[va-bird] Tidewater area birding


I went birding around the Tidewater area this past Thursday and today.

I first went to Back Bay NWR on Thursday, but was disappointed to see that 
the dike trails were closed.  I was hoping to see some waterfowl.  I did see 
a Harrier and a Bald Eagle.  Many Gannets were seen from the beach.  There 
is a high spot on the boardwalk to the beach.  I used it to scope the bay.  
I could see a flock of a few hundred ducks in the distance, but I could not 
ID them.
I then drove to Norfolk and stopped along several places along Ocean View 
Ave (US 60 along northern Norfolk).  I saw Purple Sandpipers, Surf and Black 
Scoters, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebes, many Bufflehead, and a 
Red-throated Loon.
I drove to Chesapeake Ave, which runs northeast to southwest along the  
southern edge of the Newport News/Hampton peninsula.  I get there from I64 
by exiting at LaSalle (headed south) and following LaSalle until it becomes 
Chesapeake Ave.  I usually park on residental roads off Chesapeake and walk 
across Chesapeake to the water side.  There are areas marked as "No 
Trespassing", so one has to be careful.  There is also a small park on the 
south side of Chesapeake Ave, a few miles from the east end of Chesapeake 
Ave.  It provided a good spot to view waterbirds.  Better directions can be 
found in the Virginia Bird Trail publication that is available from the 
state government.  I wanted everyone to know that I saw a male Common 
Goldeneye here.  I also think that there were a few females, but the birds 
were far away.  I was only confident in the male Goldeneye ID.  There are 
lots of Red-breasted Mergansers, Bufflehead, and Horned Grebes there too.

Today, I went out to the reservoirs northwest of Suffolk, VA.  Prince Lake, 
Lake Burnt Mills, and Lone Star Lakes are the ones I visited.  Mainly saw 
Canada Geese and Pied-billed Grebes.  But, I did find a flock of Ring-necked 
Ducks (~40) and Ruddy Ducks (~10) at Lake Burnt Mills, near the dam at the 
crossroads of Everets.  As another locator, this is near the border of Isle 
of Wight county with the city of Suffolk.


Elisa Enders
Norfolk, VA




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