Field Trips

Upcoming Field Trips

APRIL FIELD TRIP - Great Dismal Swamp - Washington Ditch - Saturday, April 4, 7:00 AM

3076 White Marsh Rd, Suffolk, VA

Please note the entrance road is in rough shape with large potholes. There are signs but please be careful.

The Great Dismal Swamp (GDS) National Wildlife Refuge is a local treasure, yet many locals have never visited it! Here’s your chance! The refuge gates are on timers set to lift around sunrise, which is around 6:45 AM in early April. Washington Ditch’s address is 3076 White Marsh Road, Suffolk, VA. From this White Marsh Road entrance, take the dirt road for one mile to the parking lot where we will meet at 7AM. (There are two vault toilets there, too.) From the parking lot, we plan to take the 3/4 mile boardwalk through the forested wetland and then walk less than a half mile to the area damaged by an August 2020 tornado from Hurricane Isaia. In recent years, this particular area hosted a wonderful variety of birds. For those who like to study beforehand, here are some links: Refuge map and brochure, Seasonal Observations Submitted to eBird and eBird hotspot data.  April is a favorite month to visit because of the many birds that breed here - particularly warblers and both Yellow-billed and Black-billed Cuckoos. Barred Owls can frequently be heard and sometimes seen at Washington Ditch.

The GDS provides critical habitat to about 200 species of birds, nearly 100 species of butterflies and skippers, many turtles, other reptiles and amphibians, white-tailed deer, otters and bobcats.  It also hosts one of the largest black bear populations on the East Coast.  Unlike Shenandoah's black bears, who have become habituated to humans, the GDS bears run away from us - often before we ever see them.  The mission of the GDS is to protect and preserve the swamp's unique ecosystem and biodiversity.  The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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MAY FIELD TRIP - West Neck Natural Area  - Saturday, May 16, 8:00 AM

2249 N Landing Rd, VA Beach, 23456

We’ll walk along the Foxfire trail looking for migrating songbirds. This is a new out-and-back mixed-use paved trail. Once back, we can walk along the paved trail and the Warbler trail to the Whitehurst-Buffington house. The clearing around the house is always a good birding spot. The total walking distance will be approximately 2.5 miles. This is a map of the West Neck Natural Area. 

This will be a child-friendly field trip.  Children 7 and up are welcome to join us.  We'll have a bird scavenger hunt for them!

Logistics:  There are no restrooms or water at the Natural Area.  There is a coffee shop that opens at 8 am.  We can meet at the coffee shop afterwards to tally up our findings.  Don't forget bug spray and sunscreen.

Recent Field Trip Reports

White Pelicans Hog Island WMA 03/29/26.  
Photo courtesy of Cindy Hamilton

March Hog Island WMA:  Led by David Clark, 9 birders enjoyed a beautiful, seasonably cool morning at Hog Island. As usual, Bald Eagles were ever-present, with as many as 7 in view together at once. One posed nicely on a sign post along the river as it chowed down on a tasty fish. Adults and juveniles chased each other from time to time, putting on a show for us all. A huge eagle nest was spotted in one of the pine trees near the river, but it did not seem to be occupied at the time. 

In addition to the eagles, raptor sightings included Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Osprey, and American Kestrel.

For the most part, we encountered the expected resident birds and lingering winter migrants. These included such ducks as Bufflehead, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, American Black Duck, and a flock of 30 or so Green-winged Teal, and while sparrows included White-throated, Song, Chipping, and Field, plus of course, a few Eastern Towhees. Skulking Winter and Marsh Wrens were heard but not seen. A small group of Wild Turkeys were spotted on the trail ahead of us before they scooted off out of sight. 

A highlight for most was a group of 8 American White Pelicans which rose up from the water and then soared high above us for the next 15 or 20 minutes. 

Only a few new arrivals for the spring were noted, including Yellow-throated Warblers singing in the pines, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Common Yellowthroats in the shrubs, Royal Tern along the James River, and a single Rough-winged Swallow flying near the bridge as we exited. The swallow was our last species for the day, giving us a very nice total of 72 for the morning.

