Change of Plans

I was scheduled to bird the CBBT again over the weekend of January 28-29, but the weather has remained extremely mild.  The sea ducks just aren't down to VA in large numbers yet, and I am hopeful that the next few weeks will bring some colder temperatures.  Instead of making the trip to the CBBT, I did some brief birding around the Richmond area, and was able to pick up a few year birds, including 4 Redheads around the Curles Neck Farm area.

Although the forecast doesn't show much of a change in this coming week (70's on Thursday!), I am heading down to the CBBT on Saturday with the Monticello Bird Club.  We are scheduled to bird the CBBT until around noon, and then a group of us are heading up to Chincoteague for rest of the day.

Although a "year" seems like a long period of time to find birds in the state, I am running out of time to make the trip to Highland County to search out Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks.

I plan on having a productive week.  Stay tuned.

January 21st - Rainy Day on the Bay

The long awaited boat trip around the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel finally arrived, but with it came a weather forecast calling for all-day rain.  Another early morning put me at Lynnhaven inlet at 8 this morning.  48 degrees and a light drizzle.  I've been told by experienced birders that this is perfect "duck weather," which proved to be far from the truth.

(Red-breasted Merganser, Lynnhaven Inlet, VA)

 As I boarded the boat at 0900, I saw some familiar faces scanning the inlet.  Jim Marcum was along for the trip (the same man that helped me scope the King Rail at Back Bay NWR last week), bringing both his excellent birding skills and his great sense of humor.  Ned Brinkley was doing the spotting for the group, which immediately raised my hopes for a rarity.

(View of the CBBT, Lynnhaven Inlet, VA)

Like clockwork, the boat pulled out of the dock, and the rain began to fall.  A steady pelting of rain on my hood quickly made it impossible to even think about photo opportunities.  On the way out we picked up a few Horned Grebes, Common Loons, and an early/late Osprey.  After a half hour rendezvous with a young Humpback whale, the rain came even harder.  The birding was slow at best.

"Keep a lookout on these gulls ahead."  Ned saw something.  You could hear it in his voice.  Excitement brewed throughout the boat.  "Parasitic Jaeger!"  I was on it immediately.  The jaeger was sitting on the water about 30 yards from the boat.  After about 10 seconds it raised up and continued down the coast, out of sight.  

We slowly made our way out to the 4th island of the CBBT.  The duck activity was extremely low, and a heavy fog was making our visibility even lower.  Along the rocky shores of the 4th island, Purple Sandpipers were seeking shelter from the rain.  Ned Brinkley informed the Captain of a reliable spot for Great Cormorants, and we were not disappointed.  At the very end of the island sat 5 Great Cormorants, giving everyone aboard great views.

(Ned Brinkley (left), and me smiling with success)

The boat was soon at full speed heading back toward the dock, pushing all but 5 birders back into the headed cabin.  Not wanting to miss anything, I chose to postpone thawing out for another 40 minutes.   And it paid off.  "Red-necked Grebe!"  Ned was at it again.  A lone Red-necked Grebe was on the water to the right of the bow and took off before anyone inside the cabin could have a look.   For some reason the weather felt just right the rest of the way back. 

 

January 14 - Whale of a Trip

This weekend marked the first of many trips to the coast in an attempt to pick up as many wintering birds as possible. 
   
Due to the lack of any type of pelagic trip out of the state of Virginia, I decided to schedule a whale watching trip out of Rudee's Inlet on Saturday afternoon, leaving me with the morning to play around with.   The day started with a trip to one of my favorite birding spots in the state, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

(Sunrise at Back Bay NWR, VA)

I turned onto Sandpiper Road just as the sun was peeking out over the ocean. As the early morning light sprawled across the refuge, thousands of Snow Geese could be heard flying overhead.  A clear crisp morning brought with it much enthusiasm, but a large gate with a sign reading "Do Not Proceed" really put a dent into my plans.  Protecting the wintering waterfowl, this gate prohibited visitors to proceed any farther than a 1/2 mile down the Dune Trail.  This made it possible to bird only about 5% of the refuge.  I picked up a few new species along the Dune Trail and was pleasantly surprised to find a King Rail and American Bittern fishing side by side at the end of the Bay Trail.

(American Bittern at Back Bay NWR, VA)

After leaving Back Bay NWR, I headed to Rudee's Inlet to meet up with my wife and in-laws to board the Rudee Flipper's 12:00 PM whale watching tour.  I wasn't expecting to find anything out of the ordinary, but there is always the chance that a Black-legged Kittiwake could show itself only a few miles from shore.  Northern Gannets were diving everywhere. Surf Scoters buzzed across the bow of the boat.   Soon the captain was onto a young Humpback that provided a great show for the remainder of the 2 hour trip.

(Humpback Whale off Virginia Beach, VA)

Over the next two weeks I have made plans to visit the Chesapeake Bay Bride Tunnel.  Next Saturday (21st) I am on a boat trip around the CBBT with the Williamsburg Bird Club.  Great Cormorant? Harlequin Duck? Common Eider?  My fingers are crossed.

January 7th & 8th - Cleaning Up

After a successful trip for the Brewer's Sparrow on Friday morning, I was left with the weekend to "clean-up" on the rest of the rarities being seen around Virginia.  My wife and I had made plans in December to travel to Norfolk on Saturday.  This provided the perfect opportunity to pick up the Western Tanager that has been frequenting the Williams' household in Williamsburg since early December. 

