It was cloudy again today, but at least there wasn't any rain in the forecast until the evening. I decided to drive not too far from Williamburg in case the forecast was wrong once again. I had been to Newport News Park several times in previous years. It's a great place to go birding, as long as it's not on a holiday or weekend when the trails are loaded with joggers and cyclists. I saw a good mix of avian species there, and had two highlights. The first was a pair of Brown-headed Nuthatches.
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
The second highlight was a pair of Carolina Wrens that were fussing about in the leaves. At first, I thought that they might be mating, but then realized that they were actually fighting with each other. I watched them for a couple of minutes as they bit and clawed at each other. I tried to keep them in focus as my camera fired away in high speed burst mode. The following series of photos gives a good idea as to what I witnessed.
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Carolina Wrens
Well, that was exciting! There were other species of birds at the park as well.
Gadwalls and American Wigeons
Gadwall
Gadwalls
Gadwall
Fish Crow
Ring-billed Gulls
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Ducks
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
I then drove to Guinea Marsh, 16 miles from Newport News Park. I had been there a couple of times in the past. I saw Saltmarsh Sparrows there in November 2015, but was disappointed in March 2016 when I saw that a good part of the marsh grass had been burnt. I hoped that the grass had re-grown and would be a good place to once again see Saltmarsh Sparrows, but the marsh next to the road was covered with trash. All I saw there were a few gulls, Savannah Sparrows, two Killdeers, and a Northern Harrier. After a few minutes, a vehicle drove down the road and stopped. It was a Marine Police officer checking out what I was doing there. Once he learned that I was birding, we had a good chat about birding and police for about 15 minutes (my oldest son is a police sergeant), and then another Marine Police vehicle showed up. The first officer said that it was his back-up. I guess that he had radioed in that he was checking out someone at the marsh, and when he hadn't returned or called in, they sent back-up. Glad that my camera didn't look like a weapon!
Killdeer
Northern Harrier
Well, the trip didn't last as long as I had planned for, and I didn't make it to some of the places I wanted to bird, but I still had a good birding outing. Here's my avian trip list (57 species):
American Crow
American Kestrel
American Robin
American Wigeon
Bald Eagle
Belted Kingfisher
Blue Jay
Bonaparte's Gull
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Phoebe
European Starling
Fish Crow
Forster's Tern
Gadwall
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Herring Gull
Hooded Merganser
Killdeer
Laughing Gull
Lesser Scaup
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Harrier
Northern Mockingbird
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Pine Warbler
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Savannah Sparrow
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-throated Sparrow
Wood Duck
Yellow-rumped Warbler