Birding Guide: Eastern Shore of Virginia (Pt II, Birding Sites)

Part II in a series. See also: Pt 1, Intro | Part III, Links

While spring migration is noteworthy on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the fall migration is not-to-miss. Like clockwork, favorable wind currents push migrating birds through the area. Weary from their journey, they find precious refuge at countless points along the shoreline. As a result, birding is good just about anywhere, but is especially good at the southern tip, where birds concentrate before crossing the Bay.

In addition to being internationally significant as a stopover for migrating shorebirds such as Whimbrels, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Red Knots, the Eastern Shore of Virginia is an Audubon Important Bird Area, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Site, and a long-term ecological research site for the National Science Foundation.

Yet despite these environmental accolades, the Eastern Shore is not as well known as other hotspots on the Atlantic Flyway (think Cape May), so visitors here are more likely to get all the nature with none of the crowds.

Here’s the short of it: birds flock here, people don’t. At least not yet.

“Just how many sites would you recommend to birders along the Shore?” I asked Ruth Boettcher, avian specialist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. She climbed down off the roof of a hatching site to answer my question.

“Too many to count,” she said. She excitedly told me about the many wharfs, bays, marshes and beaches where birds congregate in fall. Ruth conducts research on Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers and is intimately familiar with the natural gems along the Shore.

My party and I ventured up and down the peninsula hitting several major birding hotspots along the way.

Eastern Shore of Virginia & Fisherman Island NWR 

Located at the tip of the peninsular “funnel,” this premier refuge concentrates massive numbers of migrants, particularly raptors, wood warblers, and even butterflies, before the next leg of their journey. More than 300 species have been spotted within the park’s 1,700 acres of salt marshes, grasslands, loblolly pine forests, and freshwater and brackish ponds. Tours of Fisherman Island, an especially pristine barrier island just offshore, are offered in fall and winter by reservation only.

Kiptopeke State Park 

A signature birding feature at Kiptopeke is a group of partially submerged concrete ships just offshore where gulls, gannets, loons, and other seabirds congregate. Due to its strategic location near the tip of the peninsula, Kiptopeke has one of the longest-running neotropical songbird-banding operations in the nation and is one of the best places in the country to view migrating raptors. The park offers interpretive programs and 4.2 miles of hiking trails through varied habitats.

Willis Wharf 

Scores of shorebirds, particularly Whimbrels and Marbled Godwits, blanket the exposed mudflats at Willis Wharf. The wildlife viewing platform, which was dedicated at the 2008 Eastern Shore of VA Birding & Wildlife Festival, is a great place to scan for Red Knots, Short-billed Dowitchers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Black-bellied Plovers. In winter, check the marshes for Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

Chincoteague Island National Wildlife Refuge

Known for its wild ponies, fragile dunes, historic lighthouse, and freshwater impoundments, this popular wildlife refuge at the northern end of the peninsula offers a variety of habitats that make for great birding and wildlife viewing. In spring, spawning horseshoe crabs make Chincoteague second only to Delaware Bay as a feeding area for Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Dunlin, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and Sanderling. More than 320 bird species have been observed in Chincoteague—shorebirds and waterfowl abound in fall and winter. Be sure to explore the famed three-mile wildlife loop and the secluded Wash Flats. Tread lightly on the dunes, where you might hear but not see endangered piping plovers nesting in the sand.

Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserve

This 298-acre preserve features one mile of Chesapeake Bay shoreline and striking 50-foot sand dunes that tower over the bay. Look for migrating songbirds in the thickets and woods, and for shorebirds and waterfowl in the bay. But also keep your eyes to the ground, where an exemplary population of the endangered northeastern beach tiger beetle scurries in the sand.

And don’t forget the man-made islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-tunnel (e..g, Sea Gull Island) or a boat tour of Chincoteague Bay.

Following Route 13, the Eastern Shore’s central spine, we were told the biggest mistake people make when they visit the Shore is that they don’t venture from the highway to explore its quiet, tucked away treasures.

So as we hit the major natural areas, we drove down nostalgic backroads through small towns such as Cape Charles, Onancock, and Chincoteague.

Here, we could see that the Eastern Shore is a no-nonsense lifestyle for rugged fishermen, a seaside retreat for artists and craftsmen, a nursery for boutique vintners, a playground for active baby boomers, and a refuge for busy beltway professionals.

We saw that the Eastern Shore is a place where friendly people enjoy a simple, coastal lifestyle amidst a potpourri of natural splendors, and where the forces of nature shape a unique expression to everything, its nature, its people, and even its language.

Around diners and fisherman’s wharves, for example, terms such as “been here’s” and “come here’s” roll off the tongues of its native sons. Your Virginia roots better be more than three generations strong to qualify as a been here…

Ruggedly simple and naturally alluring, the Eastern Shore has something for everyone, even the NBS (non-birding spouse).

 The Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival

A good way to sample birding on the Eastern Shore is to attend The Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival, held September 17-20, 2009. The festival is a chance for bird watchers to experience firsthand the Shore’s impressive migration event while accessing its best birding hotspots with expert guides. Field trips and programs will introduce participants to the birds and wildlife that inhabit the isolated coves, untamed barrier islands, open bays, and inland waterways, including special access to restricted islands that serve as wildlife refuges.

For more information or to register for the festival, visit the website.

Have you birded the Eastern Shore? If so, what have you seen? What are your favorite sites? Favorite places to stay or eat? 

Next up: Going to the Eastern Shore? Check out these links >> 

Back to Part I

© Laura Kammermeier. All rights reserved.