February 2026 Newsletter
WELCOME
Welcome to the February 2026 CHAS newsletter. As always, send your favorite wildlife pictures to me to be added to the newsletter. If you have newsworthy information about birds, the environment, conservation, or government action items related to our club's mission, please forward the information to capehenryaudubonsociety@gmail.com for consideration in future newsletters.
PLEASE JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP WITH THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY. Each club receives funds from the National society based on renewal funds.
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| Hooded Merganser at Stumpy Lake photograph courtesy of David Clark |
RECURRING MONTHLY EVENTS
WEYANOKE
Upcoming Weyanoke bird walks are scheduled for the third Saturday of each month: February 21st and March 21st. All walks start 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 our January walk.
HOFFLER CREEK
There is a monthly walk on the second Saturday of the month a local birding leader. 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).
NEWPORT NEWS PARK
Join the Hampton Roads Bird Club on the First and Third Sunday of each month at 7:00 AM at Newport News Park. Meet us in the parking lot behind the Ranger Station.
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| Hermit thrush photograph courtesy of Laura Mae |
MONTHLY MEETING
PLEASE NOTE LOCATION CHANGE FOR FEBRUARY: Our February meeting will be another joint meeting with the Virginia Beach Audubon Society. Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 16 February at 7:30 at Virginia Wesleyan University, Greer Building, room 255.
The speaker is Bailey Goebel, Conservation Engagement Specialist with the Virginia Zoo. The presentation will cover the Virginia Zoo's community science projects and how they support the North American songbird SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program through the association of Zoos and Aquariums.
PREVIOUS FIELD TRIP: January CBBT and Eastern Shore. 18 birders enjoyed a satisfying day, viewing birds from the 4th island of the bridge-tunnel and then hitting various hot spots in Northampton County.
Our day got started a little late, as our police escort to the 4th island of the CBBT wasn't ready at the appointed time. We were hoping the late start might work to our advantage since it was a very foggy morning and we thought maybe the fog would burn by the time we reached the tunnel island. Alas, it stuck around pretty much the entire day. This made things a bit more challenging, but we stuck to it and eventually accumulated a good list of birds.
Our visit to the 4th island of the CBBT was highlighted by a group of at least 25 Harbor Seals, most of which were lounging on the rocks for the entire duration of our stay, giving us nice,if fog-obscured, views. (see photo attached to CBBT Island#4 checklist) Additional highlights included several Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, and a couple of female Harlequin Ducks that were barely discernable through the mist, plus 2 relatively close-in Razorbills. As we departed, another group of 28 more distant Razorbills was spotted.
Next we stopped off at the overlook at Wise Point where we added Bufflehead, Common Loon, and our first Sanderlings. Heading on to the beach and pier at Cape Charles, we had greats views of Ruddy Turnstones, plus an American Oystercatcher.
At this point we were ready to head for lunch, which most of us had pre-ordered at Machipongo Trading Company. From there, we made the short trip to Box Tree Marsh where things were pretty quiet, but did produce a Fox Sparrow, a Brown-headed Nuthatch and a few other birds.
Heading back to the south, we gave out walkie-talkies to each vehicle. This proved very helpful. We stopped when a raptor was spotted standing out in a farm field. It turned out to be a Northern Harrier. Our stop there produce several other new species for the day including several woodpecker species. Our trip southward along Seaside Road continued to be productive, with Red-shouldered Hawk, Palm Warbler, Horned Lark, Meadowlark and others being added to the list. At one point, the back of a farm field held a massive pile of deer carcasses, upon which an adult Bald Eagle was feeding while several Turkey Vultures waited their turn.
Our last scheduled stop was the Brinkley Preserve, where we added Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, but none of the hoped-for night-herons could be seen. After we finished up here, we collected the walkie-talkies, said our goodbyes and headed down the remainder of Seaside Road on our way home. But wait! The lead car spotted a group of a hundred or so Canada Geese in a field and pulled over to scan through them. A small white goose was in their midst, prompting a closer look through a spotting scope to confirm that it was, in fact a Ross's Goose! Fortunately, all of the vehicles were returning home along the same road, so all were able to view this bird. Quite a nice finish to an excellent day of birding, with 71 total species found during the trip.
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| Harbor seals seen through the fog on our CBBT trip. Photo courtesy of David Clark |
UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS:
February:
Explore Back Bay in Winter: A Special Tram Tour
Join us for a memorable winter morning at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, February 21, 2026 (rain date: Sunday, February 22). This exclusive tram tour of the Impoundments offers rare access to areas normally closed during winter, providing exceptional opportunities to observe and photograph wintering waterfowl in a peaceful, protected setting.
📍 Location: Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
4005 Sandpiper Road, Virginia Beach
🕗 Meet: Visitor Center at 8:00 AM
💲 Cost: $15 per person, payable in cash to trip leader(s)
From elegant Tundra Swans to colorful Wood Ducks, we’ll be on the lookout for a wide variety of species, including Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, American Wigeons, Mallards, American Black Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and more. We may also spot American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes, Herons, Egrets, and—if luck is on our side—Snow Geese and Canvasbacks.
