Gannets galore: Trip to Virginia Beach

On February 11th, I went on a day trip to Virginia Beach with my bird club. Throughout the day we observed several interesting species of birds, including Northern Gannets, Brown Pelicans, and a Purple Sandpiper.

Sanderlings - Notice how they are all moving in the same direction. In between waves, they run into the mud to catch food. When a wave comes, they run the opposite way to avoid it.

Great Blue Heron

Beach scenery

Dolphin, probably bottlenose.

Bald Eagle

Dolphin

Brown Pelican - A life bird for me.

Western Grebe (very exciting, we had been hoping to see it), and dolphins.

Horned Grebe!

Western Grebe! Rare1

Beach scenery

Bonaparte's Gull

Tundra Swans off in the distance

Pied-billed Grebe

Buffleheads

Brants - they are very unusual!

Ring-necked Duck

Baby Seal. It had two gashes on its belly. Animal rescue people were called, so hopefully the seal is okay.

Northern Gannet - My best picture of one.

Red-breasted Merganser

Sanderlings

Purple Sandpiper!! Very rare!

Adult Seal

Another picture of the baby seal

Common Loon

Common Loon with some food it caught. Common Loons are hard to photograph because they dive for a long time and then surface in an unexpected location for a very brief period of time.

Beach scene.

I got many lifers and had a good view of waterfowl which I don't see often. The Brants, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe and Purple Sandpiper were rare and very exciting to see.