Clare and I are truly grateful to our family, friends, church, and God for the blessings of this past year. We have had good health, good living conditions, good finances, and good times. We vacationed together in mostly northern San Diego, CA, county in the spring and in the Outer Banks, NC, based in Duck, in the fall. I visited my aunt and uncle, Ruth and Cliff, along with Mom in August. All of these trips just reinforced for us the glory of the Kingdom of God and his good work that we see daily all around us.
On a sad note though, we mourn the death of Clare’s mom Gloria who passed unexpectedly on July 4th. Gloria was 97 and still lived on her own in the house she had lived in for over 60 years! What an amazing woman and example for Christian, healthy living she was. Clare and I were blessed to live nearby, share holidays with her, and see her almost every week.
Sunrise Over the Atlantic in the Outer Banks of NC
Copper River Basin, AK From Ruth and Cliff’s House
I went to Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) today with the intention of bicycling the Washington Ditch Trail to Lake Drummond, which is about 9 miles round trip, having lunch and returning. Unfortunately I got in about 2.5 miles where I reached part of the trail that was very low, grassy, and muddy. The water on both sides of the trail was very high and had obviously washed over the trail often this spring. I didn’t look forward to doing, on my hybrid bike, 4 miles of mud and soggy grass so I turned back.
I ended up going over to the Park HQ to see if they had updated their stock of T-shirts since the birding events there two weeks ago but they had not done so. While there I walked the short trail that I was introduced to when taking walk with a group lead by a woman who worked at Black Water NWR in Maryland. Thanks to that experience, I was able to locate two Northern Flickers, three or more Red-headed Woodpeckers gadding about, and a lone Screech Owl. I saw and heard either a Eastern Phoebe or a Peewee…I can’t remember what the song was now. I heard a Bobwhite but could never locate it. Thanks to a couple I talked to there I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and then saw one but didn’t realize it until I looked it up later in my bird book which I had left at home.
This couple commented about the fact that I was bravely wearing shorts in snake country. They had heard and seen earlier, in the day, a five foot Timber Rattler when they were setting up to take a picture from their car. The guy had a couple of interesting stories about snake encounters including one in which a friend of his had gotten a Timber Rattler caught up in the spokes of his bicycle while riding in Great Dismal and one about a friend of his shooting holes in his boat while trying to subdue a Water Moccasin.
Unfortunately, I returned home on the east side of the refuge and that ended up taking me almost two hours and forty minutes which, after the only twenty-five minute drive down, there made for an awful lot of driving to get in about an hour of exercise and recreation.
I took advantage of the annual 2014 Birding Festival at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on Friday and Saturday. Friday I was a little late for the action but got a walk in on my own on the Washington Ditch Trail. My left leg has been bothering me a bit so I had to take it easy. I ran into a guy who had been out there all day and was finally heading home who helped me spot and identify the Prothonotary Warbler. I am still not to good at this birding thing…
Saturday I went back down to Dismal to sit in on a “beginning” birding class. Unfortunately it was designed for truly beginning birders, the lecturer anticipated more youths and other newbies, and covered things like how to dress, good types of binoculars and spotting scopes, and beneficial bird guides. The unexpected bonus was a guided walk, led by a woman from the Blackwater NWR, on the Eastern Shore of MD, around the park headquarters. See below for some of the birds we saw.
Bird Sightings
Yellow Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-headed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pine Thrush
Carolina Wren
Fish Crow
Red-shoulder Hawk
To wrap up the Birding Festival, I attended a talk Saturday evening by Alicia King, Communication Coordinator and Urban Bird Treaty Program Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Migratory Bird Program. Her presentation, “Your National Wildlife Refuges – Great Birdwatching and Conservation Opportunities”, was reasonable entertaining and informative. She took questions at the end, most of which focused on the impact of wind-powered turbines and birds. I have read a few articles on the negative impact of these devices but contrary to what I have read, Alicia said that the impact on the bird population was minimal, especially when considering all the other threats to the bird populations such as changing and/or diminished environments, pollution, hunting, and outdoor cats.
Of course we’ve seen tons of robins and cardinals at Kim and Don’s in Suffolk. Interestingly we have seen a pair of house finches on the hummingbird feeder. Yesterday I went to Ragged Island WMA which is a small area off Route 17 on the James River where I saw an American egret and an osprey. Last weekend walking and taking pictures at Lone Star Lakes Park, we saw quite a few American egrets and a Belted kingfisher. Lastly we saw a pair of unusual waterfowl that Kim determined to be, after much looking on the Internet, Domestic Swan geese. (Is it a swan or a goose?)
Today I had my second paddle on Lake Prince and it was as enjoyable as the first. There are a few very nice houses on the lake but not so many as to make it feel too civilized. I saw two Piliated Woodpeckers, a number of Belted Kingfishers, Canadian Geese, Double-breasted Cormorants, 3 or 4 Bald Eagles, one of which sat in a tree and preened himself while I watched and ate my lunch, and numerous Mallard ducks.
The weather was crystal clear but at this time of the year it seems like the sun is always going down so, with the breeze, it was a bit nippy but still comfortable paddling. Lake Prince is definitely a spot I will return to. Unfortunately, I left my cameras at Kim’s, thinking they were still in the car, so I don’t have any new photos of the lake.
