Folks,
*Quick Notes*
Great Dismal Swamp NWR (Washington Ditch) - 1:25 - 4:55 PM - FOY
Yellow-throated Warbler (Lifer!), FOY Common Yellowthroat, FOY Rusty
Blackbirds (about 50). Winds were very heavy so it was extremely tough to
locate any small birds, almost all songbirds seen were Yellow-rumped
Warblers. Also saw a Horned Grebe on the ditch, some Wood Ducks, Hooded
Mergansers, first snake of the year (racer/rat snake), first butterflies of
the year including Zebra Swallowtail, and several Muskrats.
*Outing Photographs*
*http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150405/
<http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150405/>*
*Full Outing Details*
Definitely a record week here in southeastern Virginia, with a 5th
beautiful day in a row. Temperatures hit 80+ degrees depending on exactly
where you were, but at the Dismal Swamp my car registered 78 at the start
of the walk at 1:25 PM and 82 degrees F at the end at 4:55 PM. This was my
first visit to the swamp of the year, so I was extremely anxious to see
just what I'd find. The first thing I noticed was that the leaves have
barely begun budding out along the trail, so all the canopy is very visible
at this point. The next thing I noticed was that the wind was intense,
whipping the higher treetops in all directions, and causing such a raucous
that it made it tough to locate any songbirds. I started down the trail,
and began hearing some calls coming from the north side, so I took the
boardwalk for a few hundred feet. The calls became quite loud as I closed
in, and I discovered its source was that of a mixed flock of *Common
Grackles* and *Rusty Blackbirds* (FOY bird), about 50 in total that were
moving through the trees. After watching them for a few minutes, I headed
back to the Washington Ditch Trail and kept going eastward. During my time
on the boardwalk, a couple of folks had begun hiking the ditch trail, and
so they were a few hundred feet behind me over the next couple of miles,
always a bit frustrating, but I tried to stay out ahead so that they
couldn't scare off anything right ahead of me. Being walkers/joggers
though, they eventually passed me and I stopped for a while to put some
space between us. On the first mile of the trail (the area prior to the
junction with Lynn Ditch), wildlife was almost nonexistent, so I was a bit
worried for the rest of the walk. The water levels in the ditch appeared to
be a bit low, with the forest floor surrounding the ditch not being fully
saturated by water. The reading at the control structure / weir at the
junction read 20.97 feet (just so I can compare on future outings). Over
the course of the next mile, it was again very quiet, with no birds really
calling, and the only ones I could pick out in the canopy against the
mostly cloudy skies being Yellow-rumped Warblers. I did find a
beautiful *Horned
Grebe* in full breeding plumage at the 2 mile mark on the ditch itself. The
bird dove down into the water and I ran to get into a position where I
thought it'd pop up...this continued a few times before I was satisfied
with a decent enough photograph to document the sighting, and then I moved
onward. Over the next mile or so, I began to see butterflies of several
species. Now, I don't know my butterflies like I know my birds, however *Zebra
Swallowtails* were the ones that I can ID, and a few of these made
themselves visible. There was another species of small, orange butterflies,
and a 3rd species periwinkle in color and tiny in size, but I don't know
their ID.
Around Mile 3, I encountered a rather chatty *Belted Kingfisher*, that had
flown in down the trail, and then perched on a tree branch over the ditch.
