Folks,
*Quick Notes (The Short Version)*
Back Bay NWR - 7:45 to 9:40 AM - Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard
Oriole, many Greater Yellowlegs, Prothonotary Warbler, Prairie Warbler
False Cape SP - 9:40 to 10:50 AM - Yellow-breasted Chat (Lifer!), King
Rail, Eastern Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting, Bonaparte's Gull
Back Bay NWR - 10:50 AM to 12:15 PM - FOY Semipalmated Sandpiper, FOY
Piping Plover (3), FOY Black-bellied Plover, FOY Caspian Tern
Princess Anne WMA (Whitehurst Tract) - 12:45 to 1:55 PM - FOY Least
Sandpiper, female Bufflehead, FOY Lesser Yellowlegs
*Outing Photographs*
*http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150510/
<http://www.rbnature.com/galleries/we-20150510/>*
*Full Species Lists*
*http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23331567
<http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23331567>*
*http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23331990
<http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23331990>*
*http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23332572
<http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23332572>*
*http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23333135
<http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23333135>*
*Full Outing Details (The Long Version)*
With Tropical Storm Ana sitting south of us off the coast of South
Carolina, I wasn't sure what the weather was going to bring today.
Interestingly, the day started with thick fog across Virginia Beach, and
when I left home just before 7 AM visibility was quite low. At 7:45 I
arrived down at Back Bay NWR, with the fog clearing somewhat, but still
very visible. It was probably about 8:30 or 9 before it burned off
completely inland, lingering along the coast throughout the morning in
patches. I headed off from the parking area along the Bayside Trail, seeing
a *Great Crested Flycatcher *perched on the *Purple Martin* house outside
the visitor center. A pair of *Northern Cardinals* and a large number
of *Red-winged
Blackbirds* were seen in this area as well. I took the boardwalk over to
the Bay Trail and headed westward along it. Last weekend, I'd had some
great early morning luck along the trail, but it was quieter this time out.
Perhaps because today I wasn't the first one down the trail, as a birder
from Pennsylvania named Lyn had walked about halfway down when I caught up
to him. *Boat-tailed Grackle* and *Yellow-rumped Warblers* were both seen
around the pond at the west end, and the small rainwater puddle that the
King Rail performed around last week is all but dried up now unfortunately.
At the very west end, perched in a tree above the observation platform was
a beautiful male *Orchard Oriole*, singing its heart out, then flying off
to the southeast as I walked up a bit too close. Birds remained quiet on
the return trip as I headed back towards the Loop Road, with just a single
Swamp Sparrow making itself visible.
Walking along the western portion of the Loop Road, I headed towards the
West Dike Trail, which just opened up for the first time this year on
Tuesday! *Gray Catbirds*, a *Field Sparrow*, and *Indigo Buntings* were
seen along this stretch. I was pretty excited to hit the West Dike Trail,
as it is my favorite in the park. Walking along the first stretch, I found
a *Blue Grosbeak* in one of the live oak hammocks, and a few *Snowy and
Great Egrets *were seen in the freshwater ditches as well. *Common
Yellowthroats & Prairie Warblers* were both heard, though only the former
was seen along the first mile or so. The impoundments were mostly empty,
and I only spotted 2 *Mallards*, a few *Canada Geese*, and 5 *Red-breasted
Mergansers*, the only waterfowl around. *Greater Yellowlegs* were seen at
many locations, and in the largest of the impoundments, a group of *Glossy
Ibis* was feeding in the mud alongside a *Little Blue Heron* and a few
Snowy Egrets. In the half mile stretch prior to entering the maritime
forest, a female Orchard Oriole was seen up in one of the large trees
adjacent to the trail. This being the same spot that I repeatedly saw
Orchards last year, and where I'd seen my first ever Yellow Warblers as
well. Entering the maritime forest, an Indigo Bunting was singing loudly
from atop a tree, and a pair of *Prothonotary Warblers *could be heard not
far off, with one being seen. The rainwater puddles in the forest form
small areas of marsh which these birds seem to like. Near the warblers, an
Eastern Ribbonsnake was seen alongside the trail and a Mud Turtle was given
some assistance in crossing the roadway, just in time too since a vehicle
came rushing past just a minute or so after I put the turtle down. Great
Crested Flycatchers were heard in a few spots throughout the forest as
well, but no Yellow-billed Cuckoos today, which was one of the targets I
was shooting for. After exiting the maritime forest, now at the border
between Back Bay and False Cape, I headed east towards the East Dike Gate.
A pair of Greater Yellowlegs were seen on the north side ditches, but no
waterfowl, and no Spotted Sandpipers (another hopeful species for the day).
A few sparrows were seen, one a Savannah, and the others unidentifiable,
though likely Chipping Sparrows.
At the entrance road to False Cape State Park I heard a bird calling from
the live oak thicket that I didn't recognize, and after just a few seconds
of scanning the trees, it jumped out, showing off a bright yellow body with
gray & white facial markings. I recognized it immediately as my very
first *Yellow-breasted
Chat*, snapped some photographs, and then continued listening to the bird,
trying to imprint the visual image with the audio into my memory. After the
chat moved on, a Prairie Warbler came flying in and started singing from
the same tree, so I stayed put for a few more minutes. Just south of here,
there was an old observation platform that has now been upgraded with a
brand new one. The platform now sits much higher over a small patch of
marsh and gives a nicer view over some of the smaller treetops. As I
scanned around and couldn't find any birds, I happened to look straight
down to find a *King Rail* was walking around out in the open waters below!
