Close Encounters: Osprey builds nest on James River, blue heron catches flounder in Virginia Beach

by Vickie Shufer, The Virginian-Pilot

An osprey brings nesting material to add on to its nest along the James River. Courtesy of Joseph Robbins

Joseph Robbins captured a photo of an osprey in the process of building a nest on the James River. Ospreys return to the same nest from the previous year and continue to add on to it.

Kanchana Thamodaran photographed a great blue heron that had used its spear-like beak to catch a flounder from the tidal pools in the marsh in the Lynnhaven Bay area in Virginia Beach.

Jay Moore photographed a great blue heron in flight with its image reflected in the water beneath along a salt marsh off the Pagan River in Smithfield.

Allen Waters sent a photo of a green heron at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. “A none-too-rare bird, but one that’s proven to be most challenging for me to photograph,” wrote Waters. “This heron straightened out his neck just as I snapped the picture.”

A green heron straightens his neck for a better view at the edge of a pond at the Norfolk Botanical Garden. Courtesy of Allen Waters

A hummingbird catches a spider after poking the web at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Laura Joksaite

A red-spotted purple butterfly rests in a garden in the Green Acres area of Portsmouth. Courtesy of Morgan Ringer

An oystercatcher catches an oyster at Fort Monroe in Hampton. Courtesy of Reuben Rohn

A baby killdeer waits for its mother near the beach in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. Courtesy of Connie Owen

An eastern kingbird perches on a branch while waiting for a flying insect to come by at Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach. Courtesy of Jonathan Snyder

Michael Schimmel sent a photo of yellow-crowned night heron chicks in their nest at the Cavalier Golf Course in Virginia Beach. “They’re growing so fast,” wrote Schimmel.

Reuben Rohn sent a photo of an oystercatcher with an oyster in its beak at Fort Monroe in Hampton. Oystercatchers are named for their practice of catching oysters. They also feed on other shellfish including clams and mollusks.

Connie Owen was thrilled to see an adult and baby killdeer on her walk near the beach in Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore. “I waited the longest time hoping the chick would go to momma,” wrote Owen. “But she was keeping her distance as they do with the nest to distract threats.”

Kathy Marchant sent photos of baby bluebirds in their nest waiting to be fed in their yard in Burnett’s Mill in Suffolk.

Mike Chin photographed a male bluebird feeding mealworms to a young fledgling in the Pine Ridge neighborhood in Virginia Beach.

Laura Joksaite spotted a hummingbird at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. “The hummingbird was poking the spider webs and trying to take them from there,” wrote Joksaite. “He was lucky, the spider landed straight to his mouth.”

Morgan Ringer photographed a red-spotted purple butterfly that was flitting about the garden in the Green Acres area of Portsmouth. The red-spotted purple is named for the reddish-orange spots on the underside of the wings which look more blue than purple. “I tend to think of them as orange spotted blue,” wrote Ringer. “And often wonder if whoever originally named the species was color blind.”

Leslie Garrett spotted a mole scurrying on the side of the road in the Norfolk Highlands neighborhood in Chesapeake. “After several attempts I was able to get the little guy up in the grass leading to some vegetation,” Garrett wrote.

Steve Daniel got a shot of a rabbit sniffing around in the grass at Stumpy Lake in Virginia Beach.

Diane Etheridge and her husband spotted a doe in their backyard in the Greenbrier section of Virginia Beach.

Joy Kaps photographed a fiddler crab that was walking along the path in Great Neck Landing in Virginia Beach.

Evan Rhodes watched as a red-bellied water snake slithered through the grass in his backyard in the Blackwater section of Virginia Beach and then lifted his head to check out his surroundings.