THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512190124
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
A special holiday gift down on Back Bay and Currituck Sound awaits waterfowl lovers this season.
Coots were rafting up in huge numbers off the Knotts Island Causeway last week, a sight for bird lovers and hunters alike.
And that's not all. Underwater grasses that many waterfowl eat are making a comeback in the bay and sound, and all sorts of waterfowl - swans, geese and ducks - are returning to the area to feast in greater numbers than folks have seen in years.
Hunters are especially glad to see the coots, which are fondly called ``Knotts Island chicken'' by some because they are so good to eat. Blue Peter is another local nickname for the tasty coot, and Blue Pete's restaurant down in Pungo takes its name from the popular coot.
Coots are actually not ducks at all. They are in the rail family that also include grebes, another duck-like creature that was swimming around out on the bay that day. Although coots and grebes are good swimmers, unlike ducks, their feet are only partially webbed.
On the water, coots are handsome creatures, their distinctive ivory colored bills stand out against their slate gray feathers. On land, they don't seem so pretty because of their rotund chicken-like bodies.
The other day, the coots were stretched out on the open water along the causeway. Their relatives, the grebes, were out in force, too, and gadwalls, canvasbacks and other species also were milling around.
Off in the distance, graceful tundra swan swam placidly in the calm waters. Although I didn't see any that day, snow geese already have been reported grouping up on the marsh side of the causeway, where they root around in the mud for the tasty marsh grass tubers.
It was a sight I can't recall seeing ever before. A drive down to Knotts Island over the holidays to see what you can see would be well worth it.
A stop for lunch at the new K.I. Cafe is a perfect way to break the trip. Owned by Dave Dennis, who also owns the Knotts Island Market next door, the cafe is just about the only real restaurant Knotts Island has ever had.
It serves big portions of food that will warm you up on a winter day, soup like spicy crab or hearty potato. You also can fill up on barbecue and other traditional sandwiches or eat a ``real'' lunch of something like broiled chicken. The cafe serves meals 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and for the early morning birder, it starts serving at 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and continues until 10 p.m. K.I. Cafe is closed Monday and Tuesday.
You reach Knotts Island by driving straight down Princess Anne Road and across the North Carolina line. The causeway goes through Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge. The impoundments areas at Mackay Island, which are managed for waterfowl, are closed for the season.
If you go during the week, however, you might visit the refuge office. You'll find the entrance on the right just before the causeway begins. Wheat fields have been planted there for snow geese, and a small impoundment is nearby, where the big white geese often feed as well. The refuge is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
TO MAKE A REAL DAY OF IT, stop by Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the way home. Waterfowl are in such abundance this year that even though its refuge impoundments also are closed to the public now, the cove right off the visitor center is full of ducks, said Joe McCauley, assistant refuge manager. Like some other parts of the bay, the cove is full of grass, too.
``You can just get out of your car and see gadwall, coots, grebes and swans,'' McCauley said. ``And we have deck mounted binoculars at the visitor center.''
P.S. OLD MAN WINTER arrives Friday, the shortest day of the year.
FOODWAYS: HARVESTING THE PAST at 2 p.m. Saturday is a special 30-minute tour at historic Adam Thoroughgood House that shows how settlers in the 17th century prepared their meals using foods they grew themselves. Admission is $2. Call 664-6283 for reservations. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
A raft of coots, also known as Knotts Island chickens, glides along
Currituck Sound.
by CNB