Shared by Jeff Wright - Northern Neck Audubon Society, as Guest Blogger.

By Jeff Wright, Northern Neck Audubon Society Member

If you are looking for something to do this weekend, you might consider flying on over to Belle Isle State Park for the Global Big Day on Saturday May 14, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This is a day when birders worldwide will join together in the biggest birding day of the year. 

This park is a great place for bird walks with the Northern Neck Audubon Society 

Belle Isle State Park is one of the sites where birders and folks who may want to be birders can participate in this exciting event. It's fun to see birds, try to identify them, and record their numbers. It is a lot like solving a puzzle or figuring out a mystery. 

Birds give us a few clues, like their shape, size, color, habitat, songs, etc. then we get to try to figure out each bird's true identity. We frequently guess right and solve the problem, but not always. Yes, the birds sometime stump us and get to laugh. Maybe that is why there are so many Laughing Gulls at Belle Isle this time of the year?

Laughing Gulls are often seen along the Rappahannock River 

The Global Big Day at Belle Isle State Park is sponsored by the Northern Neck Audubon Society and will be from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This is designed as a fun event that supports Citizen Science by collecting important census data on our fine feathered friends. Everyone is welcome and there is no experience necessary.

We will have guides to go along with each group and have some loaner binoculars available, too. Yes, by strolling around this gem of a park and working off our breakfasts we can also be helping support science.

Why we picked Belle Isle State Park?

An easy question to answer: birds love it, birds live there, birds breed there, and birds migrate though Belle Isle State Park on their way to far off places like the Arctic or South America. In birding lingo, Belle Isle State Park is a Hot Spot. 

Spoiler Alert: Though I have always wanted to see a penguin they never visit Belle Isle State Park. But it is a reliable spot to see our national bird the bald eagle and also see wild turkeys, the bird that our founding fathers also considered before selecting the magnificent eagle. On many visits to the park, we get to see eagles, ospreys, and other birds on their nests at the park. 

Bald Eagles keep a watchful eye of their surroundings 

This is the first time for this event on the Northern Neck and at Belle Isle State Park, so it is exciting to help “fledge” an event at this Virginia State Park.

During the 2015 Global Big Day, 6,085 species were reported from 13,664 participants across 135 countries. Our event at Belle Isle State Park this year should help the birding world surpass all of those numbers. We are hoping to make this an annual event on the Northern Neck and will continue Virginia’s leadership in birding and conservation programs.

Belle Isle State Park is located on the Rappahannock River in Lancaster, Virginia. If you can't make it to the Global Big Day this weekend, the Northern Neck Audubon Society leads several birding hikes at Belle Isle State Park each year. Details about each walk are posted to the Virginia State Parks events database.

For more information about this event and future activities at Belle Isle State Park, visit the events page by clicking here. For directions to this park, click here.