Rob. I saw 3 young male Common Eiders at Rudee Inlet on 12/31 at 4:30 in the
afternoon. The birds were hanging out near the end of the rocks on the north
side. Happy New Year.
Adam D'Onofrio
North Dinwiddie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Bielawski" <robbielawski@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "VA-Bird List" <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, January 3, 2015 3:26:14 PM
Subject: [Va-bird] 1/3/2015 - Virginia Beach (Rudee Inlet, 88th Street,
Pleasure House Point, Kings Grant Lakes)
Happy New Year Fellow Listservers!
We had quite a dreary day down in Virginia Beach today, with temperatures
in the 40s this morning and an on & off rain coming down. I wanted to get
my year off to a good start in terms of the number of species seen so I
wanted to hit a few of my local favorites. I started off at North Lake
Holly. North Lake Holly is a stormwater management pond along Pacific
Avenue north of Norfolk Avenue, and south of Virginia Beach Boulevard.
Often times in the winter, Black-crowned Night-Herons are visible along the
shores, so this was my target bird. Unfortunately I couldn't locate any
here today, but got a start on the other species with standard gulls,
cormorants, and Mallards.
Rudee Inlet was my next stop in an effort to see if the Common Eiders that
have been continuing in the area were still present. Today, just one was
present in the center of the inlet, its been awhile since the initial 2
birds have been sighted. While on a whale watching cruise last week I also
saw only 1 so it seems the other has moved off. A large flock of gulls was
situated just north of the jetty, comprised of both Great & Lesser
Black-backed Gulls, and many Ring-billed Gulls. Herring Gulls, Brown
Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants were also present, and a lone Great
Blue Heron was sitting up along the bulkhead across the inlet. Fish Crows
were there in large numbers, as were Boat-tailed Grackles.
After leaving Rudee Inlet, I went up to 88th Street (please note Pacific
Avenue is closed at Virginia Beach Boulevard/17th Street, so you need to go
down Atlantic in the this area). 88th Street is one of my favorite spots to
hop out onto the beach. Along the street itself, there is limited parking,
but its a worthwhile spot thanks to a number of residents having feeders in
their front yards. I saw my first American Goldfinch & House Finches of the
season, as well as seeing some Song Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, and
Northern Mockingbirds on the boardwalk going up and over the dunes. A hope
of mine here was for a Snow Bunting or Lapland Longspur to show up on the
dunes, but no luck today...one of these days I'll find one here as they've
been seen in other years at this location in mixed flocks. Down on the
beach, Ring-billed & Great Black-backed Gulls were seen out over the water,
a lone Sanderling ran past along the beach (my first shorebirds on the
year, and one of my favorites). Northern Gannets could be seen without
binoculars very close in to shore, but I couldn't find any loons, whether
they be Common or Red-throated.
Next stop was Pleasure House Point Natural Area, just a few miles down
Shore Drive from the 88th street area. I parked at Dinwiddie Drive so I
could check the stormwater pond for Gadwall, of which several were present.
It started to rain just as I'd pulled in and I thought for a second about
just heading home, but really wanted to see if any Brant were still present
on the mudflats. No luck on the Brants today, but I'm glad I stuck out the
rain. For about a half hour it drizzled pretty well, and I had to put my
camera gear back in the back to try and keep it from getting as soaked as I
was. Well, about a minute after putting it away, a Northern Harrier erupted
from the marsh about 50 feet from me, and headed out to the marshy islands
offshore. I couldn't believe it, but what a sighting! Clapper Rails were
heard, but none were seen today. Great & Snowy Egrets were both present.
Ducks were abundant, with Gadwall numbering probably around 100 or more on
the creek, and Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks,
Mallards, a pair of Ruddy Ducks, and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers all being
seen as well. A single Osprey was sighted, I believe part of a pair that
has overwintered along the creek the last few years. Songbirds were the
group I saw the least of, though probably 20 or so Yellow-rumped Warblers
cruised past in a mixed feeding flock with some Carolina Chickadees and a
Kinglet I couldn't get a clear view of to distinguish, though fairly
certain it was a Ruby-crowned. No luck today with the American Bittern that
has been seen by many in the park over the last few weeks.
My initial plan was to swing up to the first island of the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge-Tunnel after leaving Pleasure House, but with the weather, I just
decided to keep the $13 toll fee for another day, when hopefully the
conditions aren't as difficult for viewing long distances. Lastly, heading
back to my home, I swung around Kings Grant Lakes off Edinburgh Drive,
Watergate Drive, and Kings Grant Road. These ponds hold a great number of
waterfowl in the winter time. Today there was Mallards, Ring-necked Ducks,
Northern Shovelers, American Wigeons, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, and a
single Northern Pintail on the water. After the morning had ended, I
finished up with 45 species for the day! Even on a dreary & wet day, its
really nice to be able to see so many things around the region, it really
is a birder's paradise here.
I have posted up my photographs from the day to my new personal nature &
photo page (http://www.rbnature.com/blog/gallery-we-20150104), so please
check the 45+ photos out if you have the time!
Happy New Year!
Rob Bielawski
Virginia Beach, VA
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