Moore To See Photo Expeditions

05/31/2024

We live in a world where we are told that everything is measurable. Quantifiable. Counted and graphed. Certainly, I might rate how I feel while watching the sun rise on a creek off of the North Landing River on a cool, spring morning while the birds sing to a chorus of frogs in the shadows of the cypress, but that number will never capture the peacefulness and rapture of the moment. You can’t measure the joy and wonder of rivers and new days. It’s intangible. Some sights and moments are beyond measure: exhilarating and beautiful, emotional and graceful. Sunrises need to be experienced. Mornings like this give you the sense that you have entered into another world - far from the sidewalk.
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05/30/2024

When I was a young boy - about 9 or 10 - my brother and I would walk along the creek near our home and cut down saplings. We would strip any branches and leaves off of them, sharpen one end with a dull knife and stick it firmly into the mud on the bank. On the other end of the newly created fishing pole we would tie a length of whatever pound test fishing line we could find and a hook. We were fishing for catfish, and since we did not have money to buy hot dogs, frogs were what we had access to for bait. Before deforesting the creek bank, we went frog hunting. We preferred frogs, but toads were not discarded since there was no way on earth my mother was ever going to donate any of the frozen packs of Oscar Meyers in the freezer to our worthy cause. Once we had a coffee can full of frogs, we would use a scrap piece of lumber as a cutting board and get to work makin’ bait.
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We used the same knife we cut the trees down with to filet the frogs, so it was more sawing than it was cutting. The frog parts were impaled on the hooks and tossed out into the water. We saved the frog eyes - they were good for catching bream with the cane poles that lay dumbfoundingly tangled in a corner of the garage. This is what boys do - they figure things out. We also figured out that if you do not space the poles far enough out from each other along the creek bank, that when you went to check your lines the next day the frog-filet eatin’ catfish would tangle your lines so spectacularly that you would have to go find more line and restring your poles. We also discovered that some of those catfish must have been monsters because they would pull the poles right out of the mud and drag them down the creek. Thankfully, there was no shortage of saplings.
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Today, I see frogs in the marsh along the North Landing River as bioindicators, not bait. The river is healthy and evidenced by the thousands upon thousands of frogs that inhabit the wetlands that surround the North Landing . Every once in a while though, I think about cutting down a sapling…
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05/29/2024

Native Americans once used it as a hunting camp. After the sound turned from salt to brackish, it was bought and a duck hunting club was established in the latter part of the 1800s. Wealthy businessmen once traveled great distances to stay at the hunt club and to hunt the waterfowl that inhabit the marshes and shallow sounds in winter and writers and artists visited as well. The Nature Conservancy owned it at one time, as did the county. Today, Monkey Island is part of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge and is an active wading bird rookery. The Audubon Society has designated Monkey Island as an Important Bird Area.
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Monkey Island is a treat to see, especially in the late spring and early summer when there are hundreds of wading birds nesting and displaying their magnificent breeding plumage.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

05/27/2024

05/22/2024

Fantastic tour with former Virginia Governor and Senator George Allen, Susan Allen, George Korte and Holly Korte. We travelled south down the North Landing River and cruised up the Northwest River and witnessed the undisturbed, beautiful wilderness of these two wonderful blackwater rivers.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

05/16/2024

I don’t consider myself a videographer whatsoever. I am more of a stills guy. But, I do take many videos while on the water.
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The far southeastern corner of Virginia Beach is an Environmental Wonderland.
Enjoy, and book your ecotour!
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Schedule your ecotour to explore this environmental wonderland.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

