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Join Susan and Tom Crockett for a bird walk at Beaverdam Park in Gloucester County. Beaverdam is recognized as a birding hotspot in eBird, with records for 189 different species. With any luck we should be able to find 20-30 of those.

No birding experience is required, just an interest in seeing, hearing, and learning more about birds. You will need to bring your own binoculars and maybe a snack. If you're interested in bird photography, bring your camera, too, preferably with a long zoom lens.

We'll meet in the parking lot at the main entrance to Beaverdam Park at the end of Roaring Springs Road. Birds are often more active early in the day, so we plan to start promptly at 9:00.  While a variety of birds can be observed from the parking area, we'll explore the adjacent open and wooded areas along the reservoir, so be prepared for some walking on potentially muddy trails.

As an option for those who are interested, we can continue our observations at the northern entrance to Beaverdam Park off of Route 606 (about a 15 minute drive) where we may encounter some additional species.

We'll plan on spending about two hours at the main entrance to the park, but participants are free to leave whenever they wish. Allow an additional hour for the optional excursion to the 606 entrance.

COVID-19 Considerations: The Middle Peninsula Bird Club has been safely and successfully running bird walks throughout most of the pandemic, so we will follow their protocol which requires masks and social distancing for all participants. Park rules also require social distancing for all users. The park is likely to be busy on a spring Saturday, so adherence to these rules will help keep everyone safe. We will monitor conditions as vaccinations increase and variants spread and will make adjustments as warranted. For liability reasons, this activity is restricted to members only. Space is limited to 12 participants and advance registration is required.


About the leaders:

Susan Crockett is a Virginia Master Naturalist and organizer of semi-monthly bird walks for the Middle Peninsula Bird Club. Among many other birding activities, she established a new Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Gloucester County and serves as the compiler for that annual event. A founding member of the Middle Peninsula Chapter of Virginia Master Naturalists, Susan is actively engaged in a wide variety of citizen-science projects relating to the natural world.

Tom Crockett has been tagging along with Susan on numerous bird walks and bird counts in recent years and has learned a lot from the more experienced birders on those outings. Birding has provided a new outlet and new challenges for his life-long photography hobby and he has spent a good chunk of this pandemic year "stalking the wild bird" with his camera.