Williamsburg Bird Club

It’s time to apply for Nature Camp scholarships! The educational camp in the George Washington National Forest has, for many years, offered opportunities for nature-loving students to learn about our Virginia environment and strategies for protecting it. During October, the Williamsburg Bird Club is accepting applications for scholarships for Summer 2025 sessions.

The Bill Williams Nature Camp scholarships, valued at $1,000 each, offer environmental opportunities for students in James City County, upper York County, and Williamsburg. A committee evaluates the applications to choose recipients who exemplify the ideals of Williamsburg Bird Club.

Nature Camp, a two-week, co-educational, academic camp in Vesuvius, Virginia, emphasizes education in natural history and environmental studies. It is intended for those seeking a science/nature experience. Campers will attend class daily, maintain a notebook, complete written projects, and participate in outdoor activities.

If you know of a student in grades 5-12, who loves nature and would enjoy a two-week session at Nature Camp, please encourage them to download an application from the Williamsburg Bird Club website and return it by October 31. https://williamsburgbirdclub.org/about/nature-camp-scholarships/

Bird’s eggs are key to their success

Long-time Williamsburg Bird Club member, Dorothy Whitfield passed away on July 7, 2023 at age 103. View her obituary at https://bucktroutfuneralhome.net/obituary/dorothy-p-whitfield/

From her friend, Helen Hamilton:
She never missed a bird walk or a plant walk or a meeting and regularly drove herself to grocery, appointments, events until her 98th birthday when she, not her doctors, decided she should stop driving. Sold her car to a neighbor but drove it all over town on October 13. Dorothy was a regular worker at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden well into her late 90’s. Near her 99th birthday she was hauling her recycling bin from the street up her gravel driveway, grinning as she finished “you don’t use it, you lose it”!

 

If you missed a meeting (from February 22, 2022 on), you can watch the Zoom session on the Williamsburg Bird Club’s YouTube channel.

Jan Lockwood’s presentation on the The Best of Kenya, presented May 24, 2023

Consider subscribing to our channel!

Note: This is a field trip offered by the Virginia Society of Ornithology, not the Williamsburg Bird Club. Questions about the field trip should be directed to the VSO. See contact information below.

Plan to join us June 2-4, 2023, for the first-ever VSO field trip to southeast Virginia’s Gloucester County, featuring the new Machicomoco State Park!

Field trips will be offered
Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning.
VERY Important! All VSO field trips are open to members at no charge. If you have not renewed your dues for 2023 or have not joined yet, you can RENEW or JOIN here: https://www.virginiabirds.org/join-renew

Species we usually have in one or more of our destinations include both Summer and Scarlet Tanager, Northern Bobwhite, Grasshopper Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-headed Woodpecker, and a nice variety of warblers, vireos, and flycatchers. Bald Eagles nest at Machicomoco, and we may even get to observe (from a safe distance) the young testing their wings before fledging.

Thanks in advance to members of the Hampton Roads, Middle Peninsula, and Williamsburg Bird Clubs for assistance with the field trips!

TRIP REGISTRATION
Please register online HERE:
https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/V2hHmHYlase1QNergR5zEg Provide the names of participants in your party with each person’s telephone number and email address so we can contact you as needed. If you have any questions, contact Meredith Bell, trip coordinator, at merandlee@gmail.com or 804-824-4958.

HEADQUARTERS
Holiday Inn Express Gloucester is the host hotel (6639 Forest Hill Ave, Gloucester, VA 23061).
Room rate for the VSO block of rooms on Friday and Saturday nights is $114/night (plus tax, King) or $119/night (plus tax, 2 Queens). For those arriving a day early or staying an extra day, the rate for Thursday and Sunday nights is the same. There are microwaves, mini-refrigerators, and Keurig coffeemakers in all rooms. Register by Monday, MAY 1, to get the special rate and state you’re with VSO when you call: (804) 695-1900

There are a few other hotels/motels in Gloucester County and lots of other lodging options in nearby Williamsburg or Newport News.

And if you’re up for camping, Machicomoco SP has overnight facilities for RVs, tent camping, and 3 yurts. You can call 1-800-933-PARK or make reservations online:
https://reservevaparks.com/web/Facilities/SearchViewUnitAvailabity.aspx

MEALS
A complimentary hot breakfast buffet is included for those staying at the host hotel. You’ll need to bring lunch for Saturday. Dinners are on your own. There are a variety of restaurants  in the area, and we’ll provide you with a list closer to the date.

