Seaside Ecotours

07/28/2023

Thanks to all of you who make my office the best a girl could have 😊🌞🐬🐚

07/28/2023

Scenes from the office: Seaside sunset from wachapreague inlet

04/23/2023

Wilson's Plover on Cedar Island

02/21/2023

Black-Headed Gull (Subadult / first winter) at Queen's Sound Landing on Saturday. A lifer for me 🍦

02/15/2023

American Oystercatchers celebrating Valentine's Day!

We saw lots of pairs on nesting territories today getting ready for the upcoming nesting season. Three banded birds were in the exact same nesting territory as in previous years.
Virginia uses black bands - this bird, M6, was banded by Ruth Boettcher of DWR in 2008 in this area so it's at least 15 years old.

07/11/2022

Southwest suburbs of Locustville this evening!

07/10/2022

American Oystercatcher family photos - Cedar Island 7/7/22

05/11/2022

Whimbrels on the edge of Wachapreague Channel near town (last week...).

04/25/2021

Ed Holland did a beautiful job with this video. I first met Ed in the early ‘70’s while vacationing with mutual family friends out at the Metompkin Inlet Coast Guard Station - It was such a pleasure to take him back out there a couple of weeks ago for this filming and photography trip!
(To see more of Ed’s videos check out his YouTube channel: Cloudstreet Journeys)

https://youtu.be/jsm-Vo87FZI

Recently, I visited Cedar Island on the barrier islands of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. A HUGE hat's off award to Meriwether Payne of Seaside Ecotours. ...

04/14/2021

Some of the cool wildlife we saw out of Wachapreague this past week. So many shorebirds arriving and a nice collection of our winter birds such as Loons, Brant, Bufflehead, Surf Scoters, & even Scaup still around. And lots of Bald Eagles...

While I love every day out on the water, the next 6 weeks are truly special for migrating shorebirds & our arriving summer nesters!
Give me a call/text/email if you want to arrange a trip - Capt. Meriwether

(757) 710-2454 [email protected]

03/11/2021

A beautiful day on the water for my customers, the seals & me☀️

03/08/2021

Took a nice couple out seal hunting yesterday afternoon. Met with success right before sunset!

02/27/2021

I was fortunate to catch this nice sequence of an American Oystercatcher on a successful hunt coming up with an oyster in the last pic.
2/25 in Burton's Bay.

02/27/2021

Spent a nice couple of days on the water and just had to take a few pics!

12/11/2020

Lucky to spend most of the this beautiful day on the water - a few pics from the golden hour. This pair of Peregrine Falcons were very cooperative.

11/30/2020

On the water out of Wachapreague today with good friends.

11/29/2020

I took a road trip up to Chincoteague NWR this afternoon with hopes of seeing the special Couch's Kingbird and any winter waterfowl that might be here. I enjoyed meeting some kind & helpful fellow birders!

11/22/2020

A Common Loon silhouetted in the post-sunset glow near Wachapreague Inlet - a nice end to a memorable day on the water.

10/25/2020

Lucky to see this American Avocet 5 hours apart in 2 different spots today and share it with two different groups.

08/15/2020

Thrilled to be a runner-up! 😊

The 2020 Local's Choice Best Ecotour winners are as follows.

First Place: Tangier Onancock Ferry
Runners Up: Seaside Ecotours and Eastern Shore Adventures

Congratulations!

08/13/2020

Thanks Ted Shockley for this nice article!

The August 2020 edition of Eastern Shore First is online — it's our 40th monthly edition as we spend our fourth year shining a positive light on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Read for free by clicking here: https://issuu.com/easternshorefirst/docs/auguploadthis

07/24/2020

Assateague Island National Seashore

Many have asked “Why are greenheads just so nasty?” and today we are going to answer that. Greenhead flies live in and around the marsh their entire life. Eggs are laid on salt marsh grass and the larva will hatch and either be washed off or crawl down the grass. As larva they will spend over a year buried in the marsh until they pupate. Then as adults, both males and females will feed on nectar and other similar substances. The female then lays her first batch of eggs, and by a batch we mean 100-200 eggs at a time. All this time and still no bloodshed – yet. This female greenhead has just laid up to 200 eggs, is now famished and feeling quite aggressive. After 200 kids in one moment I am sure anyone would be pretty irritable! Now she is out for blood.

Now remember, she was just successful in laying a batch of eggs on a strict diet of nectar, but now she is on the hunt for blood she didn’t even need just because she is feeling aggressive. Nasty? That’s an understatement!