February False Cape State Park and Back Bay wildlife Preserve.  Led by David Clark, 25 birders enjoyed a tram ride through Back Bay to the False Cape State Park visitor's center with the highlight being 7 cackling geese that flew overhead and landed in a nearby retention pond.  Overall we totaled 59 species of birds including 13 duck species, numerous shore birds and song birds, eagles, a merlin, 5 hawk species, herons, egrets and ibis to name a few.

January CBBT and Eastern Shore.  18 birders enjoyed a satisfying day, viewing birds from the 4th island of the bridge-tunnel and then hitting various hot spots in Northampton County. 

Our day got started a little late, as our police escort to the 4th island of the CBBT wasn't ready at the appointed time. We were hoping the late start might work to our advantage since it was a very foggy morning and we thought maybe the fog would burn by the time we reached the tunnel island. Alas, it stuck around pretty much the entire day. This made things a bit more challenging, but we stuck to it and eventually accumulated a good list of birds. 

Our visit to the 4th island of the CBBT was highlighted by a group of at least 25 Harbor Seals, most of which were lounging on the rocks for the entire duration of our stay, giving us nice,if fog-obscured, views. (see photo attached to CBBT Island#4 checklist) Additional highlights included several Purple Sandpipers on the rocks, and a couple of female Harlequin Ducks that were barely discernable through the mist, plus 2 relatively close-in Razorbills. As we departed, another group of 28 more distant Razorbills was spotted. 

Next we stopped off at the overlook at Wise Point where we added Bufflehead, Common Loon, and our first Sanderlings. Heading on to the beach and pier at Cape Charles, we had greats views of Ruddy Turnstones, plus an American Oystercatcher.

At this point we were ready to head for lunch, which most of us had pre-ordered at Machipongo Trading Company. From there, we made the short trip to Box Tree Marsh where things were pretty quiet, but did produce a Fox Sparrow, a Brown-headed Nuthatch and a few other birds. 

Heading back to the south, we gave out walkie-talkies to each vehicle. This proved very helpful. We stopped when a raptor was spotted standing out in a farm field. It turned out to be a Northern Harrier. Our stop there produce several other new species for the day including several woodpecker species. Our trip southward along Seaside Road continued to be productive, with Red-shouldered Hawk, Palm Warbler, Horned Lark, Meadowlark and others being added to the list. At one point, the back of a farm field held a massive pile of deer carcasses, upon which an adult Bald Eagle was feeding while several Turkey Vultures waited their turn. 

Our last scheduled stop was the Brinkley Preserve, where we added Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, but none of the hoped-for night-herons could be seen. After we finished up here, we collected the walkie-talkies, said our goodbyes and headed down the remainder of Seaside Road on our way home. But wait! The lead car spotted a group of a hundred or so Canada Geese in a field and pulled over to scan through them. A small white goose was in their midst, prompting a closer look through a spotting scope to confirm that it was, in fact a Ross's Goose! Fortunately, all of the vehicles were returning home along the same road, so all were able to view this bird. Quite a nice finish to an excellent day of birding, with 71 total species found during the trip.

Harbor seals seen through the fog on our CBBT trip.  Photo courtesy of David Clark

Grandview Nature Preserve, Hampton 16 November 2025

Fourteen people enjoyed perfect fall weather for our field trip to Grandview Nature Preserve.  We saw and heard 47 species.  Special thanks to David Clark for leading this trip.  Trip report with a complete list of species seen for our field trip to Grandview can be found here:  CHAS/VBAS Grandview Nature Preserve Field Trip November 16, 2025 - eBird Trip Report

14 brave souls on Grandview Nature Preserve bird walk.  Photo courtesy of Cindy Hamilton

This Sanderling is probing a Red Beard Sponge (Clathria prolifera; formerly, Microciona prolifera) for food at Grandview Nature Preserve. The thick, intertwining branches provide an important habitat for shrimp, crabs, worms, and other small marine creatures. The sponge is an animal, not a plant, and is the most abundant sponge in the mid- and lower Chesapeake Bay.  Photo courtesy of Cindy Hamilton

