Great Dismal Swamp 2010 Birding Festival - Better Late than Never

 Okay, so I've gone AWOL for a few weeks and gotten behind on my post again. I guess it happens to the best of us, or worse depending on how you look at it. Now back, I wanted to follow up on our trip to the Great Dismal Swamp for last months birding festival. Better late than never, right?

My daughter and I set out early that morning before the weather got to hot. Our destination was to the Washington Ditch canal were we intended to check out and hike the new boardwalk trail that just opened up to the public.

Upon entrance to the Washington Ditch we were greeted by a couple of whitetail deer browsing along the field edges. I managed to snap a photo before the last one casually disappeared in the thicket.

Here's a look at the entrance of the new boardwalk trail.

This new trail winds 3/4 mile deep in and out of the forest. It goes through a variety of habitats found within the swamp. My daughter and I hiked a small portion of it.

Along the trail we saw encountered a lot of familiar native flora. Here's one of my favorites, the coral honeysuckle. It's a favorite of hummingbirds as well.

We stopped along the trail to check out out a variety of birds and other wildlife. Morgan (below) seems to be interested in something above. I think it's wonderful that she shows an early interest in nature and the outdoors. I think it's very important to get children outside as early as possible so that they can learn to appreciate the great outdoors and all it has to offer. If I could only get her over her fear of bugs!

After the hike we headed over to the Dismal Swamp headquarters where the main event was taken place. There they had a variety of displays and nature activities set up for kids and adults to learn and enjoy.

Like the previous years of this event, Morgan's favorite display was the snakes. Here she is getting ready to handle her favorite one - its an Corn Snake. Corn snakes are found throughout much of the southeastern and central United States. They're docile snakes that reach approximately 4 to 5 feet in length. Sometimes they are referred to as red rat snakes.

By the way, here's a cool site that list the snakes of Virginia if interested: http://fwie.fw.vt.edu/VHS/reptiles/snakes/snakes_of_virginia.htm

Below she is holding the corn snake by herself. Believe it or not, this is the main reason she enjoys coming to this event each year.

Below she is holding a smaller Mole Kingsnake.

After the snakes we walked over to one of the activity tents where we built a bluebird nest box. Notice how well she hammers. She looks to be taken it very seriously.

 

Needless to say we had a great time at the fourth annual Great Dismal Swamp Birding Festival. And if you live in the area, here's a link to the swamps summer calendar of events. There may be something that interest you: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/pdf/summer10.pdf

Spring Migration Celebration at the Great Dismal Swamp

  If you live in Virginia or North Carolina, or anywhere in the vicinity this weekend, be sure to come by and attend the fourth annual Great Dismal Swamp Birding Festival. The event starts on Thursday the 6th thru Saturday the 8th. There will be bird banding demonstrations, guided bird and nature walks, workshops, and more. And Saturday will be family fun day that includes children activities, music, food, exhibits and tours. I’ve had a great time in the past at this event and looking forward to it again this year.

Here’s a link to the event brochure with schedules for each event (there all free!). Also, be sure to look at the photos along the top of the second page. My daughter's picture is in there! She is the one holding the snake. It was taken at last years event.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatdismalswamp/pdf/2010%20BF%20program.pdf


Hope to see some of you there!

Hiding Out

 One of the most territorial birds in my backyard is the Northern Mockingbird. And when they have a nest nearby they seem to turn it up another notch or two. They aggressively harass birds that intrude on their territories, flying towards them  flaunting their bright white wing patches and squawking like mockingbirds do.

I've noticed some of these turf wars going on in the back corner of my property recently and decided (with caution) to take a closer look. I inspected the area for a nest and what I stumbled upon was even better - little fledglings!

These little mockingbirds were hiding out in my elaeagnus shrubs.

Look closely below and you can see another one buried deep within the shrub.

Here's another...look closely.

Needless to say, they were well protected within the shrub and the parents provided another barrier of protection from outside.

I counted three all together, but there could have been more. I didn't wont to continue stressing mom and dad out or their young. I stepped backed and watched for a while as mom and dad continued to feed them in the shrubs. They will continue to care for their young until they are able to do so for themselves. This is the case with most birds. The parents will continue to feed and watch over their young even after they leave the safety of the nest.

Have a great weekend and be sure to visit Birdfreak's Bird Photography Weekly (#88) to see more bird photos!

 

Technorati Tags: Bird Photography Weekly,Northern Mockingbird,Fledglings

Cuter than a Chickadee - Nest Tube Update

 Five little chickadee eggs equals....

five little chickadee chicks.

So, what's cuter than a chickadee? How about baby chickadees!

