The thousand + Snow Geese at the Food Lion off Princess at the south end of
town for the most part took flight at an earlier hour this am. When we arrived
at 8am there were only a couple hundred across from St John's Catholic Church.
I counted 4 with yellow neck bands and unfortunately NO Ross's.
Next stop was Colechester Rd in Pungo (area owned by Back Bay NWR). The water
was not frozen over and we saw Mallards, Ring-necked and Black ducks. A few
Coots were hanging out with a Pied-billed Grebe and great Blue Heron were all
on the water. Next to the parking area a sweet little R C Kinglet entertained
us.
Next stop Mackay Island to see if the big flock ofSnow Geese went there. We
soon found out they didn't but saw the usual Tundra Swan, Snow ( not large
numbers) & Canada Geese across the street from the Kuralt overlook. Also a
large
flock (75+) of peeps flew in and out of the bright sun and landed near the
waters edge. They were sanderling size...but distance and sun made them
impossible
for us to ID.In the ponds on the same side of the road as the overlook we
were able to see huddled in the thawed areas: Mallard, Pintail, Gadwall,
Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser and Black Ducks.
Next stop was the Whitehurst Tract in Pungo....the hunters had claimed it
with duck blinds standing close to the road. we enjoyed viewing the hunter's
decoys and one lone Snow Goose on the same side of the road as the new parking
lot. Can we count the pretty Wood Duck decoys we saw? :-)
Last stop before lunch was the water treatment plant near Ocean Lakes High
School. In the field were about 50 Brant.
Now for a lunch break and back out...........
Karen & Tom Beatty
Virginia Beach, VA
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