Connie Owen sent a beautiful photo of an American oystercatcher perched on a rock on the beach at Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore.
Helen Pipcho got a wonderful shot of a Wilson’s snipe wading in the marsh at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach. Wilson’s snipe can be found in wet meadows and marshy areas during the winter months and then go north in the spring for breeding.
Joe DiGeronimo photographed buffleheads feeding in the Chesapeake Bay just off First Landing Beach in Virginia Beach. In recent years, “a flock of bufflehead faithfully arrived from the north to enjoy a few relatively warmer months with us, before heading back north for spring breeding,” DeGeronimo wrote. “They sure seem to enjoy diving and dining on our neighborhood fish supply.”
Cindy Hamilton had a rare sighting of a dovekie swimming and diving at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. Dovekies are tiny, black-and-white auks that are expert swimmers and dive deeply to hunt zooplankton.
Rita Elson photographed two bald eagles having lunch in a farm field in Smithfield.
Nancy Watters sent photos of a young bald eagle having a “yummy seagull” for breakfast on her pier in Broad Bay Point Greens in Virginia Beach.
Taylor Proffitt spotted a bald eagle resting on a log and hanging out with a group of mallards in a lake bordering a swamp in the Kings Grant neighborhood in Virginia Beach.
Mike Weirich spotted a pair of common loons fishing in Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. “One even got lucky and caught lunch,” Weirich wrote.
Scott Tabakin sent a photo of a black vulture that had been flying around his Middle Plantation house in Virginia Beach before choosing his dock for a resting perch.
Benjamin Gerber got a photo of a red-shouldered hawk perched on a branch in Bennett’s Creek in Suffolk.
Laura Mae got a photo of a western tanager, a rare visitor in the Eclipse neighborhood of Suffolk, feeding on cedar berries. As its name implies, the range for the western tanager is in the western part of the United States.
Monica Ramanathan sent a photo of a beautiful female cardinal perched on a lichen-covered branch at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach.
Ed Obermeyer sent photos of a tufted titmouse and a male bluebird that have been having a feeding frenzy at his feeders in the Castleton neighborhood in Virginia Beach.
Reuben Rohn photographed a blue-gray gnatcatcher at the Princess Anne Wildlife Management Area in Virginia Beach. “This bird should have migrated south a long time ago, but somehow stayed behind,” Rohn said.
Shirley Callis sent photos of brightly colored male and female Baltimore orioles nesting behind her mother’s home in Ocean Hills in Virginia Beach.
Harold Winer sent photos of a female oriole feeding on grape jelly and two mature male bluebirds feeding on mealworms in the Kings Grant neighborhood of Virginia Beach.
Connie Owen photographed a brown creeper going up a pine tree searching for insects in the Robinhood Forest area of Virginia Beach. Owen also reported seeing bluebirds, yellow-rumped warblers and the usual crows.
Carmen Scherrer sent a photo of a female oriole feeding on nectar from her camellia flowers in Chic’s Beach in Virginia Beach. “I see a lot of birds eating the nectar of the flowers, and for our honey bees is one of the only sources out there right now,” Scherrer wrote. “It also keeps the leaves in winter so it serves as a shelter for many birds.”
Vickie Shufer, wildfood@cox.net
