Bird Migration

in Southwest VA

Fall migration is already ramping up across Virginia, what traveling birds can we expect

to see in Radford in the coming weeks? Migration usually starts around mid-August and will

continue through October, so there is ample time to get out and try to spot some less common

birds while they make their trip south for the winter.

Some birds you may see this fall who are not usually here year round include seafowl

like Pied-billed Grebes, Wood Ducks and Double-crested Cormorants, songbirds such as

Eastern Wood-Pewees, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles, and some larger birds

like Ospreys, American Kestrels and Eastern Whip-poor-wills. There is a large variety of

different types of birds who will be passing through, this list is only a small glance.

Small songbirds will be migrating during the night. They tend to find patches of forest to

rest in before continuing their journey, so local areas such as Bissett Park and Wildwood Park

are good spots to look for them. According to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources,

many warblers use the Appalachian Mountains as their path south, so going on a hike

somewhere in the mountains would also be a great opportunity to spot these birds as they pass

through.

Raptors, unlike songbirds, migrate during the day. There are some locations in the

mountains called Hawkwatch sites which are the best places to look out for migrating raptors.

There is usually a Hawkwatch employee or volunteer at the sites who can help you spot and

identify the different birds traveling through. Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch is the closest site to

Radford, located just east of Waynesboro.

EBird is a great resource for those looking for more information about the various bird

species migrating through Virginia. EBird is run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and has a

website and an app where you can track the birds you spot and see what others are finding in

your area. Another resource from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, along with two other

universities and several supporters, is BirdCast. This website is solely dedicated to tracking fall

bird migration across the US and gives you access to multiple maps with a migration forecast

and live migration updates.

The BirdCast website also promotes “Lights Out”, a movement to help people

understand the importance of turning out or turning down the lights in your home after dark

during migration seasons. Light pollution causes a serious threat during migration seasons as

numbers in window collisions rise and many birds lose their migration path due to the

exhaustion and disorientation they experience from the scattered bright lights.