These little Carolina chickadees are in my chickadee nest tube I constructed last year. They are about two weeks old now and will be fledging within the next few days (between 16 -19 days).  As a matter of fact, today will be my last time peaking at them because at this age they could fledge prematurely if disturbed too much.

It's been fun watching the parents go back and forth into the nest cavity feeding their babies.

Both the male and female take part in caring for the young. Carolina chickadees will normally raise just one brood a year. I'm looking forward to seeing the young ones around the yard this summer.

To learn more about Carolina chickadees check out these links:

http://www.sialis.org/cach.htm / http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_Chickadee/id

 

Technorati Tags: Carolina Chickadee,Nest tube,Fledglings,Eggs

The Whimbrel Project

 The Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge serves as one of the country's most valuable stop-overs for migratory birds. Located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, this 1,127-acre refuge was established in 1984 for migratory birds and endangered species management. I'm fortunate to live not that far from this prime birding refuge. Sites like these are very important to birds like whimbrels who stop over in the spring to rest and refuel before heading north to their summer grounds.

Whimbrel's (click link to see a photo of the bird) are one of the most wide-ranging shorebirds in the world. One particular whimpel named 'Hope' is helping scientist understand why this particular shore bird is on the decline. I first heard about Hope from an article in my local newspaper and was amazed at how far whimbrels travel in one year - over 14,000 miles...WOW!

Hope was captured last spring on VA Eastern Shore and fitted with a transmitter. This study is designed to identify stop-over sites that are important to whimbrels and make a case for preserving these sites. This is a very important project because whimbrels have been declining in recent years - mostly due to land development.

Hope recently returned to Virginia's Eastern shore where she'll spend a few weeks resting up and eating fiddler crabs. Her next stop will be to her nesting site in western Canada, near Alaska.

What's amazing is the fact that Hope came back to the exact same mudflat where she was caught last year. It's a wonder how they do this. Here's a map that shows Hope's path over the last year:

 

Map Source: Center for Conservation Biology, ESRI, USGS

Reference: http://snipurl.com/vp65j

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Technorati Tags: Whimbrel,Shore Bird,Local,Eastern Shore,Conservation

Easter Eggs

 Look at what's arrived just in time for Easter. The warm spring weather has the birds extra active in my area and the nesting season is well underway. Above is a Eastern Bluebird nest in one of my pvc nest boxes. Eastern  Bluebirds normally lay between 3 - 6 eggs.

Another early season nester is the Carolina Chickadee. Those who have followed this blog may remember the chickadee nest tube I built last spring. I'm please to report that the pair of chickadees I posted about a couple months back have decided to make it their home. Carolina Chickadees normally lay between 3 - 8 eggs. That's their eggs below.

These may not be traditional Easter eggs, but their still fun to find. Have a great Easter everyone!!

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said... (Matthew 28:6)

 

Technorati Tags: Easter,Eggs,Eastern Bluebird,Carolina Chickadee,Nest

Bob’s Big Year

    I first heard about Bob Ake in the local newspaper earlier this year. I was drawn to his story not just because he enjoys birds, but also because Bob is a local guy from the Hampton Roads area of VA (my hometown). The former ODU professor retired early to follow his passion – BIRDS!

Bob volunteers and counts shorebirds for the for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and can be found almost anywhere along the Chesapeake Bay looking for birds. He received his first field guide in the mid 60s and has been chasing birds ever since. In fact, he was one of the few birders chosen in 2006 by Cornell University to help comb the woods of Arkansas and Florida for the ivory-billed woodpecker. He has helped band birds, works with the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory on hawk watches, and does Christmas bird surveys for the Audubon Society. But Nov. 30 was his last survey for a while. He will devote all of 2010 to counting birds for himself, something he has been planning for a long time.

He is on a mission this year is to see 650 different U.S. birds, more than he’s ever seen in a single year. When birders set out to see as many birds as possible within 12 months, it’s called a Big Year.

Bob sat down with the American Birding Association lists of 957 bird species endemic to North America and began figuring out his itinerary. He will travel all across the United States this year with a goal of spotting two-thirds of the birds from that list.

Bob didn't waste any time – he started his quest on January one and was up to 116 species in just the first few days. The total to this point stands at 386. He’s well on his way!

If interested, check out Bob Ake’s blog to track his progress: http://bobsbirds.blogspot.com/. He post regular updates with photos of his Big Year adventure. I hope you find his story and blog as interesting as I have. To read this complete article follow this link: http://snipurl.com/umgxe

STEVE EARLEY PHOTOS | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

Reference Info: Virginian Pilot; Jan 10, 2010; Magazine; page E1; “Day 1: 82 down. 568 to go”; by Diane Tennant

 

Technorati Tags: Bob Ake,Local,Big Year,ABA