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Such a GRAND View: Winter Waterfowl (Nature Bus Departs from VA Beach)
February 4 @ 8:00 am - 1:00 pm
TOUR NAME: Such a GRAND View!
DATE: Sunday, February 4, 2024
DEPARTURE LOCATION: Mount Trashmore Park 310 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462
DURATION – approximately 5 hours (ROUND TRIP): 8:00 am – 1:00 pm – (ish) Flexible return time/Traffic dependent.
PRICE: $70 per person (a tip for the guide is already included in this fee)
*Important Note: REGISTRATION OPENS on November 15 at 9 am. Please know that the annual Winter Wildlife Festival tickets often sell out within a few hours. It is advised that you purchase tickets right at 9 am!
Register and get your tickets directly from the City of Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation at this link:
DESCRIPTION: Join the heated Nature Bus and bird expert James Abbott for a guided winter waterfowl trek to Grandview Beach in Hampton. Grandview Nature Preserve juts out into the Chesapeake Bay off the northeastern tip of Hampton. Its combination of tidal marsh, maritime scrub and beach habitat make it a hotspot for winter bird diversity. It boasts a tremendous amount of waterfowl including Harlequin Duck and has had a few rare sightings of Snowy Owl on the lighthouse ruins. This tour will involve beach walking. It is about 1.6 miles to the over-wash area. It is 3 miles to walk to the end at Factory Point. Dress for colder temperatures due to wind on the beach. Visit TheNatureBus.com for more trip details; be sure to click the green button for important information!
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
– Expert pre-planning services
– Air conditioned/heated new vehicle
– Transportation: Departure from: Mount Trashmore Park 310 Edwin Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462 > travel to State Park Drive, Hampton, VA 23664 (approximately 40 min ride each direction; 1 hour, 20 min total)
– All fees (including gasoline, tolls, permits/admission fee to all locations, donation to facility, when applicable)
– Loaner binoculars (in exchange for your driver’s license for the duration of the tour). We will also bring a birding scope for this tour.
– (excluding food/drink)
– Your guided tour includes an expert birding naturalist. The naturalist will be showing an educational power point presentation on board the bus during travel to the location.
–MEET YOUR NATURALIST GUIDE James Abbott: https://thenaturebus.com/our-team/
– Description from DWR about Grandview Nature Preserve:
This 500-acre preserve along the Chesapeake Bay may be entered on foot. A trail passes through a cordgrass marsh, where a medley of wetland waders can be seen. In wooded patches along the trail, woodland birds, like the eastern towhee, are abundant. The trail ends at a 2.5-mile long sandy beach. During spring, the beach’s dunes are home to the largest colony of least terns on the Atlantic Coast. Black skimmer, American oystercatcher and other shorebirds also frequent the beach. During winter, northern gannets or tundra swans can be spotted as they fly over offshore waters
