Opportunities for Birding are abundant in our area.  Email us with your favorite!!

 Every other Saturday thru Spring & Summer, noted local educator & devoted birder Jim Smith conducts tours of the Abrams Creek wetlands.  Easy access & a paved path allows groups an enjoyable walk while viewing a remarkable diversity of native & wetlands birds.  The spring fed stream flows into 20-acre White's Lake (private!!) and continues on to form Abram's Creek which flows through Winchester.

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                      BLANDY FARM: 

Blandy Experimental Farm is the home of the Virginia State Arboretum http://www.virginia.edu/blandy/  and offers 700 acres of diverse birding habitats. Recent bird sightings are listed by the Quarters library. The open fields are home to a large number of Eastern Bluebirds, while the low lying ephemeral pond area ("Lake Arnold") has a resident Purple Martin colony.  Over 200 species of birds have been documented here.  Directions:  The farm is on US Rt 50 six miles East of Winchester from the I-81 intersection.  Proceed from Winchester East until you cross Rt. 340  ("Sheetz") and continue one mile;  the stone entrance is well marked. 

               THOMPSON WILDLIFE AREA: 

Thompson Wildlife Area is located on Va Rt 688= Leeds Manor Road --off of I-66 22.5 miles east of the

 I-66 I-81 intersection. 

The GPS coordinates for the parking area are:  N 38.95742  W077.98892

From I-81 take I-66  18.5 miles (it would be 11.7 miles from the intersection of Rt 522 & I-66) to the Markham exit, exit 18.  You’ll see signs to Naked Mountain Winery on the exit. Turn north on Leeds Manor Road SR 688 and proceed 1.3 miles to the lower parking area.  The lower parking area has a path that’s a five-minute walk to a brook and some open woodland;  this is one of my favorite birding spots for Common Yellowthroat warbler, Hooded warbler and- if you are lucky-  you may see or hear a Blue-winged Warbler (Beee-Buzzz!!).  The path goes up the hillside and is primarily for hunter access;  bring a pair of pruning shears to clip the thorns wandering into the path.

At about 1.7 miles you will pass the Naked Mountain Winery and after two steep hills (past a private pond) you’ll come down to a sharp turnoff into the parking lot at 4.0 miles from the interstate.  Bring a leash for your dog.  The lake is just 200 yards uphill from the parking area.  A path runs up the hillside from the edge of the dam into typical Appalachian woodland with Ovenbirds, Hooded & Yellow-rumped warblers, American Redstart and -in the canopies- Cerulean warblers.  The trail connecting the head of the lake to the lower parking area is a flat, stony walk with Kinglets, sparrows & typical woodland diversity.  Have Fun!!

NOTE:  After Jan 1, 2012 all visitors to Virginia WMA's will need a facility use permit as described on the VGIF website http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/hunting/regulations/wmarules.pdf

If you are under 16 or have a hunting, fishing, or boating license the facility use permit (it's $4) is waived.

                  SHENANDOAH RIVER STATE PARK: 

The park is in Warren County, eight miles south of Front Royal and 15 miles north of Luray. It's off Rt. 340 in Bentonville.  Detailed directions from all four compass points can be found on the park's website http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/and.shtml.

If there is a perfect place to go birding, this may be it!!  Drive through the park down to the riverside parking area and scope out the nesting boxes along the way.  Walk down to the kiosk and get a close look at the hundreds of brown bats that have chosen the clear plexiglass kiosk as their 'home'.  Then take a walk upstream along the PawPaw trail.  Listen for warblers, orioles, waterthrushes, and other birds until you come out below the RV park area and scope out the open fields for Meadowlarks and Bluebirds.  Keep your eyes open for ospreys or even perhaps a Bald Eagle!!

On Rt 50 just 20 miles west of Winchester is the turnoff to Edward's Run, a pleasant (and flat!) streamside field trip with ponds, woods, and diverse riparian environment.  The streamside trail stays level for about 3/4 mile until it starts to work it's way up into the hillside and become more of a footpath and less jeep trail. In early spring the area is overrun by anglers, but most other times a walk through these woods will lend itself well to a more contemplatve pace of birding!

Just a few miles northeast of Inwood, WV lies a wildlife sanctuary comprised of 50 acres of wetlands preserved by Dr. Stauffer Miller formerly of Charlottesville--now owned & maintained by the Potomac Audubon Society.  Here over 150 species of marsh birds have been seen along with Eagles and numerous & diverse other species.

Take WV 51 from the interstate at Inwood to Glengary, then take County Rt. 7 north past CR 7-18 and then past CR 7-16.  The marsh is about 3/4 mile south of the village intersection called Shanghai. GPS co-ordinates are: 39.4337 and -78.1365.  There's a gravel parking spot at the north end of the Marsh.

Potomac Audubon has graciously given permission for all nature lovers to use & bird on the preserve.  No hunting or fishing!

SHANNONDALE SPRINGS WMA

Just East of Charles Town, WV lies a woodland/riparian wildlife area of 1,361 acres of prime birding habitat (and hunting- don't forget to wear blaze orange in season!) with miles of trails winding along the Shenandoah River and into the bordering forests and fields. Shannondale is a primitive area- there are no amenities- but the birding there can be absolutely fantastic!

Directions:  from US Rt 340 take Rt 9 (clearly marked) and go over the Shenandoah River bridge, then rise over the hill east of the river and take the Very First right hand turn after you've crested the top of the hill onto Mission road. Now it's just 2 miles (more or less exactly) down to Riverside Drive which will lead you back to the paved parking area and the riverside walking trail.  GPS coordinates for the turnoff are: 39.2204264  -77.81600386.