Close Encounters: Brown pelican makes a splash in Virginia Beach

David Clark got a photo of an elegant looking bald eagle at Great Bridge Lock Park in Chesapeake. The eagle “sat patiently on the light post scanning the canal, with its mate perched in a tree nearby,” wrote Clark.

A bald eagle scans the canal at Great Bridge Lock Park in Chesapeake from his perch on a light post. (David Clark)

Joe DiGeronimo got a photo of a breakfast take-out with an osprey fishing in the Chesapeake Bay off First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. The osprey had a large trout in his talons and was on his way home to his family.

Laura Joksaite sent a photo of a gorgeous brown pelican creating a splash as it was rising from the water at Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach.

A brown pelican creates a splash as it rises from the water at Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Laura Joksaite.

Ed Obermeyer sent a photo of a common loon at the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach. “While shooting waves from the water today this loon came right up to me!” wrote Obermeyer.

A common loon swims peacefully along the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Ed Obermeyer.

Laura Koubsky sent a photo of a male wood duck in Baylake Pines in Virginia Beach. “I was on my porch having coffee and noticed an abnormally large bird in our backyard tree and then it registered with me that it was a male wood duck,” Koubsky wrote. “What a pleasant surprise!”

A male wood duck visits a backyard in Baylake Pines in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Ed Obermeyer.

Mike Chin sent a photo of a family of Canada geese with the papa taking the lead and the mama in the rear with five chicks in between on Ballentine Boulevard in Norfolk.

Reuben Rohn spotted a cattle egret in Pungo in Virginia Beach. Cattle egrets are native to Africa but somehow migrated to South America and worked their way northward. They have become residents in southern Hampton Roads.

A cattle egret displays his breeding plumage in Pungo in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Reuben Rohn.

Mary Jane Hall photographed a great crested flycatcher perched on a branch of a hickory tree at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk.

A great crested flycatcher perches on a branch at the Great Dismal National Wildlife Refuge. Courtesy of Mary Jane Hall.

Bob Ake sent a photo of a pair of eastern kingbirds in a large hackberry tree that have just arrived and will probably nest in the tree. “Other bird species like to nest near where kingbirds nest because the kingbirds will alert the other birds to the presence of predators and will actively harass the predators into leaving,” wrote Ake.

A pair of kingbirds settle in. Photo courtesy Bob Ake

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June McDaniels spotted a Swainson’s warbler in First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. This is the first record ever of this bird in Virginia Beach. “It has a long bill for a warbler, and its musical, sweet song is unforgettable,” wrote McDaniels. “Drab little bird with a beautiful song.”

A Swainson’s warbler makes a rare appearance at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of June McDaniels.

Connie Owen has been enjoying the presence of Carolina wrens that nested in her confederate jasmine-covered arch in her front yard. “Every time I come out of the house, the birds scream and holler like I was the bad guy,” wrote Owen. “They have nested at my house for years, often in the garage.”

Harold Winer sent a photo of a male bluebird in Kings Grant in Virginia Beach. “Our same Bluebird pair has been with us since 2017 and have just hatched out their five eggs in their second nesting this spring,” Winer wrote.

Ken Henson sent a snapshot of a blue bird taking flight from the nest for the first time in the Alanton neighborhood of Virginia Beach. “It was the fourth of four,” wrote Henson.

Jonathan Snyder sent a photo of a green anole resting in a bed of impatiens flowers in his backyard in the Sawyers Mill neighborhood of Chesapeake.

Tony Mentesana sent a photo of broad-headed skink in the Western Branch area of Chesapeake. Broad-headed skinks are a type of lizard and the largest skink in the southeast. It gets its name from the wide jaws that give the head a triangular appearance.

Vickie Shufer, wildfood@cox.net