This event has been CANCELLED due to concerns about the coronavirus.
The Club’s March field trip will be on Saturday, March 21, 2020 to Chippokes Plantation State Park in Surry County. Nick Newberry will lead us on the trails in the park. According to the eBird database, there should still be ducks in the James River. In the forest, winter residents should still be present, and we might get to see some early migrants. Spotting scopes should be helpful for viewing birds along the river.
For those who want to carpool, let’s meet at the Colony Square Shopping Center on Jamestown Road at 7:00 AM for a departure time of 7:10 AM sharp. I expect we’ll arrive at the park around 8:00 AM.
For those who wish to drive themselves, the destination address is 695 Chippokes Park Road, Surry, VA 23883. The admission fee to the state park is $7. I encourage those with annual state park
passes to drive.
Cooper’s Hawk eating what may be a Gadwell. Photo by Rose Ryan.American Kestrel. Photo by Shirley Devan.Group at Dutch Gap. Photo by Rose Ryan.Group at Dutch Gap. Photo by Rose Ryan.
The Williamsburg Bird Club is sponsoring a boat trip to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel islands on Sunday, January 19, 2020. There is space available on the boat beyond interest from the Club’s members, so we’re opening up the trip to others.
Your space is reserved when the WBC Treasurer receives your check. Reservations are made in the order in which checks are received. If checks received exceed the capacity of the boat, senders will be added to a wait list. Checks from those on the wait list who do not make the trip will be destroyed. Participants should be at the boat, the Bay Princess, by 8:30 AM to check in for a 9 AM sailing. The dock at Lynnhaven Inlet is at . The captain plans to return the boat to the dock around 1 PM. There is a good seafood restaurant at the dock for those who would like to
have lunch after the trip.
Clothing that protects against wind and dampness is highly recommended. The boat is equipped with restrooms.
The cost for the trip is $30 per person. Please send your check, payable to Williamsburg Bird Club, to:
Club Treasurer, Attention: Ann Carpenter
PO Box 764
Lightfoot, VA 23090
Please include your email address and cell phone number with your check. You will be notified when your check has been received.
If the boat trip has to be canceled due to bad weather, your check will be destroyed. For additional information, please contact George Martin at grm0803@gmail.com, or by phone
at 757-920-5403.
This field trip has been cancelled due to weather and the coastal flood watch. November’s field trip will be on Saturday, November 16. The Club will head to Grandview Nature Preserve in Hampton for the possible first glimpse of winter-resident ocean birds. Dave Youker will lead us. Participants who wish to carpool should meet at the Colony Square Shopping Center on Jamestown Road by 6:30 AM, for a 6:50 AM departure. If you want to meet at the preserve, we are scheduled to meet Dave at Grandview at 7:30 AM. No advance signup is necessary.
Note: There are no bathroom facilities at the Preserve. Dave tells me the last opportunity is at a 7-11 on Beach Road.
On Saturday, October 19, fifteen Club members traveled to the Eastern Shore to bird several sites there. The first stop was the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Scenic Overlook, where the group viewed willets, sanderlings, three gull species, and brown pelicans, among others. We then met Matt Anthony at the Eastern Shore of Virginia NWR Visitors Center. Matt led us through the refuge, to Magotha Road for a possible Sedge Wren (seen later that afternoon by a few members on a return trip!), and finally to Kiptopeke State Park. In total, the group identified 53 species during the trip (plus the Sedge Wren and a few others seen apart from the main field trip). Again, the weather cooperated – the Club is 2 for 2 this fall!