(Western Tanager at the Williams' residence)

I arrived at 154 Lakewood Drive around 9:30 AM and headed around the back to get a clear view of the feeder.  As I approached the end of the driveway, Mrs. Williams greeted me and informed me that the bird had been seen about an hour ago.  Good news.  After 40 minutes had passed the Western Tanager appeared and remained around the feeder for about 2 minutes.   

Sunday morning my alarm sounded at 5:30 AM.  I wanted to sleep in, but you never know how long these birds are going to hang around.  The Lark Sparrow had been reported again on Saturday, and I was on the way to Stuart's Draft in an attempt to go 3/3 on the weekend.   I turned onto Brennaman's Road around 7:30 AM as the sun was just beginning to drift above the mountains, shedding light on the surrounding fields. 

(Sunrise along Brennaman's Rd, Stuart's Draft, VA)

 The birds around the pond were already very active.  Song Sparrow.  Song Sparrow. Savannah Sparrow.  LARK SPARROW!  There he was, perched atop a patch of brambles bordering the pond, just about 20 feet from the road. 

 

 

 

(Lark Sparrow along Brennaman's Rd, Stuart's Draft, VA)

The Lark Sparrow made its way around the pond and took up a few different perches, even singing on a few of them.  Pretty cool to hear this bird singing in the state of Virginia.

Thanks again to the Williams' family for your hospitality and also to Penny Warren for the detailed directions to the Lark Sparrow!

January 6th - The Brewer's Sparrow

The original plan was to try for the Brewer's Sparrow on Sunday, but sometimes plans change.  After reading a quick article on the ABA website about "Big Years", one point really stood out.  NEVER wait when a rarity shows up.  So I didn't.  The bird was first reported on December 30th by Linda Chittum and was seen each day since.  The alarm was set for 4:45 AM and for some reason my eyelids flew open at 4:43 AM.  My headlights lit up the Occoquan Bay NWR welcome sign at 6:40 AM as I pulled into an empty parking lot waiting for the gates to open at 7 AM.  An American Woodcock was heard in a near field.  A good start to the morning.  Soon a parade of cars joined me in the lot and a line of 5 cars proceeded through the gate as the sky turned shades of pink and orange. 

(Brewer's Sparrow "Search Party" - Occoquan Bay NWR)

After a brief 10 minute walk, our group of 6 had arrived at the location where the bird has been the last seven days.  Nine o'clock arrived and we still had not even a glimpse of the Brewer's.  Then the Field Sparrows started showing up.  One by one they flew across Deltea Road.  The anticipation was building.  There was just a feeling that the bird was coming.  And there it was!  The Brewer's Sparrow perched in a small scrag for 5-10 seconds, and then was gone. Wanting a better view and hopefully a photo opp, I stuck around until 11:00 AM, but the Brewer's never showed up again.

Thanks again to Linda for finding and documenting this great Virginia bird!

January 4th - Second Times a Charm

The weather was just a bit warmer today, and the winds were down dramatically.  Another trip to Brown's Island (with the same 1 hour time limit) felt necessary.  The 8 mile drive for the chance at a Glaucous Gull was really a no brainer, even though the previous trip was unsuccessful.

(View of the James River from Brown's Island, Richmond, VA)

Before I knew it, 30 minutes had gone by and still no Glaucous.  Gulls were flying EVERYWHERE and time was running out.  Scanning over the same rocks one last time I noticed a different looking gull fly in and land on a nearby rock just in front of a few Herring gulls.  BINGO.  Glaucous gull. 

(1st Winter Glaucous gull off of Brown's Island)

Now for that Brewer's Sparrow.  The weather should be nice this weekend....Mr. Brewer should extend his visit through Sunday. 

January 3rd - Brown's Island

I had to do a bit of "speed-birding" during my lunch break today in an attempt to locate the Glaucous Gull reported over the weekend.  I spent my 1/2 hour sifting through the hundreds of gulls, but I was forced to leave without the gull.  Although I missed my target, I was able to add 4 American Black Ducks to my year list, as well as three other gull species.

I may try again for the gull tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

January 1st - Changing of the Guard

I wanted to make my first year bird something different than one of the "backyard regulars", but the local Barred Owls couldn't be heard over the sound of fireworks that were bringing in the new year.  Around 7 am I woke up with an increased awareness of sounds I was hearing outside.  Carolina Wren.  Check.  First bird of the year, and I couldn't have asked for better weather (60 degrees F on January 1!?)  to begin the year.

(Carolina Wren at Dutch Gap Conservation Area)

I birded Dutch Gap Convservation Area very briefly in the morning and decided to make the trip to Louisa County to stake out the Short-Eared Owls that have been seen for the past month.

Dutch Gap provided a good variety of birds, but nothing out of the ordinary or unexpected.  I reached the intersection of Rt. 15 and Rt. 640 around 2 hrs before sunset.

(Northern Harrier in Louisa County, VA)

 A staggering 10 harriers were seen, and around 5:15 PM (after a long, depressing rain shower) the first Short-Eared Owl flew over the road.  Soon after, 3 more owls joined.  An awesome spectacle of nature and niche hunting, the changing of  "Predatory Shifts"  really is an amazing thing to watch.  As soon as the harriers finish their hunting for the day, the owls take over, providing us with the avian version of "Changing of the Guard".  

( Waiting for the SEOW's in Louisa County, VA)