The Gray Kingbird was seen by many birders and field trip participants over
the day on 8 May but apparently not since. Also, in Parksley, a local couple
enjoyed an adult Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on a private farm that day; it has
not been present since. Most of these spring vagrant tyrannids stay only for a
few hours; in rare cases, they stay to nest, so it's worth rechecking. I've
checked the kingbird site daily, but no sign of the bird (a small flight of
Magnolia Warblers and Baltimore Orioles and first of the female Blackpolls
here,
but otherwise just nesters). Two very nice breeding-plumaged Henderson's
Short-billed Dowitchers in Oyster harbor yesterday are the only other birds to
report.
Lots of folks have sent email asking about 'developments' on the Eastern
Shore lately, so I thought I'd answer various questions in an open letter here,
as
the changes to southern Northampton County are many.
CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE-TUNNEL
The CBBT authority continues to allow birdwatchers access to the northern
three islands. The toll will increase on 1 June to $12 per car (one-way) and
$17
per car (24-hour round-trip). This is the most expensive toll in the United
States. The increase is to fund expansion of the span to include two new
submarine tunnels and associated bridges and islands (construction would begin
theoretically in 2015 and cost almost a billion dollars). On another matter,
there is currently a sense of frustration on the part of the Security division
with birders routinely violating the terms of their letters of agreement.
Please abide by all the CBBT rules, and if you see birders breaking them,
politely
let them know that they are likely to cause the loss of birding priviledges
for all people here.
Roadways in southern Northampton County are being improved and resurfaced
(the southbound side of 13 between Capeville and Cedar Grove is almost
finished),
and traffic volume is apparently increasing annually. Traffic on the CBBT is
about 3.5 million annually, expected to increase steadily to about 5 million
vehicles in the next decade.
HURRICANE ISABEL
Repairs are more or less completed to structures damaged here by the
September storm. A few areas of blow-downs are apparent still, and the
Loblolly
Forest at Wise Point appears to have been killed by salt poisoning (this will
surely affect the cardinals, hundreds of Fox Sparrows and Hermit Thrushes, etc.
that regularly winter there) from the storm. The east sides of many trees
throughout the lower Shore show salt-burn as well. Other than high wrack-lines
on
the interiors of many barrier islands -- and the reshaping of several of the
southern barrier islands -- few traces of the storm's damage remain. The CBBT
has almost completed its repairs to the northern islands caused by heavy surge;
some repairs are ongoing, and it's best to avoid areas where work is in
progress.
LODGINGS
An Israeli developer, Nimrod Tavi, has purchased the Days Inn, Peacock Motel,
and Cape Motel (Townsend and Capeville) and tells me that he is creating
"Luxury B&B Suites" out of all the rooms. From what I can see of the
renovations,
all at Cape Motel so far, the rooms are getting a new coat of paint, new
carpet, and 'country' decor on the windows (same mattresses). The rates won't
quite double, but they will increase, I'm told. When you phone any of the
three
establishments, you get a switchboard from which you can book rooms at any of
them.
BayCreek has not yet broken ground on the golf course spa/hotel on the
Chesapeake Bay, but it will begin soon, probably after the Jack Niklaus course
is
completed next year; the developer on that one, Richard Foster, imagines room
rates around $500 per night. This will cater to folks coming to PGA tours and
the like.
RESTAURANTS
Three new "Royal Farms" gas station/markets (familiar to Chincoteague birders
from their locations at Parksley and Nelsonia; very like a "RaceTrack" or a
"WaWa") will be opening in the county this year. One is in Exmore, on the left
as one enters town on Route 13 (a few minutes from Willis Wharf). Another
will be just a few yards north of the northern entrance to Kiptopeke State
Park,
on the west side of the highway. The other is coming to Wallops Island,
along the road to Chincoteague. Though not entirely a bonus, there will be an
alternative lunch place to Sting-Ray's now, for those wanting to spend more
time
on the hawkwatching platform, for instance.
In addition to The Harbor Grille, The Chesapeake, and The Garden Cafe, Cape
Charles will have several new restaurants opening in the next few weeks.
