It is said that people sometimes hear the secret of the land. It is a sound that comes from the marsh, from the very soul of the land and sounds like a distant drumbeat that floats across the shallow waters of Currituck Sound…

It’s not always the sunrise. The sun rises every single day and some days are more dramatic than others, while other days are more of a flat, uninspired gray.

The North Landing River has a secret. It is whispered that it is the most biodiverse place in Virginia east of the Blue Ridge Mountains and has the highest concentration of rare species this side of the Appalachians.

Schedule your ecotour to explore this environmental wonderland.

I wondered how long it would take for that one strand of Spanish moss to grow long enough to reach that cypress knee.

One may observe many different species in each zone, and sometimes you are the one being watched. 

We do not get out into the natural world as often as we once did. It’s not intentional, but more of a creeping indifference. A recent UK study found that the human connection to nature has declined 60% in the last 200 years.

Swamps are dark places. Black gums, cypresses and tupelos tower above the dark tannic water, shutting out all but the few rays of sunlight

“Where’d you take that picture?” I get that a lot. By now, after many years of exploring the rivers, bays, creeks, marshes, and swamps…

In what seems a very short time, AI has infiltrated most aspects of our lives.I don’t even have to explain what AI stands for. It is everywhere.

With the heat comes the sweet sounds of a southern summer in the mash. There is a low murmur of rustling grass as the warm winds blow across the tall grasses.

Green. The wetlands along the North Landing River in Virginia Beach are dominated by a hundred shades of green in the marshes, swamps and pocosins.

Of all of the rivers in Virginia, there is one that calls out with a voice of its own and stands out above them all. The North Landing River…

There are a limited number of places to watch the sunrise on Back Bay - from land. But if you have a boat, the opportunities are endless.

As we watched the eagle and the noise from the ice dissipated, we heard a faint crunching sound. Resting in the gnarled roots of a cypress tree…

The owl, sensing me, flew a few yards into the swamp and landed on the trunk of a tree, its wing wrapped around the trunk for balance.

The hummock rises six feet out of the swamp, like an oasis and a refuge from the mire.

Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry but is not addressed in most ads encouraging people to visit the city.

A secret place of wood ducks and otters where the only sounds come from the rustling of the marsh grasses in the early morning breeze.

Traveling south on this Virginia Scenic River, the river widens - as does the marsh - and you enter a quieter world.