| Virginia is among the premier bird watching | | | | eagles, red tailed hawks and other large |
| spots in the mid-Atlantic region of the USA. | | | | hunters are present in the fall thru spring. |
| Virginia has a wide variety of environments | | | | Other hawks such as sparrow hawks may be |
| and is visited by many species of birds. | | | | found year round. |
| | | | |
| Song birds | | | | Waterfowl |
| | | | |
| Virginia is home to large numbers of song | | | | Ducks, geese, brant and swans all make stops |
| birds. Along the coast, marshes, wildflowers, | | | | in Virginia. In the refuge, geese and swans |
| fields and areas of brush provide ideal | | | | take up residence year round. Other full time |
| nesting and feeding habitat. Other songbirds | | | | residents include black ducks, wood ducks and |
| inhabit the tall pine forests there. | | | | mallards which raise their young on the |
| Warblers, nut hatches, sparrows, red wing | | | | marshes of Chincoteague Island, Wallops |
| blackbirds and others nest near the | | | | Island and much of the Chesapeake. As autumn |
| Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coast in the | | | | arrives, ducks and geese migrate into the |
| summer, while cardinals, jays, woodpeckers | | | | refuges and surrounding areas of Virginia. |
| and finches reside there during the winter | | | | Shoveler ducks, pintails, mallards, widgeons, |
| months. | | | | teal, rudy ducks, canvasbacks, redheads, ring |
| | | | necked ducks, bluebills, and others fly in. |
| Shore Birds | | | | Mergansers, buffleheads, goldeneyes and other |
| | | | diving ducks show up in the bay waters as |
| Herons, egrets, ibises, oyster crackers, | | | | cold weather sets in. Off the coast, rafts of |
| march hens and other shorebirds are | | | | sea ducks and small groups of oldsquaw ducks |
| frequently spotted along the marshes in | | | | forage along the shoals over the winter. |
| places like Chincoteague, Assateague and the | | | | |
| other barrier islands. On the beaches, dozens | | | | Pelagic Birds |
| of species of sandpipers, plovers, gulls and | | | | |
| terns feed, nest and raise chicks. | | | | The waters off the coast are visited by up to |
| | | | 30 species of pelagic birds including |
| Birds of Prey | | | | albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, |
| | | | storm-petrels, phalaropes, skuas, jaegers, |
| A number of birds of prey visit Virginia. | | | | gulls, terns and alcids. These birds migrate |
| Ospreys arrive in the spring to raise young | | | | along the offshore waters far from land. Many |
| and feed on the abundant fish stocks. As | | | | pass off the coast and never see Virginia's |
| seasons change, some ospreys migrate south | | | | beaches. |
| while other birds of prey arrive. American | | | | |