Make a Plan for the Virginia Birding Classic!

By Carolyn Rubinfeld/DWR

Have you ever wanted to be the very best birder you can be? To travel across the land, searching far and wide for wildlife and birds? How about doing that while raising money for the worthwhile cause of getting under-served youth into the outdoors through the Virginia Wildlife Grant Program? Now, you can do all that in one fell swoop!

The Virginia Birding Classic brings birders together from all over the Commonwealth to find as many species as they can on public land in a 24-hour period. Public land is funded by our contributions, both through licensing fees (Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources [DWR] lands) and taxes (other public lands). New for this year, you can choose to participate in either The Cardinal Cup—the Virginia Birding Classic’s preeminent category of competition in which teams of between two and six people scour the Commonwealth’s many public lands to find as many species as possible in 24 consecutive hours—or The Big Sit—a tailgate party for birders in which teams of as many members as you’d like choose a circle 30 feet in diameter within the boundaries of one of Virginia’s many public lands and record how many bird species your team can identify in 24 consecutive hours from within the circle.

Last year, our Virginia Birding Classic team of DWR coworkers, the “DoWitcheRs,” traveled across the coastal plain and birded Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and Wildlife Conservation Sites (WCSs) from before sunrise to after sunset. We saw a total of 95 species, including almost 50 bald eagles, a “Wayne’s” black-throated green warbler, a barred owl, and 27 American white pelicans!

Reflections on the Event

I loved experiencing Princess Anne WMA at first light. Dawn chorus came quickly after the initial chirps of a yellow-breasted chat. But more than watching or listening to birds, I got the chance to explore forest and field, meadow and marsh, and even the James River ferry. Our team had a ball finding species together, excitedly calling out what we saw or heard and making sure everyone got on the bird. Ragged Island WMA offered fantastic views of seaside sparrows, many of which flitted above the saltmarsh while projecting their buzzy “butter-beeeeeans” song. At one point, we even saw a prothonotary warbler carrying nesting material into an open metal pipe by the side of the Bear Garden WCS canal path. And beyond birds, we witnessed hundreds of dragonflies—mostly eastern pondhawks—hovering over the sunlit impoundment trails.

As one of my good birding friends once said, “birding is best shared,” and I couldn’t agree more. When you’re with a group of people who love wildlife, you can feel the energy—the palpable joy—all around you. It provides needed fuel for a 19-hour day, that’s for sure!

One of the hardest things about the competition is knowing where and in what order to visit sites. With only 24 hours, it’s impossible to do the entire state. (And too much time spent driving takes away from finding species. As one of my teammates said, “time is birds!”)

My recommendation is to find a place with excellent songbird diversity early in the morning (check eBird the week before to see what folks have been listing there), then move on to shorebird habitat and finish with wetland locations with rails, nightjars, and owls. Southwest winds overnight are your friend for major migration days, and Virginia tends to have the highest species diversity numbers in early May.

What I Learned about Wildlife Management Areas

We visited three Wildlife Management Areas: Princess Anne, Ragged Island, and Hog Island, all of which allow hunting at certain parts of the year.

These sites also had infrastructure for birding: Princess Anne WMA has a large viewing blind for one of the impoundments with viewing slots at both seated and standing levels. Ragged Island has a half-mile wooden boardwalk that crossed above the saltmarsh and ended at the James River. And Hog Island has well-maintained gravel and grassy access roads that made for easy views of the impoundments from all angles. When visiting WMAs for birding, wear blaze orange during hunting season. I wore an orange hat, but a vest also works. During spring migration, some WMAs may have turkey hunting; double-check the WMA website for more information. And as a reminder: there are no restrooms at WMAs. Make sure to make a pit stop ahead of time!

How Do I Join This Year’s Birding Classic?

Once your team is ready to go, sign up for the Virginia Birding Classic. Anyone with a fishing, boating, hunting, or Restore the Wild membership will receive a discount on the entry donation, and all kids under 16 are free (but still need to be signed up). Plus, each team member receives commemorative swag and goodies from DWR and their partners! What are you waiting for? There’s an entire state to explore and birds to see!