05/15/2024

Most creeks have names - it’s what we do. Some names may not appear on modern maps, but can often be found on older, historical maps and even on deeds from the past. And, of course, locals have their own names - some passed down for generations. The North Landing River has many smaller and larger creeks that drain the marshes, swamps and pocosins that fringe the river. Some are well known, like West Neck and Blackwater Creeks. Others are not, such as Drummonds Creek and Chelydra Stream. And then there are those that remain nameless and are referred to by location. One might say the “first creek north of Moore’s blind” and subsequently be called Moore’s Creek. Some have two names. Alton’s Creek is referred to as Albright’s Creek by many. I use Alton’s, it’s older. I often wonder who Alton was and how it became Albright.
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One of the greatest pleasures of living in the South - for me - is experiencing sunrise on a blackwater creek. Deep in the marsh, in a world older than ours, hidden by the tall grasses amongst the cypress knees, I encounter the first light with wild things and wilderness.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

05/07/2024

There are marsh islands down along the border of Virginia Beach and Currituck. Lots of them. There are marsh islands down along the border of Virginia Beach and Currituck. Lots of them. Some are named, some are not. Some are gone. Drifting through the channels and creeks that cut and twist among the islands, you are enclosed by a wall of grass and perfectly alone. The islands conceal shallow pools where ducks and swans feed on submerged grasses and hidden clusters of trees that have gained a foothold on slightly higher ground that provide a refuge for mammals.
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This world of shallow black water, marsh, eagles and otters is untravelled and unfamiliar to most. People are wary of the unknown and the unseen, expecting to get hopelessly trapped in the mud and ambushed by hordes of cottonmouths. But that is not the reality. This pristine, uninhabited wetland system is a retreat for birds and animals and Elysium for the environmental visitor.
Drifting through the channels and creeks that cut and twist among the islands, you are enclosed by a wall of grass and perfectly alone. The islands conceal shallow pools where ducks and swans feed on submerged grasses and hidden clusters of trees that have gained a foothold on slightly higher ground that provide a refuge for mammals.
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This world of shallow black water, marsh, eagles and otters is untravelled and unfamiliar to most. People are wary of the unknown and the unseen, expecting to get hopelessly trapped in the mud and ambushed by hordes of cottonmouths. But that is not the reality. This pristine, uninhabited wetland system is a retreat for birds and animals and Elysium for the environmental visitor.
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Schedule your ecotour to explore this environmental wonderland.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/29/2024

There are things that a man learns when he spends as much time as I do on a river. Most importantly, on the rivers, creeks and channels in southern Virginia Beach and northeastern North Carolina, is knowing whether the water is high or if it is low. If the wind has been blowing from the north, the river is falling, and if it has been blowing from the south for any length of time, the waters are high. Most anyone in this part of the country will know this. Along with this, is knowing that if you can get to a place or pass through a channel when the water is down, you most always can make it when the river is up.
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A man should know that if he is going to make it through a relatively shallow piece of water that he is familiar with, it is best to do it at full speed. Most would want to go slow, but that only increases your chances of spending your time cursing the thick, uncompromising mud and yourself for not bringing a shove pole. A man knows that in these waters, a shove pole is not to be forgotten at home and that it is a necessary, standard piece of equipment on any boat. By looking at the water, a man should know if it is choked with grass and where he can navigate through it. A man should also know where the deepest water is in a creek - even without electronics. Electronics fail. And motors fail, so a man should know how to work on and maintain a boat motor.
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When you come across fishermen working a bank or drifting, a man should know to slow down and not throw a wake at them. He should also know when it is duck season and give any blind - floating, shore or deep-water - a wide berth and remember that they have guns! A man should know the difference between a muskrat, beaver, otter and a nutria in the water, and the difference between a water snake and moccasin. A man should also be able to read the skies and know whether it is time to keep going or to leave.
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With time, this man has learned where some of the best places are to watch the sunrise on the North Landing.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/26/2024

