Grab your Camera and Mark one off the Life List

Purple Finches at Kiptopeke State Park

Need to cross Purple Finches off your birding life list?  Then head out to Kiptopeke State Park where the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory (CVWO) staff and volunteers are diligently counting birds for research and reports used by a variety of university ornithology programs.

Katie Rittenhouse, CVWO Hawkwatcher, snapped this close up of a Purple Finch at Kiptopeke State Park.  Late fall and early winter are great for birding. Kiptopeke's 6-bedroom lodges are open year-round.  Get a birding group together and book yours today!

Considered one of the prime migratory bird resting spots along the east coast Atlantic flyway, the Ontario Field Ornithologists predicted an increase in migrating Purple Finches due to scarcity of food in northern areas.  

Brian Taber, President of CVWO, works closely with Kiptopeke State Park, park volunteers, and CVWO volunteers to monitor migrations and track the count of a variety of migratory songbirds and birds of prey species.  He wrote that this year's purple finch count is on pace to be one of the highest ever.

Book your lodge today for a winter group birding retreat!

Kiptopeke State Park also works closely with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Coastal Zone Management  (CZM) program on land acquisition and habitat restoration project.  Migratory songbirds depend on fruit and berry producing shrubs and trees to continue their migration to sub-tropical areas in the late fall and early winter.  

Planting berry producing native plants in your backyard and stocking bird feeders in your area can help these birds migrate successfully.   You can find a list of excellent native plants to use in your landscaping by clicking here.  (PDF) You can also check out what is growing in front of each lodge at Kitpopeke State Park.  Recently, CZM helped fund planting of microhabitats for migratory birds at each lodge.

Beautyberry is a great native plant that provides food and shelter to migratory birds.

A daily record high of 86 Purple Finches was posted on November 23, 2014.  Once the final counts are submitted, we will know if this was a record or near-record year for this species.  Head on out to the park before the birds all head south! You can make your lodge reservation by calling the Virginia State Park Customer Service Center at 1-800-933-PARK.