 2 Eastern Phoebes, 2 Blue-gray
Gnatcatchers, a Brown Creeper (FOY), and a couple Yellow-rumped
Warblers.Not a lot of birds, but a great variety of species!
After taking a few photographs, I headed onward down the Long Creek Trail.
I unfortunately was leap-frogging a pair of hikers most of the way, as I'd
pass them up, and then stop to photograph birds, allowing them to pass me,
and so on, and so forth. Usually along this stretch, I'm accepting of being
close to other hikers, knowing that soon the trail will hit a junction, and
I can just go along the route that they don't take. However, in continuing
with the theme of my earlier posts this week, I hit a snag at the junction
of the Long Creek & Osprey Trails. The Long Creek Trail was completely
covered up with branches and other tree litter, forcing folks to go along
the Osprey Trail. Typically when the park is doing maintenance on trails,
they'll just put up a sign (one was up there for 3 years while they did
about a month of work on the Osprey Trail). So, I'm not sure if they're
working on the Long Creek Trail in this section, or if they're actually
disconnecting it entirely. Along this section, there is a rookery of Great
Blue Herons just off the trail, and I wonder if this might have something
to do with the closure. However, I can't be sure, but I plan on emailing
the park staff just to check. With this trail now closed, there is no true
loop to walk from 64th Street, which, isn't a big deal, but its good to
know in advance for planning out a hike.
Along the Osprey Trail, nothing was flying, because of the strong wind
hitting the shoreline & nearby area. I saw a few Ospreys, and a lone Bald
Eagle. I ended up hiking just to the second bridge (the western one), then
turned around and came back on the same path. On the way back I found a few
more Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Brown Thrasher, and a Hermit Thrush, but no
new migrants songbirds. When I arrived back at Lake Susan Constant, I could
see a Mallard and a Lesser Scaup out on the water. On Tuesday I had
reported seeing a Ring-necked Duck here, but I believe it was actually this
scaup. Birds were quiet for the rest of the hike and I headed out of the
park back to my vehicle to head home for some dinner.
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
www.rbnature.com
