Recently, I received a guilt-free pass from the Princess (wife) to go connect with nature. Yeah, it’s kind of funny since we live on a farm and I’m connecting with nature all the time anyway. I took the cue and headed for the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Birding Eastern Shore is a great website to plan a trip there.

The drive from Churchville, Virginia, to the western entrance of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel took three and half hours. That’s when the birding begins when you take this trip. Thirty years ago, I drove across this bridge during the winter on my way to Chincoteague. I remember there was a Great Black-Backed Gull on almost every light post.

Imagine the largest seagull in the world (30 inches long) perched on each light pole every hundred yards for 17 miles. That left me with quite an impression. This trip, I saw only one.

Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge

Once across the bridge, the first nature connection I chose was the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge. It used to be a military fort with huge guns to protect the coast from enemy invasion during World War II. Today, it’s a wildlife haven. I like going to the boat ramp to bird. An Eared Grebe! And Buffleheads! Yellow-Rumped Warblers were everywhere especially in the Wax Myrtle bushes.

Kiptopeke State Park

Kiptopeke State Park was the next connection. Stopping in the office parking lot, I found Red-Breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees, Juncos, and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. On to the boat ramp.

This is such an awesome place. Several hundred yards out in the Bay are nine concrete ships from the World War II era that were partially sunk to protect the former ferry terminal from storm surges. I remember well riding the ferry from Norfolk to Kiptopeke as a child. My parents wanted me and my siblings to experience it before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel opened in 1964. The area is now a state park, and the concrete ships provide excellent habitats for all kinds of wildlife. I gazed out with my binoculars. Perhaps a thousand Double-Breasted Cormorants perched on the ships, along with Brown Pelicans and several kinds of seagulls.

Farther out, I saw Northern Gannets diving into the Bay.

Continuing north on Highway 13, I stopped at the award-winning Sting-Rays restaurant for lunch. I’ll have a crab cake sandwich, please.

Edward S. Brinkley Nature Preserve

The next stop is the Edward (Ned) S. Brinkley Nature Preserve. There is a blind overlooking a pond, and great trails wind through native meadows and Loblolly Pines. There’s also a boardwalk to the ocean. Ned Brinkley was only 55 when he died unexpectedly in 2020. He was a fierce champion for the environment. I met him when he accompanied the ornithologist Brooke Meanley on a visit to an Augusta County wetland near me to help confirm the presence of Virginia Rails there.

On to Chincoteague Island. I checked in to the Island Motor Inn. The hostess asked me what time I would like breakfast—anytime between 7 and 10 am. It was a surprise to me that they even offered it.

“Thanks for asking,” I said. “How about 7 am?”

“I’ll let them know,” she replied.

All the rooms at the inn have balconies overlooking the Chincoteague Bay. Mine was on the second floor, which offered a good vantage point to see waterfowl.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

After getting settled, it was off to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge to drive the Wildlife Loop around Snow Goose Pool.

I was hoping to see Snow Geese. Thirty years ago, I witnessed tens of thousands of them gathering on this body of water in late November. As it gets cold up north, they migrate south, and for decades this was the place to see them. On that day, I didn’t see a single one. Seems it’s still too warm up north in January now because of climate change. I was delighted to see Buffleheads, Tundra Swans, Black Ducks, White Ibises, and Pintails. I left just at dusk and returned to the inn to prepare for dinner.

Bill’s Prime is my favorite restaurant on the island. And it’s one of the only places open during the off season. It’s a white tablecloth establishment with great food and service. That night, I had their stuffed flounder with scallops, shrimp, and crab. All local.

The next morning, I walked into the Island Motor Inn’s cafe. A short elderly lady in a full-length winter coat briskly marched up to me.

“You!” she said, pointing a finger at me. “You are the only customer I have. The only one! And I’m not going to do aaaalllll this, for just for one person.” Her arm sweeping slowly around to all the serving tables with empty stainless steel vessels, platters, and waffle irons. “This is my off season,” she said.

Oh my, I had no idea I was the only person in the inn. But thought to myself, I wonder who kicked her cat this morning. The hostess could have just asked me what I wanted for breakfast when I checked in.

Trying to defuse the moment, I calmly said, “This is really good coffee.”

“I always have good coffee,” she grumbled. “I’ll bring you some scrambled eggs.”

The eggs weren’t that good, and I ate only half of them. I cleaned off my table, making sure I didn’t leave a single crumb, left a tip, and walked out.

“Have a nice day!” she shouted from her truck parked behind the building.

“Thanks. You too,” I said, thinking how comical the whole encounter was.

Bike and Bird

Now it was time to head to the refuge and bike or walk every trail. Cars are not allowed on the Wildlife Loop around Snow Goose Pool until after 3 pm, so I parked mine, unloaded my bike, and started on the loop. There wasn’t a soul here. Birding on a bike is so efficient. You simply pedal as fast as you want until you hear a bird singing.

In a Loblolly Pine thicket, I could hear the rubber-ducky-squeaky sound of the elusive Brown-Headed Nuthatch. I stopped pedaling and located a number of the three-and half-inch birds flitting around. They were joined by Red-Breasted Nuthatches, Chickadees, Juncos, and of course Yellow-Rumped Warblers.

As I focused on the sounds of the birds, I could also hear ocean waves crashing on the shore in the distance.

Assateague National Seashore

After biking the Wildlife Loop, I put my bike back on the car and drove out to Assateague National Seashore. On the way, I stopped at a pullout and with binoculars scanned the horizon looking south. I saw the cloud—the unmistakable cloud—of several hundred flying Snow Geese.

To my delight, there they were, just not on Snow Goose Pool. On the sandbar on the south end of Tom’s Cove, there are perhaps a thousand Snow Geese. Sadly, not the tens of thousands I witnessed three decades ago.

The Lighthouse Trail brought another surprise: a Hermit Thrush.

After I biked or hiked every trail, it was time to return to the inn and prep for Bill’s Prime. Tonight, I’ll have the scallops scampi.

The next morning, I began the trek back to Churchville. Traveling south on Route 13, my last stop before the bridge is Kiptopeke State Park (again). I saw no new birds, but it was just wonderful looking out into the Bay, a last hurrah, if you will.

Lynnhaven River

Once across the bridge, I turned left onto Shore Drive, crossed the Lynnhaven Bridge, and drove into the parking lot in front of the Shellfish Company, thinking I’d buy some raw oysters and pack them in a cooler for the Princess.

The Lynnhaven River was once closed to oystering and fishing because the water was so polluted. Thanks to environmental activism; strong partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies; and the nonprofit Lynnhaven River Now, the river has come back to life and the Lynnhaven oyster is on the menu at many restaurants, including Blu Point in Staunton, Virginia.

And why not get a beer at the Back Deck Bar and Café and reflect on the trip? I gazed out across the river and saw the wind turbines spinning at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center. It’s one of the greenest buildings on the planet, having received LEED platinum designation and full certification as a Living Building. The facility generates its own electricity, collects and treats all its water, and has composting toilets.

This is the direction the United States needs to be going—renewable energy, sustainable living. Thank you, Chesapeake Bay Foundation for leading the way. One great example of how partners are working together solve environmental problems such as a dead river and black lung disease from mining coal.

The Eastern Shore offered an amazing getaway to connect with nature and allowed me to escape, if only for a few days, from everyday chaos unfolding in America.

Note: This was written by a real person: me. There are no paywalls, popups, surveys, or AI. All photos by me unless otherwise noted.