Virginia Birdwatching

Virginia is a wonderful state for bird watching. Birding opportunities range from the mountains of western Virginia to the coastal beaches and the oceans beyond.

Among the stellar Virginia birdwatching locations are the wildlife refuges on the eastern shore of Virginia. On the southern point of Virginia's eastern shore is Fisherman's Island National Wildlife Refuge. This small island is a stopover for all sorts of waterfowl, songbirds and shorebirds.

Further North is Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge. The large area spans much of the barrier islands on the lower shore, and up into Assateague Island Virginia.

Birdwatchers have easy access and accomodations at Chincoteague Island Virginia, with the refuge just moments away.

The refuge has a variety of birds, especially migratory waterfowl in the cooler months.

Song birds

Virginia is home to large numbers of song birds. Along the coast, marshes, wildflowers, fields and areas of brush provide ideal nesting and feeding habitat. Other songbirds inhabit the tall pine forests there. Warblers, nut hatches, sparrows, red wing blackbirds and others nest near the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coast in the summer, while cardinals, jays, woodpeckers and finches reside there during the winter months.

Shore Birds

Herons, egrets, ibises, oyster crackers, march hens and other shorebirds are frequently spotted along the marshes in places like Chincoteague, Assateague and the other barrier islands. On the beaches, dozens of species of sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns feed, nest and raise chicks.

Birds of Prey

A number of birds of prey visit Virginia. Ospreys arrive in the spring to raise young and feed on the abundant fish stocks. As seasons change, some ospreys migrate south while other birds of prey arrive. American eagles, red tailed hawks and other large hunters are present in the fall thru spring. Other hawks such as sparrow hawks may be found year round.

Waterfowl

Ducks, geese, brant and swans all make stops in Virginia. In the refuge, geese and swans take up residence year round. Other full time residents include black ducks, wood ducks and mallards which raise their young on the marshes of Chincoteague Island, Wallops Island and much of the Chesapeake. As autumn arrives, ducks and geese migrate into the refuges and surrounding areas of Virginia. Shoveler ducks, pintails, mallards, widgeons, teal, rudy ducks, canvasbacks, redheads, ring necked ducks, bluebills, and others fly in. Mergansers, buffleheads, goldeneyes and other diving ducks show up in the bay waters as cold weather sets in. Off the coast, rafts of sea ducks and small groups of oldsquaw ducks forage along the shoals over the winter.

Pelagic Birds

The waters off the coast are visited by up to 30 species of pelagic birds including albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels, phalaropes, skuas, jaegers, gulls, terns and alcids. These birds migrate along the offshore waters far from land. Many pass off the coast and never see Virginia's beaches.

Chincoteague and Assateague Island are among the premier bird watching spots in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. On practically any day of the year, visitors can easily count hundreds or thousands of birds simply by driving from the Chincoteague Island causeway to the beach at Assateague.

Song birds

Both islands are visited by large numbers of song birds. The marshes, wildflowers and areas of brush provide ideal nesting and feeding habitat. Other songbirds inhabit the tall pine forests of Assateague Island. Warblers, nut hatches, sparrows, red wing blackbirds and others nest on the refuge in the summer, while cardinals, jays, woodpeckers and finches reside during the winter months.

Shore Birds

Herons, egrets, ibises, oyster crackers, march hens and other shorebirds are frequently spotted along the marshes of Chincoteague and Assateague. On the beaches, dozens of species of sandpipers, plovers, gulls and terns feed, nest and raise chicks.

Birds of Prey

Chincoteague and Assateague islands are visited by a number of birds of prey. Ospreys arrive in the spring to raise young and feed on the abundant fish stocks. As seasons change, some ospreys migrate south while other birds of prey move onto Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding areas. American eagles, red tailed hawks and other large hunters are present in fall thru spring. Other hawks such as sparrow hawks may be found on the islands year round.

Waterfowl

Ducks, geese, brant and swans all make stops around Chincoteague and Assateague islands. In the refuge, geese and swans take up residence year round. Other full time residents include black ducks which raise their young in the refuge and on the marshes of Chincoteague Island, Wallops Island and along the causeway onto the area.

As autumn arrives, ducks and geese begin to pour into the refuge and surrounding areas. The refuge is well known for it's visiting shoveler ducks, pintails, mallards, widgeons, teal, rudy ducks, canvasbacks, redheads, ring necked ducks, bluebills, and others. Mergansers, buffleheads, goldeneyes and other diving ducks show up in the bay waters as cold weather sets in. Off the coast, rafts of sea ducks and small groups of oldsquaw ducks forage along the shoals over the winter.

Pelagic Birds

The waters off Chincoteague are visited by several species of pelagic birds including albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels, phalaropes, skuas, jaegers, gulls, terns and alcids.

Bird watchers, photographers and nature lovers pour into Virginia during National Waterfowl Week at Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge. Chincoteague and Assateague Islands are along the Atlantic flyway, on the eastern shore of Virginia.

The islands are popular summer vacation spots, but are year round attractions for bird watchers and nature lovers. Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge, Assateague National Seashore and Chincoteague Island are located within a few hours of Baltimore Maryland, Washington DC, and Hampton Roads Virginia.

The annual event is extremely popular among birders and travelers to the area. The star attractions are the snow geese, which arrive by the thousands just in time for the event.

Visitors drive, bike or walk onto the wildlife loop, where a road encircles a large lagoon. Vehicles are quickly abandoned as camera tripods go up, and families find the trumpeting and antics of the geese too irresistible to remain inside.

During the late fall the refuge is also visited by Canadian geese, swans, brant, ducks, herons, egrets, oyster catchers, loons, grebes, plovers and other birds. Much of the waterfowl remain at Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge throughout the winter.

Photographers take pictures by the hundreds during this dramatic event. The refuge layout allows photographers of all skill levels to have an opportunity to capture wildlife on film or digital media.

The snow geese and many of the visiting ducks migrate north in early spring. A few ducks and a sizeable population of Canada geese remain and raise young on the island.

Other year round residents include egrets and herons which occupy every stretch of canal, pond and marsh.

In addition to the wildlife loop, naturalists can spot birds and other wildlife along the beaches, around the hiking trails. The island has a nice array of sites to see and photograph in addition to waterfowl.

The North American Bird Phenology Program (BPP) has announced a online data entry system. Through this new online program, volunteers from around the world can register on the website and begin transcribing historical bird arrival records into our online database which were originally scanned in the BPP office.

The BPP is working to understand the scale of global climate change and how it is affecting birds across North America. This is the oldest and longest running bird monitoring program in the country, currently housing six million records dating back to the early 1880's. The program, started in 1880 by Wells W. Cooke, collected bird observations by over 3,000 citizen scientists and came to an end in 1970, until we revived the program during the last year. The records document bird migration arrival and departure dates from around North America; an unparalleled and untapped resource, but one in which volunteer help is needed to modernize.

The BPP relies solely on volunteers to scan images of the migration cards and transcribe them into its database. BPP accepts participants from all ages and backgrounds and volunteers can participate from the comfort of their own home.

Online participants must register online at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bpp/BecomeAParticipant.cfm. There enthusiasts can learn more about the transcription process and register to become a transcriber. After registering, paticopants will receive a confirmation email which will then take them through a 15 minute training video and back to the website to begin transcription.

Also, volunteers are needed in the Baltimore-Washington area to help in the BPP office with scanning and working with the historic files.

Individuals, families, and small groups are urged to to help discover how spring and fall arrival times of birds have changed since the 1880's.

For more information visit www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bpp/ or call (301) 487-5745.