The number of Virginia birds to make the official state checklist continues to climb, now nearing the five hundred species mark.
They all have plenty of fine places to live or visit through the state from the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah Valley and National Park in the West to the coastal areas of the east.
The types of birds in Virginia can be divided into a variety of common categories, depending on the readers or writers interest. The video at the top of the page, for example, shows the female redwing blackbird, a common spring migrant found around water areas throughout the state.
Water areas traditionally draw a large amount of birds. Coastal Virginia enjoys their presence during the migration. May is prime season for shorebirds along the coast. In places like Chincoteague the breeding season for Neotropical migrants starts up with a bang towards June. The Chesapeake Bay area hosts most of the duck species found in the state. The Greater Scaup, Redhead Duck and Canvasback are common throughout the state.
Along the coast, April and May are also great birding times for areas such as The Great Dismal Swamp, close to Virginia Beach. It hosts many of what’s known as the southern warblers such as the Prothonotary warbler.
Residential areas see a variety of birds from different families. Jays, finches, cardinals abound. In fact, the Cardinal received recognition as the official bird of Virginia. It’s a common backyard bird that visits feeders throughout the state.
Formally, Virginia woodpeckers consist of species from all five genera.
The picture shows the Pileated Woodpecker, the state’s largest woodpecker, and easily identified by the red crested head and white stripes across the face.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker males have a red crown and throat. Females have a red crown. It’s the only sapsucker species of four native species in Virginia.
It’s mostly a winter resident because the population breeds in the north, as far as Canada. They migrate to Virginia during the winter months.
Virginia also only hosts one flicker species, the Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker. Residents who witness a woodpecker walking on the lawn can immediately think flicker because they are also the only species that are ground feeders. They forage along grassy areas in search of ants and other small insects.
Virginia host the two most common eastern Melanerpes species, the Red-bellied and Red-headed woodpeckers. They both have red feathers on the head, so any beginning woodpecker fans might initially get the two birds confused.
Red-bellied woodpecker are larger than average birds with an outgoing personality. They easily adapt to backyard feeders and their loud vocalizations can often be heard through the neighborhood.
Physically, the name red-bellied can be a bit misleading because the stomach feathers have only a hint of red to them. The back and top of the male’s head is red. Females lack the red patch of feathers on the head. However, the back of the neck does have the red feathers.
They belong to the same genus as the Acorn Woodpecker, and like them, they are known to store food in cracks in trees. Their diet also consists of in season fruit, nuts and insects.
Red-headed woodpeckers, on the other hand, have an entire head covered in red feathers. There’s no mistaking them after an initial identification.
Red-cockaded Woodpeckers rank as the least common species and the only woodpecker species on the Endangered Species List. Habitat encroachment severely limited their range and breeding capabilities.
Identifying them is easier than finding them. A black cap and nape surrounding white facial feathers are the best field identification clues. Males have red stripes across the crown. The were called cockades after a 19th century hat fashion.
According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
DGIF has supported management and monitoring of RCWs at Piney Grove Preserve, Virginia’s only documented RCW population, as well as the recent reintroduction efforts of RCWs into Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (which is hoped will result in the Commonwealth’s second RCW population).
Downy and Hairy woodpeckers are the most common woodpeckers in the United States, and possibly all of Virginia.
They also look very similar. Downy Woodpeckers, the smaller of the two, also have a smaller bill.
Compare the picture of the Hairy with the Downy and the larger bill of the Hairy woodpecker becomes obvious. Otherwise, the black and white striped face, white belly and back feathers look very similar. Males also have a red crown.
Both species are comfortable in forests and residential areas alike. Look for them at the backyard feeder.
Spring in the western mountains means breeding time for more warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers. Birds like the Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and Blackburnian Warblers are common.
Virginia Birds: History
Virginia’s birding history traces back all the way to the Colonial Era. One need go no further than the story of Thomas Jefferson’s pet mockingbirds to know their mimicry captured the attention of his ear. Jefferson was also interested in the migratory birds of Monticello such as the Purple Martin (pictured). His notebooks contain records of their arrival dates.
History moves forward and another president, Theodore Roosevelt, builds a retreat in southern Albemarle County. Roosevelt’s enthusiasm for bird watching are well know. Less well known might be one historic fact reported by the Monticello Bird Club,
On May 18, 1907 he made an exciting observation, a flock of a dozen Passenger Pigeons near the cabin, and immediately wrote to two of his naturalist friends, John Burroughs and C. Hart Merriam. Although Burroughs and Merriam doubted the observation, the Pigeon having been thought extinct, other naturalists found the identification satisfactory. If correct, this would mean that the last sighting of the Passenger Pigeon in the wild by a reputable observer was in Albemarle County.
Today members of the Monticello Bird Club continue to follow Jefferson’s lead and lead bird walks around Monticello during the migratory season. Tourists are welcome.
Water Birds
Ruddy Turnstone
Willet
Lesser Black Backed Gull
Grebe
Green Heron
Female Pintail
Virginia coastal areas are close to the southern most winter resting grounds for the Common Merganser on the Atlantic coast.
Endangered and Threatened Birds
Finally a few words about the endangered and threatened birds of Virginia.
Virginia is one state that has its own endangered and threatened species list. It uses it in conjunction with the Federal Endangered Species act.
Currently fourteen birds are listed. Seven of them overlap on both the Federal (FE or FT) and State Lists (SE OR ST)
The Wilson’s Plover pictured at the top of this section is one of seven water birds that are listed. It’s listed as endangered in Virginia. Virginia’s coastal area represents the northern edge of its range and only a few of the state’s barrier islands provide sufficient coastal breeding ground.
- Bachman’s sparrow ST
- Bachman’s warbler SE
- Bewick’s wren SE
- Henslow’s sparrow ST
- Kirtland’s warbler FE SE
- Loggerhead shrike ST
- Peregrine falcon ST
- Red-cockaded woodpecker FE SE
- Eastern black rail FP SE
- Gull-billed tern ST
- Piping plover FT ST
- Red knot FT ST
- Roseate tern FE SE
- Wilson’s plover SE