"Aqua" will open at Marina Villages (north end of Cape Charles, overlooking
Kings
Creek, Cherrystone Creek, and the Bay), along with a less-formal cabana bar
upstairs from it. (Paul Galloway, the same developer who gave us "One Fish,
Two
Fish" in Virginia Beach, says the restaurant will be similar to that one -
very up-market.) The Cape Charles Coffee Company is almost ready to open its
doors on Mason Avenue, in the old Farmers & Merchants Bank building. The
renovation of that building has been extensive (the original was based on Radio
City
Music Hall, on a smaller scale), and the restaurant will offer lunch and local
artwork. Nearby on Mason Avenue, a new Italian restaurant should be opening
soon in the old "Cerrone's" pizzeria space. There are plans for other
restaurants and renovations along Mason Avenue, but they are not as far along;
I'll
post something here another time about those.
CONSERVATION AND RELATED ISSUES
Many of the ongoing monitoring projects on Endangered plovers, terns, and
Peregrine Falcon continue this season, and Alex Wilkie has begun a second
season
of oystercatcher research as well (she found a Northern Harrier nest just the
other day!). Monitoring of colonial waterbirds and beach-nesting (and
marsh-nesting) species also continues, through several state agencies. The
ShoreKeeper group, headed by Richard Ayres, is going well in its first full
year; this
is allied with the RiverKeeper group. Water quality on the Bay side is said
to be poor and deteriorating, so much so that clam aquaculturalists may need to
bring in water from the seaside soon.
Several projects that were conservation-oriented have taken a different turn
of late. The Cobb Island Lifesaving Station at Oyster, owned by the Nature
Conservancy and envisioned as a meeting place for conservation groups,
researchers, and the like, is now home to a division of Operation Smile, which
helps
children with facial and other deformities. The Sustainable Technologies
Industrial Park in Cape Charles has not found a satisfactory tenant and is now
up
for sale. (It is expected that Mr. Foster will purchase that property at some
point, along with the Myers property (across from Harbor Grille), the train
yard, and possibly the Bayshore Concrete Products property on the south side of
the harbor.) It is still permitted to walk the boardwalk there, which goes out
to the Bay through some very nice habitats; best in September/October.
On the other hand, the partnership between University of Virginia and the
National Science Foundation is moving ahead, and the pier is already installed
on
the Long-Term Ecological Research facility on the north side of Oyster
harbor. (Real property values in Oyster have increased accordingly.)
BIRDING STORE NEW TO THE SHORE
A new store, "Mostly for the Birds", has opened in Exmore. If you're heading
to Willis Wharf (making a right onto Willis Wharf Road off of Rte 13
business), take your first left and you'll see it in a block on the left, a
brick
building a little ways off the road. Prices on birdseed are very good here,
and
the shop has the regular spread of birding products.
CAPE CHARLES PIER EXPANSION; MARINA NEARLY COMPLETE ON KING'S CREEK
Funding has been obtained to increase (double) the length of the Cape Charles
"Fun Pier" along the beachfront at the harbor mouth. This should make
birding even better here. It's a site for Purple Sandpiper (without the $12
toll)
but is already very good for bird photography - loons, Osprey, grebes, scoters
can be quite close here in the morning hours.
On King's Creek, over half of the new slips are operational; it's possible to
overnight there on one's sailboat, powerboat, etc., and all the modern
amenities are or will be available, in contrast to the less-expensive town
harbor
(which was completely overhauled year before last).
INVESTMENTS
Many people have written asking about real estate investments or retirement
properties here. There are almost as many realtors as residents here now, so
I'm not able to opine very intelligently about real property - the situation
seems to change daily. In addition to five large developments in the immediate
area, there are many smaller ones. While property values (judged from sales
and resales) have doubled several times over in the past 4-5 years here in the
old part of the town, the new developments have seen more modest increases,
though many BayCreek investors are pleased with their investments, I hear. If
anyone is interested in property in Northampton County, I would not advise
waiting much longer - houses that were $12,000 in 1997 are selling for $275,000
this spring, and I'm not sure that prices will decline soon. The best bets
right now are properties along the Seaside Road and probably in Cheapside
(better
birding than in towns and developments in any case!), as well as in other
small towns like Townsend, Capeville, Eastville, Cheriton. Properties are not
staying on the market very long, and most sellers are getting full asking price
or better.
Hope this answers all those good questions; apologies for the skimpy bird
report!
Ned Brinkley
Cape Charles, Virginia
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