--- VBKitchens@xxxxxxx wrote:
VA Birders,
Our Northern Virginia Bird Club (NVBC)
enjoyed a lovely weekend on the VA
Northern Neck last weekend (Nov. 14-16). FYI,
the Northern Neck is the area
east of I-95 between the Potomac and
Rappahannock Rivers. We stayed at the
very Best Western Warsaw Motel on Rt. 360 in
the town of Warsaw. It is a very
good motel which includes a complimentary
continental breakfast beginning at 6
am. It is reasonably priced and well located
for exploring the Northern
Neck. It is also just about 5 miles up the
road from Lowery's Seafood Restaurant
in Tappahannock (the menu includes non-seafood
items too), where the group had
dinner both Friday and Saturday nights.
Lowery's is probably the most
popular restaurant in the area, and its
reputation is well deserved.
We began our trip with a visit to the new
Rappahannock River Valley NWR,
Wilna Unit, in Richmond Co., near Warsaw.
Highlights there were 3 Bald
Eagles, a Northern Harrier and 9 Wood Ducks.
In fact, we saw Bald Eagles at all 4
locations we visited, with a total of 15-20
eagles for the trip, most of them
adults.
On Saturday morning, we went to Belle Isle
State Park, which was new for
most of our group, since we did not go there on
our trip last year. It is a
lovely park on the Rappahannock River in
Lancaster Co., off Rt. 3 between
Warsaw and Kilmarnock. Highlights included
Common Loons and Horned Grebes (both
seen at 3 of the 4 sites we visited); an
immature Bonaparte's Gull, which
provided great views as it fed along the
shoreline just below us at low tide; a Palm
Warbler and a Yellow-breasted Chat (the chat
was seen briefly by just a few
of the group); and 12 Eastern Meadowlarks.
Saturday afternoon, after a lunch stop at
Lee's Restaurant in Kilmarnock,
we headed for VirMar Beach, on the Chesapeake
Bay in Northumberland Co., just
below where the Potomac River flows into the
bay. Highlights there again
this year were both Common and Red-throated
Loons; Brown Pelicans; 1-2 Northern
Gannets; all 3 scoters, with better views
especially of White-winged Scoters
because the bay was calm; and Long-tailed
Ducks. Because you are looking east,
viewing conditions are usually best in the
afternoon.
Sunday morning, we ended our trip at
Washington's Birthplace in
Westmoreland Co., which is all open again after
Isabel's visit. Our best birds there
were 4 Snow Geese (2 white and 2 blue morphs);
10 Tundra Swans; 12 species of
ducks, including Redheads and Common Goldeneye;
and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Our weekend total from all locations was 80
species.
All of the locations we visited during the
weekend are included on the
Northern Neck loop in the new VA Coastal Area
Birding & Wildlife Guide,
published by the VA Dept. of Game & Inland
Fisheries last year.
Val Kitchens
Arlington, VA
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