The marshlands on the North Landing River, Back Bay and Currituck Sound are enchanting - “a place easier to feel than to realize, or in any way explain.” I escape to this world of watery grasslands and slip away amongst the tall, brilliant green grasses as they rustle sweetly and sway gently in the summer breeze. The marsh grasses border every lagoon, creek and channel that snake their way through the marsh in every direction. On the islands, majestic live oaks stand as they always have, Spanish moss clinging to the massive limbs, concealing the cool, sandy interior. These wetlands are a care-killing kind of scenery - a place of great silences and juniper water. Sometimes, you may feel the eyes of the ancients peering through the reeds, or perhaps it’s just the wild horses feeding in the marsh.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/25/2024

A ferry. At Pungo Ferry. Well, this is Pungo and that is a ferry, but it’s not the Pungo Ferry ferry. Today, there is no ferry that carries passengers across the North Landing River from Pungo to Blackwater and back. The Pungo Ferry Bridge has replaced the ferry, but kept the name. How often do you see the words ferry and bridge in the same name?
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The high rise bridge that spans the river today was completed in 1991 and replaced the old steel turnstile bridge that used to connect the two banks of the river starting in 1928. Prior to that, a ferry shuttled people, vehicles and horses across the river. Throughout history there have been two other wooden drawbridges at Pungo Ferry - one was destroyed by a barge and the other vanished into history.
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The North Landing River is part of the Intracoastal Waterway and the ferry was traveling north.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/23/2024

If you have been considering an ecotour with me to Monkey Island, it’s time to think about scheduling a date. May and June are the absolute best months to visit the rookery. The great egrets are arriving and starting to pair up, build their nests and dance their mating dance. The image in this post was taken the week of April 15 and as you can see, the prime spots in the trees are filling up. Soon, the snowy and cattle egrets will arrive along with the little blue herons, ibis, and tri-colored herons.
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Monkey Island is a wading bird island rookery in Currituck Sound and classified as an Important Bird Area by the Audobon Society. The island itself is very small and quickly eroding. Every year the waves attack the island from every direction, washing the sand into the sound. There are palmettos growing in the water on the southern end of the island that were on shore only two years ago. Being an island, it is only accessible by boat and I am the only captain who takes people to view this spectacular rookery!
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A trip to Monkey Island is a three hour tour. If the Currituck Sound is quiet, it takes approximately 45 minutes to reach the island. We spend about an hour and half at the rookery before we begin the return trip. A tour to Monkey Island is something you simply must allow yourself to indulge.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/17/2024

Here in southern Virginia Beach and northeastern North Carolina, many species of plants and animals reach their northern limit. One of them is a small palm tree - the Sabal minor - also called the dwarf or swamp palmetto. There are other names, Carolina palmetto and swamp cabbage come to mind. The dwarf palmetto prefers wet soil and tolerates moderate levels of salt, both of which are the exact conditions that are found in the border region of Virginia Beach and Currituck.
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The dwarf palmetto can be found hugging the coast from Florida to North Carolina. According to Google, the northernmost known location of this plant is Monkey Island in Currituck Sound. Well, Google did not ask me or any of the locals in the area. The two palms in this image are several miles north of Monkey Island on a marsh island just south of the Virginia border. I have it in my mind that I have seen at least one in Back Bay, but I can’t remember on which island I saw it. I suppose I will have to make another trip soon.
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Oh, and there are wild horses among the palmettos.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/10/2024

There are many songs that celebrate the South. “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Seven Bridges Road”, and “Carolina in My Mind” present themselves almost universally. These first two sentences are bound to get many people tapping away on their keyboards, but a list of songs is not the point here. Southerners love the South. We identify with it. It’s a way of life. I’m not sure that northerners or northeasterners ‘feel’ northern or northeastern. Some may identify with a city, like New York, for example, or a state, but Southerners ‘feel’ Southern. Of course, it’s changing, in some places - mostly the big cities. I guess the draw of sweet tea, big front porches, old hunting dogs and no snow is too strong to resist.
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The south has its own feeling, doesn’t it? “All the sweetest winds, they blow across the south.” And it’s true. Verifiable. I verify it each time I take my boat out and drift among the marsh islands along the border of Virginia and North Carolina. I creep carelessly along, the boat barely moving through the black water as the marsh grasses bend gently and the moss sways in the oaks. The past whispers through the tall reeds and the wildflowers are made more brilliant against the dark, tannin stained water. The air is thick with the earthy smell of the marsh and just a hint of salt. Somehow, the only way to be is barefoot. This is my South, without a care and away from the hellfire of the modern material world.
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“Softly in the distance, nothin' stirs about,” and “there is moonlight and moss in the trees.”
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

