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Virginia is among the premier bird watching spots in the
mid-Atlantic region of the USA. Virginia has a wide variety
of
environments and is visited by many species of birds.
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. About The Author:
The author is a small business web designer, recreational angler and owner of several outdoor websites. See http://www.chincoteague-island.net for more information about birding in Virginia. Visit http://www.daybreakfishing.com for more Virginia outdoor recreation information.
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