Mark your calendar for these upcoming birding adventures!

Mark your calendar for these Spring VSO Field Trips

May 29 - Piney Grove

Limited to 15 participants, must be a VSO member

June 4-6 - Highland County

This is our first trip to this "hot spot" in the beautiful mountains of western Virginia.

Get all the details on the VSO Field Trips page.

February 5-7, 2010, VSO Winter Field Trip to Outer Banks of NC

Despite challenging weather conditions, 24 enthusiastic birders attended the VSO field trip February 5-7 in the Outer Banks. We were rewarded with 116 species for the week-end. Participants in the pelagic trip on Friday with Brian Patteson enjoyed great, close-up looks at a variety of ocean birds, including: Greater Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, Red Phalarope, Great Skua, Black-legged Kittiwake, Dovekie, Razorbill and Atlantic Puffin.

Many thanks to our trip leaders Bill Akers and Jerry Via, who provided excellent programs Friday and Saturday evenings, along with being such knowledgeable, patient guides during our trip on Saturday.  

Birding at the hotel from our balconies and the outdoor platform was productive. Rarities included Iceland Gull and Little Gull, both seen close-in at the edge of the water. Northern Gannets gave quite a show flying up and down the coast, while Bonaparte and Lesser Black-backed Gulls entertained us along with the “regulars.” Both Common and Red-throated Loons, Razorbill, and Red-breasted Merganser were spotted, but there were few other birds in the ocean due to the very rough conditions caused by the high winds.

On Saturday, due to the strong NW winds and the heavy rains from the previous week, many birds took refuge in pockets of water near the road. So some of the best views were from our vehicles, where on one stop we saw Marbled Godwit, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler and Northern Pintail.

Other highlights included:

- A huge raft (2,000+) of Redhead Ducks in clear view from the causeway between Nags Head and Manteo

- Hundreds of Northern Pintail, Tundra Swan and Tree Swallow on Friday (Alligator River NWR)

- Both White and Brown Pelican (Pea Island)

- Eurasian Wigeon with a large group of American Wigeon (Boddie Island)

- Abundance of raptors on Sunday – 6 Bald Eagles, 6 Red-tailed Hawks, 4 Northern Harrier (Alligator River NWR)

- Up-close looks at Eastern Meadowlark and a Horned Lark (Alligator River NWR)

Boddie Island now has a great boardwalk and outstanding elevated observation platform that gives fantastic views in all directions.