September is one of those months of the year that can still feel like the hot, humid days of summer are not quite over, or, offer much cooler weather that reminds us that Autumn will soon be with us. Although the calendar hasn’t officially changed to fall (September 22nd is the Autumnal Equinox), nature has already begun preparing for the next season. The leaves of some trees are already showing their true colors, many birds have migrated through and the hours of daylight grow shorter.
Theresa and I decided to take advantage of one of these “Indian Summer” weekends and headed over to Virginia Beach for a quick getaway weekend. We normally try to visit a beach at least one time each summer to take in the sand, surf and sun, but with our move from Pennsylvania to Virginia, we couldn’t squeeze it in. While living in SE Pennsylvania, our beach destination was usually Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware-about a 2.5 hour drive. At our new home here in Virginia, the closest public beach is Virginia Beach-a 4-hour drive.
Sunrise over Virginia Beach, and an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin plays in the surf
We couldn’t have asked for better “September Summer” weather, even with Hurricane Jose’ moving north off the Atlantic coast. The air temps were in the low 80’s and the ocean water temperature hovered around 76 F. It was perfect for swimming and getting knocked on my butt by the waves over and over again! I must be getting weaker as I grow older, since the same 3’-4’ waves that were smashing my face into the sandy bottom, had no effect on the two 8-year olds standing next to me, pointing at me and giggling! However, I got even when I stood up and asked them if they felt something big go across their feet! They quickly departed the water for the safety of their family’s beachfront campground! Despite the fact that I served as oceanic entertainment for several kids, I did have fun in the surf!
When we visit the beach, we have much more on our agendas than just getting up each day, lugging our 40 lbs. of beach gear, food and drinks out to the sand, then proceed to bake like potatoes. We enjoy rising early and seeing the sun rise over the ocean, chatting with some of the surf fisherman, watching many birds and other critters we can see in between the hordes of sunbathers, and hopping in the car to check out some of the other local outdoor attractions. On this weekend we visited two areas-First Landing State Park, just north of Virginia Beach, and Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, about 30 minutes south.
First Landing SP is a cool park full of trails that surround a Bald Cypress swamp. In addition to the Bald Cypress, the forest hosts large Virginia Pines, Tupelo (Black Gum) and big Oaks. Although the park was full of both two-legged and four-legged visitors enjoying the beautiful weather, we did manage to see a few critters on our short walk, including a large Orb Spider that retreated to its hiding place in a rolled up leaf and lots of interesting fungi. The highlight was finding (after several minutes of careful looking) a Great-Horned Owl quietly perched near the top of a large oak tree. We would have never found it if it wasn’t for a flock of crows that were loudly mobbing it, trying to drive it away. The owl was not phased a bit, and sat intently until the crows got bored and flew away. It was a beautiful bird and we were thrilled to get a peek at seeing it.
Posing for a Cypress Swamp selfie, and checking out the “alligator-like” bark of a large, leaning Virginia Pine (above), and a hidden Great horned Owl (below)
Our last side trip before heading home was to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. This 9,250-acre refuge lies just south of the metropolitan area of Virginia Beach. It was established to provide feeding and resting habitat for migratory birds and preserve critical natural areas from rapidly increasing residential and commercial development. Back Bay NWR includes a thin strip of barrier island coastline typical of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as well as upland areas on the west bank of Back Bay. Habitats include beach, dunes, woodlands, agricultural fields, and emergent freshwater marshes. The majority of refuge marshes are on islands within the waters of Back Bay.
Although the clouds rolled in and we got caught in a light rain shower, we ventured out to the beach to see if we could see any interesting birds. Scattered among the many surf fisherman, we did manage to see many Brown Pelicans (we love watching them soar and dive in the water), Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Laughing Gulls, a few Caspian and Least Terns, soaring Osprey, several Sanderlings and one Willet that was feeding on sand crabs. Our coolest critter find was on the way out, when we stopped to watch a 3’ Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth) feeding on a large, dead grasshopper on the side of the road. By the time I was done snapping photos of it, 5 other cars had also stopped, and one lady directing traffic so cars wouldn’t run over it. She asked me if it was safe to try and move it off the road so it wouldn’t get squashed. After educating this nice lady from Massachusetts as to what species of snake it was, she decided not to try and convince the reptile to move, but just make passing cars aware of it. She meant well, and I thanked her for her efforts!
Brown Pelicans soaring over the waves, as one drops out of the sky diving for a fish.
It was a great trip to the Tidewater area and fun way to end the summer season…..maybe!