Birds

Bald Eagle

Birdwatching at Colonial National Historical Park

More than half of the 400 bird species found in Virginia live in the swamps, marshes, rivers, ponds, and shorelines of Colonial National Historical Park. Because the park sits along the Atlantic Flyway, you can see wintering, migrating, and breeding birds throughout the year.

The open grasslands in Yorktown attract many woodland birds. Pullouts along the Colonial Parkway are great spots to look for waterfowl. The 5‑mile Jamestown Island loop takes you past fresh and salt marshes and woodlands—especially active during migration seasons.

Bald Eagles

The park is home to nesting bald eagles. Once endangered, bald eagles have made a strong comeback thanks to protection and monitoring. You can often see breeding pairs around the York River, the James River, and Jamestown Island.

Bird Species You May See

About 115 bird species nest in the park.

• Red‑tailed hawks and great horned owls hunt small mammals in the marshes and fields.
• Little blue herons and laughing gulls feed along the shoreline.
• In winter, ruddy ducks and northern pintails gather on local waterways.
• Songbirds thrive in the park’s woodlands. Common species in Yorktown and Jamestown include red‑eyed vireos, catbirds, and Acadian flycatchers.
• Winter visitors like ruby‑crowned kinglets, white‑throated sparrows, and yellow‑rumped (myrtle) warblers arrive from northern breeding grounds.

Wildlife Checklists

 

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Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

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Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

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Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

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Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

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List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Colonial National Historical Park Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park

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Species attribute definitions

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