04/03/2024

There are wild horses in the marsh. For centuries, they have inhabited the maritime forests and marsh islands along the border of Virginia and North Carolina.
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Encountering the horses among the islands is never assured. There are miles and miles of creeks that wind and cut through the marshlands, but most are too shallow or choked with submerged, prop-fouling grasses for a V hulled boat, but I tend to push the limits. In the end, I always have my shove pole and waders. The horses seem to prefer to graze along the edges of the islands, moving slowly with a marsh mentality, testing each step on the spongy islands. Sometimes, I hear them before I see them, their bodies hidden in the grasses and shrubs. And if I am lucky, they swim the channels between the islands.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

03/25/2024

The raw, bone chilling winds that race across the lagoons and drowned river mouths of southern Virginia Beach in winter are giving way to more gentle, warmer southerly breezes. Signs of spring are beginning to surface along the creeks, hinting at the miles of vivid green grasses that will soon emerge from the soft, dark mud. Unending numbers of flowers in every color prepare to reappear as the days get longer and the migrating birds return to the feast the marshlands offer.
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Shallow draft boats, shove poles and chest waders are preferred to explore this shallow, unique world of dunes, islands, sinuous creeks and marsh. In the shade of imposing live oaks draped in curtains of Spanish moss, the borderlands of Virginia and North Carolina still keep secrets and make for the perfect place to drift lazily on an early spring day.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

02/28/2024

It’s late February and the osprey pair has returned to their nest at my place of work. Each year they seem to return a little earlier than the last, perhaps a sign of the warming trend we are experiencing. Tundra swans and snow geese are still resting and feeding in the Back Bay and Currituck marshlands, but the great flocks will soon return north to the arctic along with other northern migratory species. As the earth continues to wobble and tilt and allow more direct sun to warm our hemisphere, the great migrations will begin. The osprey are one of the first bird species to arrive in our area from as far as South America, but they will soon be followed by legions of other birds seeking to nest and mate in the lush wetlands in southern Virginia Beach and the nearby Carolina marshes.
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There is an island rookery not far from the mouth of the North Landing River. Soon, hundreds of pairs of wading birds will build their nests among the trees and bushes of this diminutive, isolated island. Far from predators and near to wetlands teeming with fish, the island is a haven for these long-legged birds and their chicks. Due to the small size of the island and the number of wading birds, it is common to take pictures of several species at once, and because of its isolation, human visitors are infrequent. It is quite an experience to float along on a gentle summer day with a gentle breeze and a hint of salt in the air as over a thousand wading birds prepare and care for their young.
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May and June are the best months for experiencing and photographing nesting and feeding behavior on the island. If you have been considering booking a tour to the island, book early!
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

02/21/2024

In January and February I conducted 10 ecotours on the North Landing River in cooperation with the Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation as part of the 2024 Virginia Beach Winter Wildlife Festival. The goal of my tours was to help my participants discover the history, beauty and magic of this picturesque Virginia Scenic River. Of course, being that it was a wildlife festival, we searched for the wildlife that winters over and migrates to the region.
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Eagles are the main attraction during the colder months and we found them in the tall cypress and pine trees along the river. We also encountered other birds such as hawks, kingfishers, large flocks of tree sparrows, and smaller flocks of swans and even some white pelicans, a rare site.
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On one tour, we came across a different kind of bird, a US Army Chinook. The ‘workhorse of the Army’ flew low above the water, following every bend of the river; a training flight, I assume. If you look up the names of army helicopters you will find that all of the names are all related to American Indians - Chinook, Apache, Blackhawk - at least since 1967.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

