UPDATE: We are not canceling the bird walk scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday). Since it is out doors we believe your risk is lower. However, please implement everything you have heard about social distancing for the sake of yourself, your family, and the community. Refrain from hugging or handshaking. Welcome one another verbally or by a non contact gesture.
If you’re not feeling well (for whatever reason), stay home. You will be missed. We know there is excitement about this new location for bird walks. However, we promise you we will provide many more opportunities to go there.
It is not required to carpool to Kittiewan Plantation if you prefer to drive yourself. There is plenty of parking at the location. However, we still encourage everyone to meet in the parking lot at Colony Square at 7:30 AM and caravan from there so we all make it to the correct location.
This Saturday, March 14, we will hold our bird walk at a new location – Kittiewan Plantation in Charles City. Thank you to Sara Lewis for helping us gain access to this unique property. The plantation grounds are adjacent to Kittiewan Creek which flows out to the James River. A quick visit to the plantation this morning yielded 5 Bald Eagles, ten Green-winged Teal, two Belted Kingfishers, dozens of sparrows and juncos, House Finches, Northern Flickers, and on and on….
The walk will consist of some birding around the grounds of the manor house and its outbuildings that are situated amongst wooded areas and farm fields. Sparrows, juncos, finches, robins, cardinals, and flickers are plentiful in this area. We’ll then walk about 1/2 mile down to Kittiewan Creek looking for waterfowl, kingfishers, and eagles. There is an active eagle’s nest on the far end of the creek that was being watched over by two adults this morning.
The plantation is an easy 30 minute drive straight out Route 5 from Williamsburg. To reduce the number of cars and also make sure everyone finds their way to the correct location, we’ll carpool from our usual spot in the northeast corner of the Colony Square parking lot (where the Restore and Carrot Tree are located) near the intersection of Jamestown Road and Route 199. Please be at the carpool location and ready to leave by 7:30 AM.
If for some reason you don’t make the carpool and would like to drive yourself to the plantation, the address is:
12106 Weyanoke Rd.
Charles City, VA 23030
We will start the bird walk at 8:00 AM
We will be met by Myron Rolston, a volunteer at the plantation, who will accompany us on our walk. Wear good shoes for the walk down to Kittiewan Creek along a small and slightly rocky/rutted road. The area around the creek may also be wet, so shoes that can handle a little mud may also be a good choice. Please bring a spotting scope if you have it, which will help us identify waterfowl on the creek. We’ll plan to head back to Williamsburg at 10AM.
The plantation is also the home of the Archeological Society of Virginia. Please visit this web site for more information about this interesting property.
https://www.virginiaarcheology.org/kittiewan-home-of-the-asv/
