Cape Henry Audubon Society

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER RECURRING MONTHLY EVENTS WEYANOKE The October monthly Weyanoke bird walk is scheduled for October 18th (3rd Saturday) at 8am, lasting about an hour. We meet at the entrance to the Weyanoke Sanctuary at 1501 Armistead Bridge Road in the West Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk. This will be a good time of year to visit Weyanoke for migrants. The November monthly Weyanoke bird walk is scheduled for November 15th (3rd Saturday) at 8am, lasting about an hour. We meet at the entrance to the Weyanoke Sanctuary at 1501 Armistead Bridge Road in the West Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk. Wintering bird species will be the focus of this walk. The December monthly Weyanoke bird walk is scheduled for December 20th (3rd Saturday) at 8am, lasting about an hour. We meet at the entrance to the Weyanoke Sanctuary at 1501 Armistead Bridge Road in the West Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk.  Wintering bird species will be the focus of this walk. HOFFLER CREEK There is a monthly walk on the second Saturday of the month.  Each month, the walk is at 4510 Twins Pines Rd, Portsmouth, Virginia.  The gates open at 7:45am and  sometimes close at 8am (closing time varies, best to be there at 7:45am). OCTOBER MEETING

PLEASE NOTE: Our October meeting place and time has changed for the month of October only.  This will be a joint meeting with the Virginia Beach Audubon Society.  We will meet at Virginia Wesleyan University, Greer Building, room 255 on Wednesday, 15 October, 7:00 PM Our speakers for this month are Karen and Steve McCurdy, co-presidents of the Butterfly Society of Virginia.  Karen and Steve  have been active members and volunteers of the Butterfly Society of Virginia since moving to Virginia Beach in 2003 and have served jointly on the BSV Board since 2009, currently as Co-Presidents. They have also served as docents at NBG’s native butterfly house since 2010. They became Certified Virginia Master Naturalists in 2016 and have been active in the Tidewater Chapter since then. In 2023, they were invited by Dr. Chip Taylor, Director of Monarch Watch, to serve as Monarch Conservation Specialists. They have enjoyed raising butterflies and moths for over 30 years. The title of their talk is: "The Marvelous Monarch and Its Magical Migration" PREVIOUS FIELD TRIP:

CHAS and VBAS members at northern turnoff on CBBT during September 2025 birding trip.

On Saturday, September 27, 21 hardy (or was it foolhardy?) members of CHAS and the Virginia Beach Audubon Society joined the Laughing Falcons to brave the rain and spent most of the day pursuing bird species on Virginia's Eastern Shore during the Coastal Virginia Birdathon (aka Kiptopeke Challenge), the annual fundraising birdathon that supports Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory.  This was a new type of team and we were placed in a new competition class, Large Group.  At the end of the day our team tallied 105 species.  Whether the total is enough for our team to win the 24hr competition this year we shall have to wait to find out.  Hi-lites included six species of herons, five woodpecker species, kestrels (over 100!) merlins and peregrine falcons, numerous shore birds/waders, bobolinks, 15 warbler species (including blue wing, cape may and bay-breasted), a rose breasted grosbeak and Swainson's thrush.     Thanks for  your participation in the birdathon itself and for making this first combined birding trip a success.     Your support of the research and education undertaken by CVWO is greatly appreciated.  Stop by Kiptopeke State Park sometime during the fall to share in their activities.

Birding in the rain!

UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS: Saturday, October 18 - Merchants Millpond State Park, NC Meet at 8:00 at the Visitor Center, 176 Millpond Rd, Gatesville NC 27938 Located about an hour south of the VA/NC state line, Merchants Millpond  After gathering together, we will walk down to the canoe launch overlooking the pond.  From there we will walk along a portion of the Lassiter trail. This is a somewhat uneven, mostly dirt trail that is fairly well maintained but often has a number of exposed tree roots, so careful attention to your footing is required and a good pair of hiking shoes is recommended.  After walking about ¾ mile along this trail, we’ll cut over and return to the Visitor Center via the asphalt-paved main road.  Once back at the Visitor Center we can take a water/snack break and take advantage of the restroom facilities. Next, we’ll make a short drive over to the Cypress Point trail.  This is a short (1/3 mile loop) trail along the pond. It is an easy, flat trail that includes a large section of boardwalk.      As with most of our outings, bug spray and sunscreen are always advised, and snacks and water bottle also come in handy.  Saturday, November 15 - Grandview Nature Preserve, Hampton Meet at 8:00 at the preserve entrance at the end of State Park Drive, Hampton. Park along the right side of the road. Additional details to follow.

Wilson's warbler photographed by David Clark in his backyard September 1st, 2025.

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS YOU CAN USE Lights Out The fall "Lights Out" campaign started on August 15 and runs through November 15.  As part of this voluntary program, we urge property managers, businesses, tenants, government agencies, and residents to join us in helping to prevent night-time bird collisions with building by turning off and/or blocking as many external and internal building lights at workplaces as possible at night to help prevent injury and death of migrating birds, especially from 11 pm to sunrise.   Visit https://www.birdsafehr.org/ to learn how you can get involved. Elections! Have you made your plans to vote in this year's election?  On the ballot are the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Delegate, as well as various municipal offices and ballot initiatives that vary by City.  Early Voting is already underway at the local voter registrar offices.   Most cities will open additional satellite early voting locations later this month.  You can look up early voting locations at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/early-voting-office-locations/.  The last day for early voting is November 1st.  October 24 is the last day to register to vote, update your address, or request that a absentee ballot be mailed to you.  Last day to vote is Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, which would be at your regular polling place, 6 am to 7 pm that day.  Get official election information including at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/ or from your local voter registrar/office of elections.   Please get out an vote! Bird Island Planning is continuing to build a new island in Hampton Roads as a home for the sea bird nesting colony that was evicted from the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel South Island in 2020.  The colony was relocated to neighboring Fort Wool island.  The more than 20,000 birds in the colony include laughing gulls, common terns, royal terns, black skimmers and gull-billed terns.  All are species of conservation concern and the gull-billed terns are on the state threatend species list.  While the new colony location has been relatively successful, the site was never intended to be permanent.   For one thing Fort Wool is too small and the habitat is augmented with a series of floating barges.  For another, the colony relocation necessitated closing the island to historical tours.   The Army Corps of Engineers is now finalizing its proposal to build a new island using dredge spoils further to the west of the Hampton Roads Bridge Island.  The $15.9 million project would construct a 9.7 acre island especially for the birds.  The Corps  is working on a final environmental assessment, followed by detailed design work and hopes to start construction in 2027.  Read more about this in this story from WTKR https://www.wtkr.com/news/large-seabird-colony-calls-decommissioned-civil-war-era-military-installation-on-hrbts-south-island-home PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY.  Each club receives funds from the National society based on renewal funds.