It clearly was not happy with my presence, and it did what all Kingfishers
do... flew around me several times almost laughing as it moved off. Turtles
were becoming very numerous the further down the trail I walked, most of
them being *Yellow-bellied Sliders*, but also seeing a pair of much
smaller *Spotted
Turtles*. Most of the turtles didn't seem to mind me being there, and they
just stayed up on their logs, but occasionally I'd hear a splash, and see a
head peeking out from the water at me. Somewhere about this time also I
tried to photograph a swallowtail, only to slip on the mud, fall down
sideways, and very nearly end up right in the ditch. After a few choice
words said to myself, and a good brushing off, I cleaned up my binoculars
and camera and continued on, a bit frustrated. Nearing the 4 mile mark I
could already hear the winds coming off Lake Drummond, it was just a roar
of energy. And when I arrived at the final kink in the trail before the
lake, waves were actually moving up the ditch, which is quite a feat since
the ditch does actually move with considerable flow at this outlet area to
the lake. I headed up to the small pier at the end of the trail, and took
some shots of the beautiful lake, with some very picturesque clouds flying
past with haste. After a few minutes on the pier, I began the 4.5 mile walk
back down the trail to the parking area. Coming around the 90 degree kink
near the pier, an adult male Wood Duck came flying in from the north, and
banked westward over the Washington Ditch. Because the sun was also shining
from that direction, I didn't even bother raising the camera, but just
enjoyed seeing this dazzling bird. Continuing westward, I again encountered
the Belted Kingfisher that had buzzed past me earlier, this time snagging a
single photograph for documentation only, not of good quality by any means.
Near the 3.5 mile mark of the trail, I observed a few *Yellow-rumped
Warblers* and decided to try to pish them in a bit closer. While I was
doing so, to my amazement, a pair of *Common Yellowthroats* moved out near
the trail from the underbrush, and allowed a couple photos (see link
above), before heading back into the safety of their thicket. *Turkey
Vultures* were seen along the trail every few minutes as they soared
overhead on the strong winds, and a few *American Robins* also were seen
flying overhead, but still, the swamp remained quite quiet. Perhaps it was
the winds, perhaps it was the time of day, whatever it was, I know this is
just the calm before the inevitable storm of songbirds that will show up
very soon. Throughout the walk I did not hear or see any Prairie or
Prothonotary Warblers, but I know they aren't far off. No Ovenbirds or
Louisiana Waterthrushes either unfortunately, and I couldn't find any
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, but again, the wind was probably to blame for most
of this.
Continuing onward, I had my first encounter with a snake at about the 2.5-3
mile area. This one was resting on the trail, and quickly shot off across
the surface water north of the ditch. I couldn't get a good look at it, but
it was either an *Eastern Ratsnake* or a* Black Racer*, though I'm leaning
toward Racer just based off the speed it left with. Near here also, right
at a large Beaver lodge in the ditch, I encountered a *Muskrat* swimming
directly towards me down the ditch channel. I paused and took a few
photographs of it, and then grabbed a drink of water. While I was tipping
the water up, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye up in the
canopy. I quickly got the binoculars up and focused, only to find a
beautiful *Yellow-throated Warbler* working its way around a tree's network
of branches. Not only is this a first of year bird for me, but this is a
new Life bird for me! I was so excited after I grabbed a photograph that I
actually jumped up and down, feeling like a kid on Christmas day. I never
heard any of the Yellow-throats today, but seeing this one was just
fantastic. After it headed off into the swamp, I continued on my way
westward. At about the 1.5 mile mark on the trail, I noticed a trail of
bubbles breaking the surface of the ditch, and knew something was swimming
underwater that would have to surface. So I back peddled a bit, keeping my
eyes on the trail of bubbles, then suddenly another Muskrat popped up, the
clear source of the bubbles. It dove again quickly, and when I turned
around to try to get down the trail to where I expected it to rise again, I
noticed the same Horned Grebe was about 50 feet behind me. It must have
been underwater as I'd passed by it, but I again grabbed a couple of
photographs of it, this time, some very nice ones (see link above). The
remainder of the trail didn't turn up anything new, and just a few
Yellow-rumps were seen, but it was such a wonderful day to be on the trail,
and amazing to add another bird to my life list which now sits at 245
(photographed species only). The swamp should really start coming alive in
the next week, and I can't wait to hopefully get back out next weekend to
see just how much has changed! If you haven't ever been...it is an absolute
MUST visit place, especially in April! Make sure you bring bug spray
though, there's a reason all these fly-eating birds show up in the
springtime, though, I didn't notice any Mosquitoes on this outing, they're
return is also just around the corner.
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
www.rbnature.com
