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Monday morning, I drove to Tidewater to do a little geneology research in Norfolk and Chesapeake. Spent the night at the Best Western on Atlantic Ave in Virginia Beach, on the 7th floor with a balcony facing the ocean. Today, I visited the Norfolk Botanical Gardens (called the Azalea Gardens by the locals and Cindy, who used to be a local)

Here are some pics from today.


Okay, technically not a bird pic. This guy blew by me as I was doing 10 miles over the speed limit on I-64 (along with everyone else) so you can imagine how fast I had to drive to get this picture. (And what with me being barely half way through my 90 day probation--I CAN"T GET ANOTHER TICKET!! or else my last ticket comes back!!!) I had to swerve like a madman to make my exit to the botanical gardens!!!

Sorry about the quality, it was the best I could do. Virginia specialty plate--state bird and flower [(since discontinued) Cardinal and Dogwood] See if you can make it out.

Continuing on with our theme of "not so great pics"

This is a first for me. I'm pretty sure it was a Double-crested Cormorant alongside the entrance to the botanical gardens. I got another pic more in focus, but I cut the upraised beak off. Here, I had just been informed, "There's a car behind you"!! That comment didn't exactly help my concentration!!

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!
"Guidelines for Eagle Nests According to the VDGIF (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries)
Primary Management zone – This is defined as the area 750 feet (229 meters) in radius around an occupied nest. The precise size of this zone should depend on site conditions and the individual eagles’ tolerance for human activity."
So that's a 1500 ft. wide protected zone around Eagle nests which explains why this pic was taken from about 800 feet away!

Bald Eaglets!!

One more pic. One of the parents was hanging out just below the nest.

Obscured by branches, of course!!!