02/07/2024

The weather segment on the local news the last few days has been dominated by the strong, persistent winds from the north and the potential for high tides and flooding. That is true, but not for all of Virginia Beach. In fact, about two thirds of VB will experience the opposite - low water. Back Bay, the North Landing River, and the VB portion of the Northwest River are all affected by wind tides. Basically, north wind, water level drops. South wind, water level rises. In fact, the lunar tides (two highs and two lows a day) are measured in millimeters and are negligle. The people who live in the area know this.
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On all of my tours, we always discuss the wind and the affect it has on water levels in southern Virginia Beach. The graph shows the water level on the North Landing River at Pungo Ferry. The wind has been from a northerly direction starting on Feb. 5 at ca. 4 a.m. Since then, the water level has dropped nearly two feet - all due to wind.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

01/17/2024

Thousands of acres of marshlands and forested swamp surround the North Landing River. These wetlands are a refuge for a huge variety of birds and mammals that inhabit southeastern Virginia. Deer, racoons, bobcats, river otters, bear, muskrats, bats, beavers and minks can all be found in these rich, wet habitats. This video shows an American Mink foraging on an active beaver lodge in a swamp that drains into the North Landing River.
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Virginia Beach swamp.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

12/18/2023

Swamps are places unspoiled by the sounds of people and civilization. Human sounds are absent from these shadowy woodlands, as are the humans. Swamps are dark, chaotic forests, the ground covered in black water where the noises are different, more ancient. It is the pounding of a woodpecker echoing through the tall cypress trees and an unseen splash in the dark, murky water somewhere amongst the trees. It is the whistle of wood duck wings and the heavy beating of vultures overhead. There are terrifying shrieks from deep within the swamp and the crash of a decaying tree that has finally submitted. There are terrible screams that cut through the silence and the sounds of large animals moving slowly through the water, both of which heighten your senses. There are warning calls from birds and squirrels and otters, and if he sees you first, the slap of a beaver tail on the water that sounds as though someone threw a cinder block into the dark water.
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Virginia Beach swamp.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

12/13/2023

The swamps and marshes of southern Virginia Beach are home to many species of semiaquatic mammals. River otters and muskrats are the most frequently seen, but there is no shortage of mink and beavers in the region. Seeing a beaver is not as common as seeing a muskrat or otter, unless you happen to know where a lodge is located. Firstly, they are nocturnal and crepuscular. The ideal time of day to have the best chance to see beavers - or any of the mammals that inhabit the wetlands that surround and protect the North Landing River, for that matter - is early morning. Sure, you may happen upon one when the sun is high, but your chances are better on the edges of daylight. Secondly, at least here in the southeastern corner of Virginia, beavers live in swamps. Most people do not spend the amount of time that I do in this mysterious world of twisted and tangled branches, black water and soft, muddy ground. There are secrets in these swamps, and one is that they hold beavers.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

12/08/2023

I have used a lot of my dawns on the North Landing. It’s hard to explain the mood of the river in the early morning fog. It’s a tranquil, poetic world of silence. Serene. The river and the wetlands have yet to wake, the mist flowing between every blade of grass and shrouding the distant trees in a dreamy haze. Time is still. Thoughts don’t come. For a few moments, it just is.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

12/07/2023

One of my images from the North Landing River won the Landscape category for the LRNow 2023 Photo Contest. Thank you, LRNow!

11/24/2023

If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for that person in your life that is a nature lover or loves the wild, natural parts of southern Virginia Beach, my coffee-table book "Where the Sawgrass Ends" is still available.

The North Landing River is a dedicated Virginia Scenic River. It flows south through Virginia Beach, draining the wetlands that dominate the southern portions of the resort city, and opens to the Currituck Sound just over the border in North Carolina. The southern part of the city is rural and wet -...

