Close Encounters: Bald eagle visits golf course in Virginia Beach

Benjamin Gerber got a close-up photo of a bald eagle on its nest at the Honeybee Golf Course in Virginia Beach.

Billy Welch sent a photo of a great blue heron near the water’s edge at Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach.

Mary Jane Hall sent a photo of a pair of yellow-crowned night herons that were building a nest in a tall pine tree in the Larchmont neighborhood of Norfolk.

Michael Schimmel spotted a rather young yellow-crowned night heron stalking along the mud flats at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach.

A yellow-crowned night heron stalks along the mud flats at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of Michael Schimmel)

Jean Broughton sent a photo of a group of great egrets in the Morgans Walke neighborhood in Virginia Beach. “Since my home is on protected wetlands, I often see a lone heron or egret wading in the back,” wrote Broughton. “Yesterday I spotted something I have never seen before. I counted over three dozen egrets congregating in the water.”

Connie Owen photographed a pair of greater yellowlegs wading in the shallow water of the Lynnhaven River behind her house in the Robinhood Forest area of Virginia Beach. “I am always thrilled to see the yellowlegs that show up occasionally,” wrote Owen.

A greater yellowlegs wades in the shallow water of the Lynnhaven River near the Robinhood Forest area of Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of Connie Owen)

Molly Almond sent a photo of a downy woodpecker sharing a feeder with a purple finch in the North End of Virginia Beach.

Joe DiGeronimo sent a photo of an eastern towhee in the top of a scrubby tree near First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. “The eastern towhee’s distinctive early morning serenade, ‘drink your tee,’ is such a joy to hear,” wrote DiGeronimo. The towhee rummages “through the bushy undergrowth of the bay dunes gathering food to share with the beautiful but duller colored nesting female.”

An eastern towhee sings his drink your tea song from the top of a scrubby tree in the dunes near First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of Joe DiGeronimo)

J. C. Whitaker Sr. sent a photo of a male cardinal that has become a regular visitor in the Northern Suffolk area of Suffolk.

Laura Joksaite photographed a blue-gray gnatcatcher on her nest in a dogwood tree in the Robinhood Forest area of Virginia Beach. “They were so busy yesterday building the nest, peeling the tree lichens and building the nest with them,” wrote Joksaite.

A blue-gray gnatcatcher rests on her nest in a dogwood tree in the Robinhood Forest area of Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of Laura Joksaite)

Jonathan Snyder sent a photo of a beautiful black-and-white warbler feeding on caterpillars at the Great Dismal Swamp in Chesapeake.

A black-and-white warbler feeds on a caterpillar at the Great Dismal Swamp in Chesapeake. (Courtesy of Jonathan Snyder)

Jim Gatewood took photos of American goldfinches that stopped by for a drink at his birdbath in the Chapel Hill Estates neighborhood in Chesapeake.

Lacy Woods photographed hungry baby house sparrows waiting to be fed in a bush in her backyard in Kempsville in Virginia Beach.

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Joseph Robbins photographed a red-eared slider sunbathing at Lake Lawson/Lake Smith Natural Area in Virginia Beach. The red-eared slider gets its name from the small, red stripe around its ears.

A red-eared slider sunbathes on a log at Lake Lawson/Lake Smith Natural Area in Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of Joseph Robbins)

William Johnson got a photo of a red-bellied water snake while hiking the trails at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.

A red-bellied water snake crawls through the undergrowth at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. (Courtesy of William Johnson)

Mike Chin got a photo of a cottontail rabbit in his backyard in the Pine Ridge neighborhood in Virginia Beach.

Marcia Walker sent a photo of a raccoon that was visiting the bluebird feeder in broad daylight in the Bishopsgate neighborhood in Virginia Beach. The raccoon was standing on his back legs reaching up to get the seed.

Leslie Garrett was alerted to the presence of a raccoon in her yard in the Norfolk Highlands neighborhood in Chesapeake by her barking dog. “About 10 or 12 feet off the ground was a cute raccoon,” wrote Garrett. The raccoon climbed higher and rested on a branch.

Margaret Julian got a photo of a red fox at the edge of the dune at Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia Beach.

Vickie Shufer, wildfood@cox.net