Based on the responses to our survey questions, we've come up with the
following tentative plans for our Birding and Wildlife Tours program.
Remember that none of this is set in stone yet. I will make another
official announcement when plans are finalized, after which we will be
accepting registration requests.
We plan on beginning tours for the spring season April 1, and running them
through mid-June. We'll then do our fall tours mid-August through
mid-October.
There will be two field trips every morning. The early trip, during which
we will walk a short route (less than two miles) to listen for nightbirds
and observe the dawn chorus, will begin at the hotel at 6:00 AM and end at
around 7:30 AM. For the second trip, beginning at 8:00 AM, we will board a
bus, which will take the group to a more remote location on the property,
where we will bird for around three more hours (two to three miles of
hiking). We might also have a more casual mid-day, afternoon, or evening
"scouting" trip on new trails, and possibly a night hike to look for owls
and nightjars.
We will try to limit the group size to 15 persons, so those wishing to
participate must register ahead of time by phone or email to be guaranteed
a spot. A registrant may sign up for as many tours as he or she desires to
attend, and has the choice of either or both trips (described above) for a
given morning.
The tours themselves may be attended free of charge, and all who register
or join a tour unregistered will receive a 10% discount on our hotel rooms
(see www.naturalbridgeva.com for our current rates), meals, Bridge tickets,
and gift shop items for themselves and their families for their entire
visit. We will have a complimentary "Early Bird" continental breakfast,
with baked goods, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, etc., available to hotel guests
from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM, with our typical breakfast buffet (complimentary
with our special packages only) beginning at 7:00 AM. For those not staying
at the hotel, either breakfast option may be bought into--$5 for the "Early
Bird" and currently about $12 for the buffet (plus the 10% discount). There
will also be trail provisions--snacks, drinks, bug spray, sunscreen,
jackets, batteries, etc.--available for purchase (also with a 10% discount)
in the gift shop in the hotel lobby.
Your feedback is welcome!
Wes Teets
P.S. For those who requested a list of species seen on the property (99% of
these seen within the last year):
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Wild Turkey
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
American Woodcock
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Lapland Longspur
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Mourning Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Purple Finch
White-winged Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