11/23/2023

The bird that receives most of the attention by the majority of people in November is the turkey, at least for one day. But there is an entire culture in southern Virginia Beach dedicated to the pursuit of birds that are found on the water rather than in the fields and the forests.
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The North Landing River and Back Bay are surrounded by tens of thousands of acres of wetlands which attract geese, swans and ducks. In turn, the birds bring in the duck hunters with their boats, decoys, duck calls and water dogs. Most hunters hunt from their boats on the river, but there are still a few shore blinds tucked back in the creeks. You may not hear the sound of shotguns on an early November morning on the North Landing, but you may smell bacon cooking on a propane stove.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

11/16/2023

It was a quiet, moonless morning. The sun was not yet up and the river was concealed in a thick blanket of fog, but I know this river and all the creeks that weave through the marshes and swamps. I made my way up the North Landing and into a creek as far as I could go in a boat - even with a shove pole - cut the engine, sat down and waited. As the faintest hint of the coming day began to glow above the cypresses in the east, the muskrats began to swim along the banks. Muskrats always seem to wake first. Somewhere in the wooded wetlands behind me, I heard the timid footsteps of a mammal as it made its way across the soggy bottom. As it got lighter, wood ducks flew from the trees and landed on the glassy water, just out of sight. The hammering of a woodpecker echoed through the forest. The sounds of a river awakening.
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As the sun steadily rose, the fog began to recede into the marsh and the entire scene was bathed in a mist of gold. For just a moment everything was hushed and still on the river.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com

11/14/2023

I got up just before sunrise, put on my chest waders and camouflage jacket and hat, grabbed the camera, a folding stool, a backpack with a couple of bottles of water, and my ten foot extendable boat hook. Everything was laid out and ready, so I was on my way to a nearby swamp here in southern Virginia Beach in minutes. Yeah, I carry a boat hook with me - into a swamp. An extendable boat hook - and that’s important. I’ll explain that some other time!
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I never know what I am going to see when I go wading in a swamp. I have an idea of what I will see, or perhaps it would be more honest to say that I know what I hope I will see, but some days are better than others. Encountering beavers, wood ducks, and river otters are close to a given, but nothing is really a given in a swamp. Except the mud. And the thorns. And the occasional outburst of profanity at the mud. And the thorns.
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I walked for thirty or more minutes into the dark, forested swamp to a spot where two creeks converge. The odds of seeing wildlife is usually higher near edges and intersections - ask any hunter. I go into these swamps to experience a truly wild place and to take pictures, hopefully pictures of something unforgettably unique. I have these outrageous ideas in my head of incredible wildlife encounters and this swamp is the perfect setting. We’ll see if anything I dream of happens - I have a couple of decades left in me.
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I placed my stool in a clump of trees on the bank to conceal myself as much as possible at this watery crossroads. Directly in front of me was the other creek, an artery of dark water draining out of an even darker swamp. I sat on my stool for three hours, constantly scanning the bank to my left and to my right and the shadowy forest in front of me. Occasionally I turned and looked behind me at the sound of leaves rustling - squirrels. I looked at my watch. I told myself I would stay another fifteen minutes - I had things to do. Soon after, I heard a splash come from the dark swamp in front of me. Seconds later I saw a tail. Then another. And another. Seven river otters emerged from behind the cypress knees and swam straight towards me, turned to my left down the main creek and crawled onto the opposite bank and played and groomed at the water's edge. One of the otters seemed to be on alert staring into the woods. The otters left quickly, too quickly for me. A minute or so later a raccoon came out of the woods just where the otters had been, walked down the bank and crossed the creek on a tree laying across the water. One little ring-tailed bandit chased off seven otters. Now what do I do. I suppose I will have to come back and do it again.
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Call, message, or email for details or inquiries about Ecotours • 757.401.2583 • [email protected] • mooretosee.com