Event Category: Field Trips

Field trip for the Williamsburg Bird club. Temperatures probably in the low-to-mid 70s, sunny. Birded just north of the ranger station all the way to the interpretive center and back. We also observed three river otters, multiple species of butterflies, and a few types of bees. We had tiger swallowtail, fiery skipper, gray hairstreak, eastern tailed blue and ocola skipper.

See the birds we saw at eBird

On Saturday, May 18, the Club decided to use the normal field trip day to “bust those blocks”. Eleven club members split into four teams to conduct the initial surveys for the four open blocks. And the results were quite impressive. On the priority blocks, 18 species were confirmed as breeders. Confirmation was based on an observed activity, such as adult birds sitting on a nest, adults carrying food, observing newly fledged hatchlings, etc. Similar observations were used to classify species as either “probable” breeders or, less definitively, “possible” breeders. The teams identified 15 species as “probable” breeders, and 33 species as “possible” breeders.

And there were a few interesting identifications. Two teams heard northern bobwhites calling. Two teams saw groups of Mississippi kites. A red-headed woodpecker was observed carrying food (“confirmed”!). Eleven warbler species were identified, two categorized as “probable” breeders. In total, the teams identified 78 species.

On Saturday, April 20, fifteen birders from the club traveled to Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife
Refuge for a bird walk with Bob Ake. The heavy showers stopped just as the group arrived at the
parking area at the end of Jericho Lane. Bob then led the group on a walk along Jericho Ditch. Several
warblers were seen, many were heard. A few members of the group were able to catch a fleeting
glimpse of a Swainson’s Warbler as it flew from one well-camouflaged perch to another one even
deeper in the thickets. After the walk, several participants then drove to Lake Drummond, the largest
natural lake in Virginia, within the refuge.

On Saturday, March 16, ten birders from the club joined up with Dan Cristol and a field trip he was leading for his students at William & Mary at several sites in Virginia Beach. The group started at Little Island Park, moved to Back Bay, then to a nearby community lake and finally to 85th Street beach at the north end of the city. Conditions were quite windy, so passerine counts were low. Nevertheless, the group identified 47 species, with several good photos. Highlights included an Iceland Gull on the beach, and an American Bittern seen by some of the group at Back Bay. Many thanks to Dan for agreeing to combine the groups on short notice, and to Andrew Rapp for reporting the day’s sightings on eBird.

On Saturday, February 16, Rose Ryan led three other intrepid birders on a rainy excursion to see ducks at Dutch Gap Conservation Area outside Richmond. And the group wasn’t disappointed. Twenty-nine species were recorded, with large numbers of wood ducks, ring-necked ducks, wigeon, and even a few redheads. Rose took the adjacent picture of the group, umbrellas in hands. We hope for better weather next year.