Birds are often the most visible and audible wildlife found at Richmond National Battlefield Park. Many bird species rely on the park's combination of field, forest and wetland habitats for food, shelter, and a refuge from urban development. For example, Bluebirds prefer open fields with scattered trees for nesting, while Red-headed Woodpeckers prefer forested areas with dead trees where they can search for tasty insects. Many birds also stop in the park during their seasonal migrations. Commonly sighted birds include Carolina Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Carolina Chickadees.
A juvenile Pine Warbler on a clear day.
NPS/Charles Cantrell
High-quality bird habitats can be found at many of the park's units, including Cold Harbor, where past management has created an open forest setting with many standing dead trees. Red-tailed Hawks and other raptors require open space for hunting small ground-dwelling mammals, and mature forests for nesting and reproduction. This combination of habitats can be found at several of the park's units, including Gaines' Mill and Malvern Hill, where open fields representing the historic landscape lie next to forested areas. In addition, open wetlands support many water birds species. Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons can be seen perched on standing dead trees or hunting for fish in the wider sections of Crewes' Channel at Malvern Hill and Boatswain Creek at Gaines' Mill.
A pair of Great Egrets in the park's wetlands
NPS/Charles Cantrell
Richmond National Battlefield Park works hard to understand its diverse bird populations. Each summer, the park runs a volunteer breeding bird monitoring program where local birders work to identify species across the park - check out the results from 2019 in these surveys (PDF file, 1.13mb). Volunteer birders have identified many species of concern (species which may be at risk of becoming endangered) such as the Wood Thrush, Northern Bobwhite and Red-headed Woodpecker. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer birder, please email the Natural Resources Manager at kristen_allen@nps.gov.