SCHEDULE
TUESDAY, MAY 30
We’ll hold a Zoom video call at 7:30pm to overview the weekend. We’ll record the call and send a link for the recording to all registrants afterwards.

FRIDAY PM, JUNE 2 – Beaverdam Park, Main Entrance (10-min drive)
This local park has great birding around the parking lots in addition to more than 9 miles of hiking trails that follow along the edge of Beaverdam. There are easy-to-walk slopes along with flat areas.
Info about the park: https://www.gloucesterva.info/497/Beaverdam-Park

SATURDAY, JUNE 3 – Machicomoco State Park (15-min drive)
This is one of the newest State Parks in Virginia, and we’re going to devote the entire day to exploring all the great birding spots it holds! Be sure to bring lunch, snacks and beverages. It’s mostly flat, easy walking. The staff takes pride in keeping the grounds immaculate while maintaining wildlife-friendly habitats. We’ve reserved one of the picnic shelters for the entire day so we’ll have lunch there and also hold the tally at the end of the day.
Info about the park: https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/machicomoco

SUNDAY AM, JUNE 4 – Woodville Park (15-min drive)
This local park has easy walking trails. One of them is a boardwalk that takes you through a wooded area where you’ll hear (and maybe see) Ovenbird and White-eyed Vireo singing.

Info about the park: https://www.gloucesterva.info/1297/Woodville-Park

If you have any questions, contact field trip coordinator Meredith Bell at (804) 824-4958 or merandlee@gmail.com.

Our next monthly bird walk, on March 25, will be at the Warhill Sports Complex, 4900 Stadium Road, because there is another event at New Quarter Park where we usually are. We’ll meet at the trailhead on Stadium Road for the Warhill Multiuse Trail at 8:00 a.m.

This fascinating column in the Virginia Gazette by WBC member Dan Cristol talks about how difficult it is to figure out how birds sleep, and gives interesting information about some things scientists have learned. 

Some birds sleep in the air. Swifts, for example, hunt down bugs high in the sky 24 hours a day from the time they leave their nest until they return six months later.

Some landbirds make transoceanic migrations lasting weeks, in which touching down would mean instant death. Seabirds often spend months in the air searching for food. They are capable of swimming but avoid it because of the risks from below. When do these birds sleep?

Read the full column on the Virginia Gazette’s website

Join the Williamsburg Bird Club and the Historic Rivers Master Naturalist Chapter to learn about wildlife rescue on 15 February at 6 p.m. at the Williamsburg Regional Library Theater, 515 Scotland Street, Williamsburg, VA. Free and open to the public.

AWARE Wildlife Rehabilitators return for another presentation to the Williamsburg Bird Club and the Historic Rivers Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists. This time the focus is on daring rescues in the wild, and a behind the scene look at wildlife rehabilitation. They will talk about how you can help and what you need to know about rescuing orphaned or injured wildlife.  Of course they will bring a few of their “ambassador animals” as well. Presenters include Julie Wobig (Tidewater Wildlife Rescue and AWARE), Deb Woodward (AWARE) and Colleen Harlow (AWARE). 

 

Please join Bird Club members Sunday, January 1, 2023, at New Quarter Park at the Fire Circle for the “New Year’s Day Bird and Birder Show.”

The 2023 gathering will be the 17th “almost-annual” event.

We’ll convene at the Fire Circle between 1:00 – 3:00 pm. We hope to have a fire going in the circle in case it’s a chilly day.

Relax and visit with new and old friends on the benches while you warm your hands or venture out around the park to find our wintering birds.

The address for New Quarter Park is 1000 Lakeshead Drive, Williamsburg. You can find directions to the park on its website at https://www.yorkcounty.gov/1816/New-Quarter-Park.

The Park Brochure on the website shows the path from the parking lot to the Fire Circle.

Come as you are! Bring visiting family, friends, and children; come early, stay late, or just drop by. Remember, every bird is a year bird on New Year’s Day!

I look forward to welcoming you to celebrate the start of 2023.

Shirley Devan
Williamsburg Bird Club
contact