My only encounters thus far with King Rails have been in thick cover, with
them dashing across openings, but never staying long. Well, this one didn't
seem to mind me being high above it, and I got some neat photographs from
an angle I've never had on a rail before. I watched the bird feed and drink
from the marsh for about 15 minutes before heading southward towards the
False Cape Visitor's Center. On the way, *Eastern Kingbirds*, Red-winged
Blackbirds, and Greater Yellowlegs were all seen. Additionally, a fairly
good sized Eastern Cottonmouth slithered across the roadway, then
disappeared into the grass on the west side. Its very important to remember
to watch the ground at these parks, and not just the trees since you never
know when a venomous snake is going to show up and interrupt your birding
efforts. Just before arriving at the visitor's center, a* Red-tailed Hawk *flew
over and landed in a tree nearby, the first true raptor of the day. From
the visitor's center, I decided to walk out to Barbour Hill on the beach,
and then take the beach back north to the parking area at Back Bay, hoping
to find some shorebirds that I hadn't yet seen on the year. On the trail to
the beach, a group of 3 *White-eyed Vireos* flushed across the road, a
*Ruby-throated
Hummingbird* cruised past, and several Carolina Chickadee flitted about
alongside the trail. A pair of Black Racers were seen on the trail as well,
and when I walked up the two dashed in unison to the cover of the forest.
Indigo Buntings again were heard all along the way, with a few being
sighted atop their respective trees. Arriving at the beach, a single
Bonaparte's Gull was seen walking around on the sand, never taking to the
air. This seemed an unusual sighting to me since usually these birds are
far out over the water, not typically landing on the beach. My thought this
morning was that perhaps the easterly winds being driven ashore by the
outer bands of Tropical Storm Ana might bring some neat seabirds closer in
than normal. This gull was the only instance that might fall under that
category though, and it may not have had anything to do with the storm.
Crossing back into Back Bay NWR along the beach, I encountered a squadron
of *Brown Pelicans* that came shooting out of the fog that was sitting
right along the coastline. *Herring, Great Black-backed, and Ring-billed
Gulls *were seen as well at the south end of the park. After a mile of
walking northward into the park, I finally spotted my first shorebirds of
the day, a group of 3 *Piping Plovers*, which I believe are the first of
the species that I've ever seen in Virginia Beach. Shortly afterwards, I
encountered a couple of good sized (<50) *Sanderlings*, with some *Semipalmated
Sandpipers* loosely associated. Overall though, shorebird numbers were low,
and I never did find any Willets (another hopeful). One *Black-bellied
Plover* was seen briefly walking on the beach, then flying past as a pair
of hikers approaching from the north got a bit too close to it.* Royal
Terns* and *Laughing Gulls* were seen along the northern stretch, but since
I couldn't spot any more shorebirds in the binoculars, I headed up over the
dunes on the southern access trail, back towards the Loop Road. I spotted a
Six-lined Racerunner (lizard) along the dunes, and snapped a few shots of
it before moving on. *Eastern Towhees and Prairie Warblers *were heard
along the boardwalk before reaching the Loop Road, and on the road itself *Tree
& Barn Swallows and Purple Martins* were all observed. I headed up towards
the parking area, walking behind the visitor center and seeing some
*Brown-headed
Cowbirds*, then walking the Bayside Trail, spotting my first *Caspian Tern*
of the year in Virginia Beach (finally!). I headed out from the park about
12:15 PM, having walked about 9.75 miles as measured in Google Earth, then
drove over to Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area.
I was a bit exhausted even at the beginning of my walk at the WMA, but,
heading south from the parking area it was nice to find that the grass on
the main trail at least had been trimmed. I coated myself pretty heavily in
bugspray here since many of the trails now have waist-high vegetation, and
I did still pull one tick off, which was miraculously only the first I've
seen this year. Along the main trail, Greater Yellowlegs, Great & Snowy
Egrets, and Indigo Buntings were seen. When I arrived to the southern set
of impoundments (4 of them), the female *Bufflehead *that was seen last
week was sighted again out on the mudflat in the middle of the northernmost
impoundment. This time though, it was hanging around a pair of drake
Mallards, even swimming around with the two on the pond later in the hike.
Two pairs of* Canada Geese* were seen again, just like last Sunday,
associating with a single *Domestic Goose*. On the middle impoundments, I
got good looks at my first* Lesser Yellowlegs *on the season, and was able
to compare it sizewise with a nearby Greater Yellowlegs, and also a *Killdeer
*that was kind enough to land close to it. While watching these three, I
realized there was also some* Least & Semipalmated Sandpipers *on the same
muddy patch, but they were so small and so well camouflaged it took me a
while to even spot them. A pair of* Bald Eagles* flew in over the eastern
impoundment, one adult, and one immature, and I could hear the geese &
Mallards on the northern impoundment start calling as soon as they flew in
overhead. After walking around the northern impoundment, and moving up into
the northern half of the park, I spotted a pair of Great Crested
Flycatchers, and a pair of White-tailed Deer nearby that went running off
through the thick woods. All was pretty quiet as I worked around the
northern half of the park counter-clockwise. A hummingbird, some *Carolina
Chickadees* and a *Blue-gray Gnatcatcher* provided some action at the far
east end of the park, and I did spook a shorebird that I feel very strongly
was either a Spotted or a Solitary. Sadly, I never got another look at the
bird, I've been trying to locate my first Spotted on the year for a couple
of weeks now. Taking Munden Road from the abandoned-looking barn back to
the parking are yielded a few *Northern Cardinals*, Blue Grosbeaks, and
Northern Mockingbirds, but nothing out of the ordinary. Arriving back about
2 PM, I headed out for the day, to start the task of sifting through
several hundred photographs!
*Weekly Recaps & Top Photos*
*http://www.rbnature.com/blog/ ;<http://www.rbnature.com/blog/>*
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
