Concrete Boats and Birding

Concrete Boats and Birding

Friday 14th May 2021

Kiptopeke is a pretty cool place. After breakfast this morning I took the dinghy over to the breakwater to photograph the decaying concrete boats. It’s quite a sight, but hard to capture the atmosphere of the place in photos. I promised to be back in 20 minutes but I was probably gone an hour, but Gloria is very patient. We would like to mention that the “Dumb Dog” has now stayed inflated for the past 5 days – without wishing to jinx things we are feeling somewhat confident that it will last us the rest of this season.

I returned to Coting and picked up Gloria and we went to the nearby dock at the public launching ramp at Kiptopeke State park. The dock has a slight dog-leg to it so we tied up front and back on the inside of the bend to keep the dinghy off the sharp oyster shell encrusted pilings. It worked out great but we maybe should have left things a little looser because when we returned the tide had dropped and the bow of the dinghy was a foot out of the water dangling from it’s tether! The park itself has a beautiful sandy beach and many walking trails. We set out on the Warbler Trail and were initially frustrated because we could hear lots of birds but were seeing nothing. But gradually we settled into it and over the next few hours we saw lots of birds including 5 spectacular new species for the trip – Magnolia warbler, Indigo Bunting, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak and Orchard Oriole. Our list for the trip so far stands at 183 different species of birds.

The winds today have been less than 10 knots and mostly really light. However, the anchorage is still a bit rolly, although we aren’t really sure why. It’s probably a combination of boat wakes and swells from the Chesapeake Bay working their way around the breakwater. We would agree with what all the guides say – a great place in calm settled weather but nowhere to be when the things get rough.

Mike

37 09.849 N, 75 59.290 W

Cotinga anchored off Kiptopeke State Park with the concrete ship breakwater behind

Southern ship on Kiptopeke Breakwater

Kiptopeke Breakwater

Roosting spot for brown pelicans, seagulls and pigeons

Lots of signs to keep away!

A number of kayakers were fishing right next to the concrete ships

Kayaker next to the rusting hulls

Over the decades the sea and weather have started to take their toll