Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel

I began with the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel on the northern portion of the loop. It’s difficult to think of seventeen miles of concrete and steel as a place to commune with nature, but the bridge-tunnel provides the best access in the area for viewing birds that prefer open water. In summer and fall there are a wide variety of gulls, terns, and brown pelicans. You can see nesting white ibises, skimmers, great and snowy egrets, and great blue herons where the bridge crosses Fisherman Island.

But winter is prime time viewing on the bridge-tunnel, when rafts of thousands of sea ducks gather around the rock islands that anchor the tunnels. You can see all three species of scoters, plus long-tailed ducks (formerly oldsquaw), scaup, red-breasted mergansers, double-crested and great cormorants, and a few rarities such as harlequin ducks. Northern gannets, large white birds with black wingtips, will be diving for baitfish.

First Landing State Park

From the bridge-tunnel I drove down Shore Drive (Rt. 60) to First Landing State Park, a great green wedge driven right in the heart of one of the busiest vacation spots on the east coast. First Landing has both seashore and cypress, and at just under 3,000 acres provides plenty of opportunities for birders. What makes First Landing so great is the diversity of habitat. I explored dunes and open beach, then took Cape Henry Trail through a cypress swamp and maritime forest, across ancient dunes, and finally to the peaceful waters of Broad Bay. If you like to do your birding by bike, Cape Henry is the designated bicycle trail at First Landing. A ride from the visitor contact station to Broad Bay and back covers about 12 miles.

The birding at First Landing is good year round. I saw several warbler species in the maritime forest, and there were ospreys patrolling the salt marsh near Broad Bay. Ospreys arrive in March and stay until fall, nesting in tall pines along the waterfront. The maritime forest is an important migratory route for warblers, tanagers, thrushes, and other songbirds, which pass through during spring and fall migrations.

Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum

Next stop was the Virginia Aquarium on General Booth Blvd., but on my way I stopped at the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum at the oceanfront. The museum is in the de Witt Cottage, the oldest remaining structure in the resort area. The museum captures the history and culture of waterfowling back in the day when Back Bay and the sounds of North Carolina were lined with hunt clubs, some of which were opulent structures. A decoy carver was on hand to demonstrate his craft and explain how decoy making is part of the tradition of wildfowl hunting.

Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center has a wonderful aquarium, museum, theater, and gift shop, and birders will be interested in the interpretive wetlands trail on the banks of Owl's Creek. Across the creek is a 100-acre wilderness preserve maintained by the U.S. Navy, and an elevated tower and a boardwalk make wildlife viewing easy. The museum also offers whale and dolphin watching trips in the open ocean off the resort, and these trips provide good opportunities to see pelagic species.

CONTINUE > Day 2: Back Bay and False Cape