🦆 Trip Details:
Duration: approximately 3 hours
The tram is open, so please dress warmly
Restrooms are available at the Visitor Center
🚋 Space is limited to the first 24 registrants, so early sign-up is encouraged.
📧 To register: Email fieldtrips@vbaudubon.org
Come enjoy crisp winter air, beautiful scenery, and outstanding birding in one of Virginia’s most special coastal refuges.
Down the road:
March:
Sunday, March 29 (note date change), 7:30 AM
Hog Island Wildlife Management Area
5570 Hog Island Rd
Surry, Va 23883
This field trip will visit the Hog Island Wildlife Management Area. To access we will need to pass through security at the Surry Power Station.
All participants will need a valid ID, i.e. drivers license, state ID, etc. We stress this. Some folks left their ID behind because they were riding in someone else's car and were unable to continue through.
Participants will also need one of the following to access the property:
-valid hunting or fishing license
-DWR day pass
-Restore the Wild annual pass
Licenses can be purchased online at dwr.virginia.gov/licenses
Hog Island is actually a 3,908-acre peninsula that juts into the brackish waters of the James River, creating a mosaic of tidewater habitats that include marsh, tidal channels, swamp, and beach. Agricultural fields and loblolly pine forests surround freshwater sources such as Lawnes Neck and Lower Chippokes Creek. This diversity of habitats, including the large shallow impoundments of Fishhouse Bay and Homewood Creek, attracts a vast number of birds, and an exploration of the area will produce a large number of species at any time of the year. Birding the area effectively requires leaving the main road and striking off on foot along the trails that separate the peninsula’s major impoundments. Over 30 species of waterfowl and 35 species of shorebirds have been recorded at Hog Island, largely from the wetlands at the northern end of the peninsula. Birding the Carlisle Tract, south of the power plants, gives access to upland communities absent further north. Winter, perhaps the most interesting time to bird this site, brings an assortment of different birds, including snow buntings, flocks of snow geese, bufflehead, mergansers, ring-necked and ruddy ducks, and large numbers of bald eagles.
We meet in the parking lot in front of the guard house at 7:30 AM and carpool from there. The address to the parking lot is 5570 Hog Island Rd., Surry, 23883. Note: all vehicles going through the gate will be inspected by armed guards, since we pass through Dominion's Nuclear Power Plant. The plant office has the only restrooms on the property.
The access road is 2 miles long with views of the James River. We can stop along the route and bird. Parking is allowed in designated areas only.
April:
Saturday, April 4, 7:00 AM
Great Dismal Swamp - Washington Ditch
3076 White Marsh Rd, Suffolk, VA
The Great Dismal Swamp (GDS) National Wildlife Refuge is a local treasure, yet many locals have never visited it! Here’s your chance! The refuge gates are on timers set to lift around sunrise, which is around 6:45 AM in early April. Washington Ditch’s address is 3076 White Marsh Road, Suffolk, VA. From this White Marsh Road entrance, take the dirt road for one mile to the parking lot where we will meet at 7AM. (There are two vault toilets there, too.) From the parking lot, we plan to take the 3/4 mile boardwalk through the forested wetland and then walk less than a half mile to the area damaged by an August 2020 tornado from Hurricane Isaia. In recent years, this particular area hosted a wonderful variety of birds. For those who like to study beforehand, here are some links: Refuge map and brochure, Seasonal Observations Submitted to eBird and ebird hotspot data. April is a favorite month to visit because of the many birds that breed here - particularly warblers and both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos. Barred Owls can frequently be heard and sometimes seen at Washington Ditch.
The GDS provides critical habitat to about 200 species of birds, nearly 100 species of butterflies and skippers, many turtles, other reptiles and amphibians, white-tailed deer, otters and bobcats. It also hosts one of the largest black bear populations on the East Coast. Unlike Shenandoah's black bears, who have become habituated to humans, the GDS bears run away from us - often before we ever see them. The mission of the GDS is to protect and preserve the swamp's unique ecosystem and biodiversity. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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| Lapland Longspur- Fort Monroe. Photograph courtesy of David Clark |
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS YOU CAN USE.
Upcoming Menhaden Legislation
The Richmond Audubon, Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and other conservation organizations support HB1048,in the General Assembly which we believe will come up for consideration on February 9 in the Chesapeake subcommittee of the House Agriculture, Natural Resources Committee. HB1048 would impose a temporary moratorium on reduction menhaden fishing in the Bay until science can establish sustainable catch limits. The reports we are hearing, including 2025 breeding Osprey survey by the Center for Conservation Biology, indicate that the Osprey in the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay are in crisis. Indeed, the overall health of ecosystem appears threatened by menhaden industrial fishing, with implications for sports fishing, small scale crabbers, and landowners.
CHAS members can get involved by appearing at the subcommittee meeting to support HB1048, and/or contacting delegates on the Chesapeake subcommittee this week, such as by email, to express support for HB1048. The identities of subcommittee members and their emails are on the Legislative Information Services website.
