I stopped by Chris Greene Lake Park yesterday afternoon for about an hour.
This location is reached by following signs off Rt.29 north of
Charlottesville. The park is just down the road from the Charlottesville
Airport. There was one pocket of warbler activity along the perimeter road
with 8 Magnolia, 2 Nashville, 2 Black-throated Green, 2 Chestnut-sided, and
1 Black-and-White along with Scarlet Tanager, House Wren, Towhee, and
Red-eyed Vireo. Nothing of interest was on the lake. This site might have
some decent wintering Saw-whet Owl habitat and the sandy, weedy areas look
nice for a Lark Sparrow. It's worth noting, however, that there aren't many
trails here.
Another good local spot is the Ragged Mountain Preserve just south of
Charlottesville (check the VA Mountain Brding Trail website for directions).
This site is just as accesible as Observatory Hill, and aside from being
much larger with more varied terrain, I have never seen another person here.
The best birding seems to be in the second-growth areas along the
waterfront, which can be reached with a short hike from the parking area.
An overcast afternoon here last week produced 12 species of warbler and
various other passerines. They included a few more interesting species
(Blue-winged, Canada, Bay-breasted, Worm-eating, etc...) This is also a
good spot to look for Red-headed Woodpecker, and according to an
interpretive sign Cerulean and Prothonotary Warblers both breed in the
preserve. I have not visited here in season, but it sounds like this spot
has an interesting suite of nesting birds. Definitely worth a look if
you're interested in birding a new area around town.
Alex Merritt
Charlottesville, VA
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