Get outside! Explore winter wonders in Hampton Roads

So here it is winter, a beautiful time of year.

Get. Out.

No, really, get outside and enjoy the subtle charms of the cold-weather months in Hampton Roads. There are so many things to do, you'll never have time to fit them all in before summer arrives again.

Start with sand.

There's a beauty in the empty beaches of winter, and a large part of the attraction lies in the adjective - empty.

"When you come this time of year, you're not going to see many people," said Kyle Barbour, manager of False Cape State Park. "That's one of the nice things about it. It's not like the summer, when you can't hardly find a place in the sand."

Hampton Roads has tons of empty sand this time of year. Try a Terra Gator tour of False Cape, a ranger-led walk on Fisherman Island or even a solitary visit to the Oceanfront.

"Around here, animal tracks are great all the time," Barbour added. "You walk down one of our sand trails, turn around and walk back, you're going to have animal tracks across your tracks."

Bobcats, foxes, raccoons, opossum, deer, feral pigs, even mink - they leave their trails in the sand for you to find.

And then there are the birds.

Virginia is a wintering ground for many species of birds that spend their summers much farther north, especially waterfowl such as snow geese, tundra swans and ducks of all kinds.

Although Back Bay and other marshes are the big gathering spots, even drainage ponds in the embrace of interstate exit ramps support winter waterfowl in Hampton Roads.

Because it's such a great area for winter bird-watching, Virginia Beach started hosting the Winter Wildlife Festival. Field trips, seminars and movies will be featured again this year, along with a special trip to the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, where seals and whales are sometimes seen along with the birds.

"We think it's a great time to go outside, but we do have some indoor seminars, too," said Katie Whanger, festival coordinator.

And although you may have to bundle up, winter has a big advantage over warmer weather.

"Winter is one of the best times to come out because the insect population is much lower," said Joy Greenwood, superintendent of Dismal Swamp State Park, just over the line in North Carolina. The park has kayak, canoe and bike rentals, plus ranger-led walks every weekend in January, starting with a 2-mile "Resolution Walk" this weekend.

"There are lots of opportunities to get out," Greenwood said. "To me, it's just one of the best times to be outside."

WHERE TO GO

FALSE CAPE STATE PARK

This remote corner of Virginia is accessible only by foot, bicycle, tram or Terra Gator. The Terra Gator loads up at 9 a.m. on weekends through March 31 and drives down the beach to deliver visitors to the park, where they can look for birds in interior ponds or on Back Bay, or follow a sand path to the remnants of a small community. It returns them to their cars at Little Island City Park at 1 p.m.

Register by the Wednesday prior at 800-933-7275. If fewer than 10 people register, the Terra Gator will not run.

BACK BAY NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Free guided Winter Waterfowl Walk at 3 p.m. Friday. Winter tram tour on Sunday, Feb. 12 and 26, and March 11 and 25 leaves from the visitor center at 1 p.m. and runs past water impoundments where wintering waterfowl gather to the remnants of the Wash Woods community in False Cape State Park.

Cost is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and children 3-12. Reservations: 301-7329.

Attractions: Waterfowl, bald eagles and other raptors, animal tracks, beachcombing and a whole lot of quiet.

FISHERMAN ISLAND TOURS

The Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge offers guided walks on the island, which is usually closed to visitors, on Saturdays through mid-March. Tours run from 9 a.m. to noon and cover 4 miles of trail varying from hard to soft sand.

Register in advance at 331-2760.

Attractions: white deer, birds, military history (the island was part of coastal defenses during World War II).

WINTER WILDLIFE FESTIVAL

Field trips, seminars and more Jan. 27-29 at the Princess Anne Recreation Center, 1400 Nimmo Pkwy., Virginia Beach. Some events are free. See a complete list and register by Friday at www.vbgov.com/winterwildlife or at any Virginia Beach rec center. Activities include beginning birding, urban birding, a Terra Gator tour, an owl prowl, a rain barrel workshop, tree identification workshop and an excursion to the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

Information: 385-4461.

HOFFLER CREEK WILDLIFE PRESERVE

A guided bird walk will be held from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Jan. 28. Free and no reservations required, but be prompt or you will find the gate locked.

4510 Twin Pines Road, Portsmouth. Information: 686-8684.

WATERFOWL TRAM TOURS

Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina will offer a three-hour guided tram tour starting at 6:15 a.m. Saturday. The refuge gets more than 100,000 wintering waterfowl each year. The open-air tram holds 30 people.

Free, but donations are appreciated. Reservations: 252-927-7544 or 252-793-9756.

WINTER WILDLIFE BOAT TRIP

The Virginia Aquarium offers boat trips from Rudee Inlet several times a week through March 18 to look for seabirds and whales. Whale sightings are not guaranteed.

Trips are Thursday through Sunday and on Feb. 20 at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Cost is $28 for adults, $24 ages 4-11, free for younger children. Information: 385-3474.

GREAT DISMAL SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

The refuge offers "Lousy Bird Walks" - the name is meant as a joke along the lines of the "lousy T-shirt" souvenir, but you can do some serious bird-watching in the swamp. No bugs, and you might also see a bear on the 1-mile walk that begins at the Washington Ditch parking area.

Walks start at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 28 and Feb. 11. Free, but let them know you're coming at 986-3705.

DISMAL SWAMP STATE PARK

Yes, this is separate from the refuge. Take a 1-mile "Discovery Hike" at 10 a.m. on Saturday, boardwalk strolls on Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., "Animals in Winter" walk-and-talk at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28 and winter tree identification at 2 p.m. on Jan. 29. Kayak, canoe and bike rentals available.

The North Carolina state park is 3 miles south of the state line on U.S. 17. Information: 252-771-6593.

PEA ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

This refuge takes its name from the "dune peas" that fed wintering flocks of snow geese. With 13 miles of barrier-island beach, interior trails and a wildlife photography blind, Pea Island is popular for bird-watching, with about 400 species throughout the year.

Guided walks from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Fridays and Sundays through the end of March. Information: 252-473-1131.

ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Free tram tours from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 11 and March 10 will celebrate Valentine's Day and the refuge anniversary, respectively. The tours will highlight "the wonders of winter," which could include black bears, bald eagles and other animals.

Meet at the Creef Cut Trail parking lot at the intersection of Milltail Road and U.S. 64 in East Lake, N.C., just west of Manns Harbor. Information: 252-475-4180.

Diane Tennant, 757-446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com