Flying the edge of the marsh she is seeking a large mammal with plenty of blood to spare and a horse or a human will do nicely. She knows that she will only be living 3-4 weeks more and would like to ensure her bloodline continues to grow by laying more eggs. Blood will serve as the protein source to help nourish the new batch of eggs.

Being that greenheads and mosquitoes are in the same order of insect (Diptera) and hunt the same way, you would think the bite would be very similar, so why does the greenhead bite hurt so much compared to that of a mosquito? Mosquitoes will suck blood from a single capillary in a manner such as a syringe when you donate blood. Greenheads on the other hand are a bit larger and bite differently. She will probe the surface area to find a place packed with multiple capillaries to feed from a large pool. Then she will use her scissor-like mouth parts to bite and begin sucking blood. As she continues to draw your blood, other mouth parts begin to work her deeper and deeper into your skin and this is when we really start to swat her away. Just like the mosquito, the greenhead injects an anticoagulant to keep the blood from clotting, and the pain you feel is your body responding to the foreign substance entering the body.

While DEET may help with mosquitoes, greenheads are much more immune to it being the large powerhouse of a horsefly. Check the wind before your visit to Assateague as a western wind will blow them from the marsh onto the beach where you will be trying to enjoy your beach day. (Text: Heather McDaniel) (Photo: Maximilian Paradiz via Wikimedia Creative Commons)

07/13/2020

Lots of bird activity out on our barrier islands right now! Many of these seabirds (terns, Black Skimmers, & gulls) & shorebirds (oystercatchers, Willets etc) nest right on the beach and now we are seeing the very mobile chicks checking things out down near the water's edge right where we humans like to hang out. Just keep an eye out for these little fluff balls and try to give them a little room if you find yourselves near them. The birds thank you!

05/24/2020

Migration Numbers Plummet for Imperiled Shorebird on NJ’s Delaware Bayshore | NJ Spotlight

I dreamed about seeing Red Knots last night (really!)...

Veteran biologist sees unprecedented declines in red knots — and in horseshoe crabs

05/19/2020

The Nature Conservancy Virginia

It's beach nesting season at the Virginia Coast Reserve! Thousands of birds nest on the Virginia barrier islands each year. The beach is their home, and they are very vulnerable to weather, predators, and disturbance from visitors. While over 90% of islands owned by The Nature Conservancy are open for public day use, we need your help to keep the beaches safe for nesting birds, their eggs, and chicks.

Between April and August, please always stay below the high tide line while on the islands – even the most well-intended visitor can endanger nesting birds by venturing into their territories. They're so well camouflaged! Many areas have signs to remind visitors of this, but please remember that the same applies even in unmarked areas. Also, please remember that dogs, camping, campfires, and vehicles are prohibited on all TNC barrier islands year-round. We hope you can enjoy the islands and places where you can social distance and find peace in nature, but please remember to protect yourself and the birds!

For more information, please visit www.nature.org/vcr or contact the Virginia Coast Reserve office at [email protected] or (757) 442-3049.

05/15/2020

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

The first barge of seven arrived to the water adjacent to Fort Wool. These barges will be a floating base for expanded nesting habitat for the colony of seabirds that has been relocated from the South Island of the Hampton Road Bridge-Tunnel complex to Fort Wool on Rip Raps Island nearby. The barges are topped with sand and gravel for nesting areas and have barriers built to keep eggs and chicks from the edge.

Read more about the project: https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/blog/habitat-work-fort-wool-completed/
📷 Meghan Marchetti/DGIF

05/15/2020

Join me for a bird-filled cruise from Wachapreague out to Cedar Island. We'll take a walk on the beach followed by a leisurely ride back to the dock arriving just after sunset.

I hope you enjoy the ride! - Capt. Meriwether

05/08/2020

May is my favorite shorebird month here on the Shore and I was lucky to get all these Plover pictures over the last week. Our 3 local summer nesting Plovers (Wilson's, Piping, & Killdeer) and 2 other species (Black-bellied & Semipalmated) are fattening up for a trip to northern Canada & Alaska to nest. I'll go into detail about each species in the pics.

Leave a comment and let me know which is your favorite!

Enjoy! - Capt. Meriwether

05/08/2020

The Flying Pintails

Just got this from Lisa Sorenson Ex Dir of BirdsCaribbean:

There are now 46 of us on the team (and more are still joining!) with team members from 21+ countries/ islands - INCREDIBLE! We have birders from Antigua, Bahamas, Bonaire, Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Finland, Grenada, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Venezuela, St. Eustatius, St. Croix, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad, Venezuela, USA (multiple states), and UK. I think it’s amazing and heart-warming that we are joined together from across the planet for this special event because of our love of birds!!!