I headed off to see my sister Kim and brother-in-law Don on Sunday, 2 October, after working the night shift the previous night and catching few hours of sleep. I got down there in the late afternoon in time for an early dinner before heading off to church. Upon our return to the house we just took it easy. Kim was exhausted because she got no sleep the night before.
On Monday morning, I headed off the MacKay Island National Wildlife Refuge on the border of VA and NC. I never noticed it was there before though I been through it once on a road trip with Kim and Don. It looked like there should be some good paddling, walking and wildlife watching opportunities. Unfortunately, I could not figure out where exactly I should be able to put my kayak in so I ended up taking the 5.5 mile walk around the inland ponds.
I did have some good bird sightings and saw either a nutria, muskrat, or beaver swimming about working on its abode. As for birds, I saw numerous Great Blue herons, American egrets, osprey, Belted kingfishers, Eastern meadowlarks (cool birds) and the occasional what I think were Gadwalls or American Widgeons, an American Bittern, etc. I also saw a couple of smashed snakes on the trail including one that was likely to be an adult water moccasin. All in all it was a nice day.
On the way home, I stopped in at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant near Kim’s for a beer. There I had a tasty Loose Cannon Ale and a Reissdorf Kolsch. I also tasted the Aventinus Weiss which was very good. Hopefully they will still have it on tap the next time I stop in. For dinner we went to Cogan’s Pizza, which except for one sub par experience, I have always enjoyed.
Tuesday was a slow day for me. The mid-watches still take their toll. I was finally able to get going in the afternoon and headed off to one of my favorite kayaking spots down Suffolk way, Burnt Mills Reservoir. It was a beautiful paddle but I think I have explored almost the whole reservoir by now. I always like to see what is around the next bend and there are very few more to go around.
Finally, on my way home and back to work on Wednesday night, I put the kayak in at Deep Bottom Park on the James River SE of Richmond. That is another one of my favorites. The river flows straight through the area but also has a huge offshoot loop where the landing is. I went around the loop all the way for the first time and stopped into this huge lagoon to look for birds. Usually I see tons of Great Egrets there but that day I was limited to Great Blues.
I had a passenger the whole time I was on the river. What I gather was grasshopper landed on the prow of my kayak when I put in and stayed there for the whole trip until I landed. First time in a long time I have paddled with a companion…
I headed out today for a walk on the Occoquan Trail which runs 17 miles from Bull Run Regional Park to Fountainhead Regional Park along Bull Run Creek. The trail meanders along the creek and up into the hills and creek overlooks. I figured it would be messy since we had a six inch dump of wet snow a couple of weeks ago and temps today were in the low fifties. I didn’t expect to see much in the way of critters.
It was muddy as hell in many spots making for slippery, sloppy conditions. But I had the good fortune to meet a couple at the top of a hill, as I was breathing heavily from the ascend, who had just seen a hawk, Bluebirds, a Downy woodpecker and, they said, a Red Headed woodpecker. I stopped to pull out my binos and caught all the aforementioned birds less the hawk.
I pondered the likelihood of seeing a Red Headed woodpecker at the time and a bit later after checking my bird book realized that the woodpecker was really a Red-breasted which are much more common in my area. The Bluebirds were brilliant. I have seen them before later on in the season when their colors are not so vibrant. I followed a flock of them for awhile and everyone I saw had very pronounced blue on the back and wings as well as pronounced orange on the breast. Beautiful birds! I also saw a Tufted Titmouse. To cap it off, I heard either one rapidly moving Bard owl or two of them calling out to each other.
There was a downside to the whole venture unfortunately. As soon as I got on the trail I heard and saw 4-wheelers on the other side of the creek. One was stuck revving its annoying engine trying to get out while a mud-splattered friend was trying to push. Never in the three or four years I have been hiking on this trail have I encountered 4-wheelers. They were not on my side of the creek in the park but they were certainly annoying. I saw at least four 4-wheelers and one dirt bike and heard them and smelled the exhaust for most of the six mile hike I took.
I could see the trails they had blazed including areas where they went in and out of the creek to the islands and up and down the embankments. The noise and smell was annoying enough but when I think about the potential erosion and degradation of the flood plain and all the crap that will flow down the creek to the reservoir and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay I just cringe. I also have two friends who live on that side of the creek who must hate the noise of these off road vehicles.
It is a shame that the northern side, the Fairfax County side, is protected as parkland but the Prince William County side to the south is wide open to such abuse and devastation.
I had another great paddle in my kayak on the Potomac River yesterday. I launched at Algonkian Regional Park, one of my favorite local places to put in. There was minimal wind, the water was crystal clear, and the air was crisp. I saw about six or eight other people out paddling…making the most of the good weather before the winter settles in.
I did not see much in the way of wildlife just one Great Blue heron and a Bald eagle…both a a distance. The park itself was still doing quite a business with a number of people out fishing and barbecuing. I got out there on the water a little after two and after being on the water for about two hours, the light had already diminished considerably. I think I might be able to get a couple of more paddles in before I bring the kayak in for the winter.
