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Virginia Beach 2025 Field Trips
To sign up for field trips please please
email the Field Trip team - fieldtrips@vbaudubon.org
please provide your name and cell
number in case we must contact you with changes.
Field Trip Team is Cindy
Hamilton - FT Coordinator and Karen Lasley - FT signups
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Sunday, March 16, 7:30 AM
Hog Island Wildlife Mangement Area
5570 Hog Island Rd
Surry, Va 23883
Trip Leaders will be Donna McAdams and Debra
Swinford
Hog Island is actually a 3,908-acre peninsula that
juts into the brackish waters of the James River,
creating a mosaic of tidewater habitats that include
marsh, tidal channels, swamp, and beach.
Agricultural fields and loblolly pine forests
surround freshwater sources such as Lawnes Neck and
Lower Chippokes Creek. This diversity of habitats,
including the large shallow impoundments of
Fishhouse Bay and Homewood Creek, attract a vast
number of birds, and an exploration of the area will
produce a large number of species at any time of the
year. Birding the area effectively requires leaving
the main road and striking off on foot along the
trails that separate the peninsula’s major
impoundments. Over 30 species of waterfowl and 35
species of shorebirds have been recorded at Hog
Island, largely from the wetlands at the northern
end of the peninsula. Birding the Carlisle Tract,
south of the power plants, gives access to upland
communities absent further north. Winter, perhaps
the most interesting time to bird this site, brings
an assortment of different birds including snow
buntings, flocks of snow geese, bufflehead,
mergansers, ring-necked and ruddy ducks, and large
numbers of bald eagles.
Note - All
participants
will need an ID. We can meet in the
parking lot in front
of the guard house and carpool
from there. The address to the parking lot is 5570
Hog Island Rd., Surry, 23883. There will also
be a $4 fee to enter. (Note if you have fishing,
hunting or boat license - bring it and the fee is
waved). We will try to
consolidate vehicles prior to going through the gate. Note: all vehicles
going through the gate will be inspected since we
pass through Dominion's Nuclear Power Plant. The
access road is 2 miles long with views of the James
River. We can stop along the route and bird. There
are impoundments we can walk out to. It's not a
difficult out and back walk.
check out the gohike Va website:
Hog Island WMA
Hog Island Map
Physical Address: 5570 Hog Island Rd, Surry, VA
23883
Directions:
From Surry, head east on VA-10/Colonial Trail E,
turn left onto SR-617/Bacons Castle Trail, turn
right onto SR-628/Burnt Mills Rd, turn left onto
SR-650/Hog Island Rd, and stop at the power plant
security gate before proceeding into the WMA.
Saturday, April 5, 7:00 AM
Great Dismal Swamp -Washington Ditch
3076 White Marsh Rd,
Suffolk, VA
Trip Leader will be Laura Mae
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
host one of the largest black beacr populations on the
east coast. Unlike Shenandoah's black bears, who
have become habituated to humnans, 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 bidiversity. The
refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Saturday, May 3,
7:00 AM
West Neck Natural Area
2249 N Landing Rd, VA Beach, 23456
trip Leader will be Elena Bersani
(note this trip will be
kid-friendly)
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 Map
This will be a Children
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 restooms 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.
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