Kayaking to Metompkin Island

 For the long Fourth of July weekend my wife and I wanted to do a short day trip. We had the Monday in-between off and one of our favorite kayak guides, Burnham Guides, had a trip to the barrier islands of Eastern Virginia. This is a great stretch of islands from Assateague in the north, home of the famous ponies, to Fisherman's island at the southern tip where the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel reaches land again. Thera are about 14 large ones protecting the Virginia Eastern Shore. Going with a guide relieved us of dealing with a lot of the logistics, in particular, finding a safe place to paddle that wouldn't be too crowded on the holiday weekend, and not worrying about getting lost in the maze of marsh creeks.

For this trip our group of 8 plus guide headed from Gargatha Landing out to Metompkin Island. This would be a six-hour trip with plenty of time for lunch and exploring Metompkin and swimming in the sea. It was a great day to be on the water paddling and, apparently, a good day for fishing. At the boat launch there were several people fishing from both the shoreline and in small craft in the creek. There was another group surf fishing out on Metompkin. Besides them, we only passed two other boats including one just as we were coming ashore at the end. Neither boat was very loud so it was a very peaceful trip. 

Route we took from Gargatha Landing to Metompkin Island

As each of us launched our boats, we crossed the creek and waited, giving time for everyone to get started and to make some final adjustments to the equipment. While I waited, I saw a lot of these periwinkle snails in the spartina.

periwinkle snail

It was a full moon Monday, we had seen a gorgeous moon rising the night before from the hotel pool, driving exaggerated tides. We left around high tide. Going out, the water was high making the paddling easy. We were also on an ebb flow so at times I could just relax and let the current take move me along.

Although we live on a brackish marsh, being this close to the ocean brings in a different set of marsh birds. Even before getting on the water, a small group of glossy ibises passed overhead. A neighboring house had martin houses up and we were pleased to see they had martins and not starlings in them. 

As we passed from the first creek out into Gargathy Bay (why the subtle change in name? I have no idea) we heard clapper rails calling back and forth and saw a few common terns on a bit of exposed mud. There were also plenty of willets and American oystercatchers crossing over the waters. The paddling was easy and gave lots of time to chat with the other paddlers and learn a little local history from our guide, Bill.

A turn north up a final creek led us to the in-land side of Metompkin Island, near the north end. Most of the island is protected for breeding birds during early summer but there are a few areas for landing boats and a crossing from marsh to ocean side. We landed one at a time giving me a chance to slowly float along the steep mud bank of the marsh. I could hear a bird calling but the mud was up to about eye level limiting my view into the grass. I pulled out the Merlin app and it identified the calls as a willet, but not the normal call. Just then, the willet lifted up out of the grass. Another win for Merlin! 

Our boats waiting for our return trip

Just down the beach from our landing spot half a dozen black skimmers rested on the beach. Bill had talked about their feeding behavior, skimming along the creek surface waiting for some food to hit their bill which they rapidly close, easier. It was great to be able to show everyone these amazing, and strikingly colored birds. A few of us were able to see them skimming later as we unloaded boats.

Beach at Metompkin Island

The day was hot and a dip in the ocean called to us. Dipping our toes into the water, we were surprised by how cold it was. I was expecting cool bath water temperatures, not, jump-back cold. We slowly made out way out into the crashing waves. We could see some others in our group were much further out but not any deeper. The beach had a surprisingly shallow slope. We never really made it into water much above waist level. 

My wife and I returned to the beach and took a walk before lunch. As mentioned, the island is mainly a breeding ground for shore birds. Least terns flew back and forth occasionally diving into the ocean for a small fish. Lazing on the shore just above the tide line were a range of laughing and herring gulls.

Least Tern taking a break on the beach

 Sharon spotted a piping plover in amongst the shells and rocks midway up the beach. After a minute, it scurried down close to the water and joined a second one. Piping plovers, along with the least terns, really depend on these protected beaches along the barrier islands and don't often get far inland, even along the Chesapeake Bay near us. Getting to see both species is a real treat that we don't get every year.

Piping plover

How cute is that?

On a more human note, from Metompkin, you can see up to Wallops Island and the launch complex. One of the women fishing when we first put in mentioned that she comes out to the boat launch to watch rockets. We are able to see launches, especially evening and night ones, from our house but it takes several seconds before their visible. Here, you could see, and hear, it right from take-off.

By the time we headed back in, the water level had really fallen. The creek we came in on was now a mere trickle. Bill had hoped to take us further north on the creek and come back via another route but that wasn't to be. We loaded up the boats and had to walk them about 100 yards to deeper water. Luckily there was enough water that the boats could float with us guiding them along from the exposed mud.  Once we found a big enough channel to get in the boats we still had to hug the edge of the grass to stay in a channel deep enough to paddle. Even when things opened up, we had to keep finding the channel as the water outside the channel was often only a foot or two deep. In those cases, paddling stirred up the mud as much as propelled you forward. A few people ran aground but with enough effort could work themselves loose without needing a rescue pull. 

Gargathy Bay was now a large mud flat with a creek running around the outside edge instead of open water. You can see the different route we took coming and going in the map above. The channel was wide enough that it was easy to paddle giving time to watch all of the birds that had flocked to the mud for feeding.

Once the boats were loaded on the trailer and the cars packed, we were ready for a cool snack. Bill had mentioned the local town was having an ice cream social. Unfortunately, that didn't start for another two-and-a-half hours. Too long to wait around, especially since we still had a two hour drive home. 

We had a great time paddling an area we probably wouldn't have found on our own, saw a few bird species likely for the only time this year, and had a great day.  We look forward to paddling these waters again.