THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409200034
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Day Tripping
SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CAPE CHARLES LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
GLOSSY IBIS (uncommon). American black ducks (common). Cattle egrets (common). Brown pelican (common). Small toad (?).
Armed only with binoculars and spotting scopes, we bagged all these creatures within an hour at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. We didn't even get our feet wet.
It's just a matter of being there at the right time. And fall is the perfect time to observe the migration of shorebirds, songbirds and raptors along the Atlantic Flyway, the route they take from summer breeding grounds as far north as the Arctic to tropical and subtropical winter grounds. Fortunately for Hampton Roads residents, that route crosses directly over a state park, a national wildlife refuge and the man-made islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
With binoculars and field guide in hand, we made a day of it.
For starters, the bridge-tunnel is fun by itself. At the toll booth, a free drink (soft drink, coffee or tea) coupon is handed to you along with a receipt for the $10 one-way toll. You can redeem the coupon at Thimble Shoal island, about 3 miles out in the Bay.
A big map of the bridge-tunnel is painted on the outside wall of the restaurant, along with all sorts of interesting bridge-tunnel trivia (17.6 miles long; opened April 15, 1964; tunnel dips 90 feet down).
Linger for only a few minutes and you'll probably get a close view of a ship crossing the tunnel as it heads for port. Want a geography lesson, too? Point out to the kids that they can see the shorelines of Virginia Beach and Hampton AT THE SAME TIME.
This island is, however, the least interesting for bird-watching.
Birding gets better as you go north. As we crossed Fisherman Island at the north end of the bridge-tunnel, we saw flocks of pelicans skimming the waves, herons and egrets in the marsh, shorebirds dipping their thin toes in the waves. Unfortunately, that was as close as we got.
Fisherman Island, and the other tunnel islands, are closed to the public unless you get special permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or tunnel authorities. We glimpsed five people standing on the tunnel island, binoculars pressed to their eyes, as we whizzed by on the highway.
Just at the end of the bridge is the entrance to Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. The visitors center is great. Kids (and adults) will be enthralled by the touch-table quiz. It's fun to guess what those sun-bleached items really are, and even better when you notice the sign above them: ``Please touch.''
A pelican bill, a dolphin skull, a whale vertebra, a drum fish throat bone and more biological oddities entertained the kids for 30 minutes - and drew them back twice more. On the far side of the room was another big hit - a picture window overlooking a salt pond, with spotting scope and binoculars provided. Refuge workers also hand out lists of bird species that may be seen there, noting whether they are abundant, common, uncommon, occasional visitors or rare.
For a small center, it packed in information about various habitats, the Eastern Shore way of life, duck hunting and the dangers of pollution. A short movie in Spanish, Japanese, French or English was complemented by displays of duck decoys and stuffed wildlife.
A civilized walking trail leads through maritime forest, where we saw the toad, to a shaded overlook on the salt marsh, where the binoculars came in handy for counting snails on the grass below (there must have been thousands of them.). A second overlook is perched on top of the bunker of now-defunct Fort John Custis, which defended the Bay during World War II. From there, you can see the barrier islands and the Smith Island Lighthouse.
The maritime forest was useful for pointing out to the kids such things as wild grapes (they don't grow in plastic bags), walnuts (they're just green on the outside) and sumac (when I was your age, I smashed these berries and made ink).
Kiptopeke State Park is just across the highway from the refuge, and both locations will host the second annual Eastern Shore Birding Festival on Oct. 8 and 9. Birding tours and workshops are scheduled all along the Eastern Shore, and locations that are normally off-limits to the public (like the bird banding station and Fisherman Island) will be open for tours that weekend.
Seafood restaurants are scattered here and there along the main highway, but you'll have to drive about 22 miles to find a McDonald's or Burger King. Picnic tables are plentiful, however, in shaded roadside parks on both sides of the road. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Diane Tennant
Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge
Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife
At north end of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Open during daylight hours.
Toll from Hampton Roads is $20 for round trip.
Picnic tables plentiful along highway, scattered seafood
restaurants.
For information and registration for the Eastern Shore Birding
Festival, Oct. 8 and 9, call 804-787-2758.
For tours of Fisherman Island, call the refuge at 331-2760.
by CNB