Merchants Millpond State Park, NC - Saturday, October 18 

A small group of birders enjoyed a beautiful morning, with sunny skies, no wind, mild temperatures and beautiful scenery. Although it wasn't particularly birdy, it was a pleasant day to walk the trails of a park we don't get to very often. A good variety of woodpeckers were present, with 5 species heard and/or seen. The only warbler species we had was Yellow-rumped, which were present in good numbers. We encountered newly-arrived Winter Wrens on both of the trails we walked. The first bird was behaving as they usually do - hiding in the underbrush and trying its best not to be seen. The second bird, however, popped up on a log for long enough to give us satisfying views. In all, we had a modest 25 species for the morning. In addition to the birds, we were treated to sightings of several white-tailed deer including a buck with a nice set of antlers and a doe bounding through the water between the cypress trees.  A complete checklist can be found at  https://ebird.org/tripreport/423719

Bachman's Sparrow photographed at Wekiwa Springs State Park, Florida.  Photograph courtesy of Saundra Winstead.

Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge (ESVNWR) - Saturday, September 27, 2025

CHAS and VBAS members
at northern turnoff on CBBT
during Sept 2025 birding trip.

On Saturday, September 27, 21 hardy (or was it foolhardy?) members of CHAS and the Virginia Beach Audubon Society joined the Laughing Falcons to brave the rain and spent most of the day pursuing bird species on Virginia's Eastern Shore during the Coastal Virginia Birdathon (aka Kiptopeke Challenge), the annual fundraising birdathon that supports Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory.  This was a new type of team and we were placed in a new competition class, Large Group.  At the end of the day our team tallied 105 species.  Whether the total is enough for our team to win the 24hr competition this year we shall have to wait to find out.  Hi-lites included six species of herons, five woodpecker species, kestrels (over 100!) merlins and peregrine falcons, numerous shore birds/waders, bobolinks, 15 warbler species (including blue wing, cape may and bay-breasted), a rose breasted grosbeak and Swainson's thrush.

    

Thanks for  your participation in the birdathon itself and for making this first combined birding trip a success.     Your support of the research and education undertaken by CVWO is greatly appreciated.  Stop by Kiptopeke State Park sometime during the fall to share in their activities.

CHAS field trip to Blacksburg / New River Valley - May 9th, 10th and 11th.

The Itinerary was as follows:
Friday afternoon there will be a trip to nearby Pandapas Pond and possibly a short trip to Alpine Road to look for a Kentucky Warbler.

Saturday there will be a trip to Glen Alton and possibly nearby Kelly Flats in the morning. In the afternoon, we will visit Mountain Lake, with a possible Golden Wing Warbler on the road up to the hotel and possible Chestnut Sided Warbler and Canada Warbler up under the Rhododendrons on the mountain. We may try again for the Kentucky Warbler on Alpine Road.

Sunday morning, there will be a trip to Deerfield Trail in Blacksburg.

Blacksburg / New River Valley Field Trip - May 2025

Photo by David Clark

Four hardy souls went on a western part of the state birding trip.  We hit several places including Mountain Lake where this beautiful Chestnut-sided warbler decided to grace us with his presence.  

Great Dismal Swamp field trips The Great Dismal Swamp NWR was not able to host its annual Birding Festival this year, so CHAS and the Hampton Roads Bird Club organized 7 bird walks there April 26 and 27 as a way to make up for the festival.  There were over 145 attendees from Hampton Roads, Richmond, North Carolina, Michigan and NYC!  The folks from NYC were a bachelorette party of botanists!  Thank you to our walk leaders: Elisa, Judy, Tracy, Morocco, Saundra, Dave, Mary Jane, Lori and James.  And Special thanks to Laura Mae for setting this up and being there every day to make sure things went smoothly.

Great Dismal Swamp Trillium Walk at Jericho Ditch - March 20, 2025 Led by Elisa Flanders: 18 participants found saw and heard 42 species of birds, including 5 woodpecker species, wood ducks, ruby-crowned and golden-crowned kinglets, a harrier, and 9 warbler species.  The full list can be viewed at https://ebird.org/mychecklists?subID=UzIyMTg1MDM4NA..&s=t.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel & Lower Eastern Shore - January 12, 2025 A very successful day led by Morrocco St. Andre, with 74 avian species seen.  Highlights included Harlequin Duck, Common Eider, Great Cormorant, Purple Sandpiper, and Greater White-fronted Goose.  For a complete list of species observed, click https://ebird.org/tripreport/319900.

Click to view Archived Field Trip Reports