The Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory opened its spring migratory
banding station for 2007 at First Landing State Park on March 14th. Our
bander is Peter Doherty, a dedicated conservationist with extensive banding
experience at long-established stations such as the Braddock Bay Observatory
in NY and the Manomet Observatory in Massachusetts. Peter will band daily
through May 31st, weather permitting. I will pinch hit for him on March31st
and April 1st. The public is always welcome at the station and visitors
will find Peter a pleasure to talk to and will benefit from his wealth of
experience with birds and conservation issues.
The station is located at the intersection of the Long Creek and White Hill
Lake Trails. The shortest way in from the Shore Drive entrance to the Park
is to pass the contact station on the entrance road leading to the Trail
Center. After passing the contact station, make the first right into a
parking area and recycling station. Park there and walk back out to the
paved road, heading toward the Trail Center. Long Creek Trail is the first
marked trail on your right off the road to the Center. It is blazed orange.
Follow this trail approx 1.5 miles to the station as it winds along along
Long Creek. The station is above the trail on the left, just before you
cross a concrete bridge near a salt marsh. There is a banding station sign
there and the station has a large blue tarp over it which you are unlikely
to miss. You will also see signs announcing the banding area along Long
Creek Trail near a boardwalk that is across a wetland, a bit before you
reach the concrete bridge. Within the next couple of weeks the Park will
install signs along the Cape Henry Trail that will direct visitors to the
station via the Kingfisher Trial, which T's into the Long Creek Trail just
before you reach the station. That way is shorter only if you are already on
the Cape Henry Trail.
Peter is maintaining an outstanding blog, CVWO News from First Landing State
Park, with great pictures and commentary. It can be accessed at any time by
a button on the CVWO Homepage at http://www.cvwo.org/ . Please check out ;
the blog and pay Peter a visit at the station.
Best,
Bob Reilly
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