1. We are 70% to our team goal of raising $5,000!!! It’s an ambitious goal but I think we can do it!!! Everyone please continue to share this fundraiser with your friends, family, and networks and ask for their support (every little bit adds up!). Personal emails are most effective, sharing on social media is really helpful too!!!

2. It’s not too late to recruit more members to our team!!! If you can think of birding friends in far-flung countries or at home, please invite them. Let’s crush the competition (hahahahahaha)

3. Our team goal is to see 275 species of birds but with so many countries on our team (even with folks on lockdown) maybe we can do even better - should we up our team goal? I have not idea what is possible!!! please advise!

Join my AWESOME team for our Global Bird Day of Birding, May 9th. Have fun birding and support a great cause at the same time!

05/01/2020

I thought it would be interesting & educational to see our whelks (aka Conchs) and their snake-like egg cases & the tiny little whelks found inside them.

Enjoy - Capt. Meriwether

04/27/2020

How about a little Oystercatcher s*x to spice up your dreary Monday afternoon? I got lucky & caught these guys in the act yesterday. The daddy-to-be is a banded bird; P9. I first resighted (reported) this guy last spring and one of my customers got a beautiful pic that I've included at the end.
P9 was captured (likely as a chick) by Ruth Boettcher (DGIF) and banded on 7/27/10; he's been reported 13 times since - all between the Wachapreague area & Assawoman Island. There's a good chance this bird migrates south but it's never been reported between November - March.

Enjoy & stay safe - Capt. Meriwether

04/27/2020

Shifting sands: Virginia's barrier islands are constantly on the move | Roadtrippers

This is the 2nd article Amy White has written about the Shore. I took her out of Wachapreague in the Fall of 2018 which she describes in the article. She was back here in February of 2019 researching this article which mentions The Nature Conservancy, The Barrier Island Center, UVA's Coastal Research Center, VIMS, & The Island House!

The islands' presence and changeability help the coastline absorb storms and scientists to study shorebird nesting patterns and water quality.

04/26/2020

Today's Oystercatcher pic is one of my favorites because not only does it show 2 adults and a fledgeling (on right; note smaller overall size, shorter bill that is dark on the tip, and dark eye), but we also see the center bird is banded.
So, about the band... each state uses a different color band - black is for VA birds. M6 was banded in July of 2008 as a chick within a couple hundred yards of where it now nests (it comes back to this exact same spot year after year!). I will tag some of my friends/customers who have seen it with me over the last 4 years since I first "resighted" or reported it to the AMOY Working Group.
And one of my favorite places, the old Metompkin Inlet CG station, is visible in the distance.
Photo taken 8/14/2019.

04/25/2020

Your Oystercatcher of the day!
Adult/parent on the right; week or so old chick on the left, & a laughing gull on a nest in the background.
Taken 6/1/18 from my boat.
Stay safe - Capt. Meriwether

04/23/2020

These are bird pics that I've taken on various trips out of Wachapreague over the last few weeks. You might recognize a few (the Whimbrel & Seaside Sparrow) from posts last week.
I'm including your Oystercatcher of the day!
Stay safe - Capt. Meriwether

04/23/2020

It's Oystercatcher chick day
This chick is probably 3-5 days old. Oystercatchers are precocial, meaning they are able to leave the nest the day they hatch. This chick was below the high tide line foraging with its parents. When they sense danger (or the adults sound the alarm) the chicks instinctively stop and lay down flat and because they are so well camouflaged they blend right in. They will stay put until danger passes & the parents come back for them.

** This was a pic from June a few years back; taken at low tide when the chick & it's parents were foraging well below the high tide line. Very well camouflaged & easy to step on...

Stay safe - Capt. Meriwether

04/21/2020

No bird pics today - just a "find the nest test".
A little exercise to show how well camouflaged an Oystercatcher nest can be and how easily they can be stepped on. These pics are all of the same nest - starting far out & closing in.
(These were taken when I worked for DGIF collecting nesting productivity data in 2007. As an ecotour guide/private citizen, I stay below the high tide line & out of nesting areas from April through August). 5/5/2007

Enjoy - Capt. Meriwether

04/20/2020

Your Sunday evening Oystercatcher(s) - a pair that nests over in the Hummocks Channel near Wachapreague.
Hope you all had a great weekend - Capt. Meriwether

04/18/2020

Your Saturday Oystercatcher

04/18/2020

Whimbrels preening & bathing

In case you need more Whimbrel in your life here's a little video.
2 clips: the first is a preening Whimbrel (another walks through) with a couple of Dunlin; the second is a bathing Whimbrel. I tried to dial back the wind noise...
4/17/20 near Wachapreague.
Hope you enjoy - Capt. Meriwether