Whenever I visit a Virginia state park, I’m always looking for birds. Of the 36 Virginia State Parks I’ve been to, I have found my favorite parks for birding. I’m happy to share the bird sightings and experiences at each park that made them my favorite for birding.

1. Staunton River State Park 

This secluded park borders rural areas and preserved lands that make it an ideal habitat for birds. Plus, it’s surrounded by water. Its namesake, Staunton River, runs along one side, with the Dan River on the other, and they both converge into Buggs Island Lake (aka Kerr Reservoir). My favorite part of the park is the tip of River Bank Trail, just below the cabins, where there’s a scenic view of the water. It’s a beautiful place for sunrise, which is where I was when I saw a northern parula basking in the first rays of light with me.  

 
A northern parula basks in the sunrise at Staunton River State Park. 

The boat docks are another great place to see birds like herons and other waterfowl. I also have seen meadow-loving birds like indigo buntings in the field just before you get to the cabin area.  

On May 21, 2024 at 9 a.m., I left my Merlin Bird ID app’s sound recording on for 11 minutes while I walked around just outside my cabin near the field and under the trees as it captured 27 species calling! This was the first place I saw a blue grosbeak. 

Birds recorded on May 21, 2024. 

2. Kiptopeke State Park 

This park on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is a unique migratory bird habitat along the Atlantic flyway. I visited this park during fall migration when their Kiptopeke Hawkwatch Observatory had the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory (CVWO) biologists counting birds from sunrise to sunset (as they do every September through November). There were so many birds flying all around! The biologists with CVWO were blowing my mind because they’d get a glimpse of a bird and knew what it was. It was so fascinating to watch and learn from them. 

They were focused on the raptors flying south. You can learn about their raptor research and why it’s important on their website at vawildliferesearch.org/raptor-research. In addition to viewing raptors, I enjoyed the view the observatory gave me over the pollinator fields and garden where a lot of songbirds were hanging out.  

I also loved watching the brown pelicans that have claimed the concrete ships in the Chesapeake Bay and the great blue herons that were fishing on the shore.  

View through a binocular of a great blue heron on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay at Kiptopeke State Park. A concrete ship is in the distance – home to hundreds of brown pelicans.

3. Powhatan State Park 

This park has a plethora of open meadows that many birds need as habitat. It also has upland hardwood forests and the James River runs along it, all making it a great place for birding. I am part of a birding club in Richmond that had a bird walk here, along Turkey Trail, led by Chief Ranger of Visitor Experience Hilda LeStrange. 

Indigo bunting on a sunflower by Barbara J. Saffir.

Even though we didn’t see it, we were so excited to hear the northern bobwhite quail! This quail depends on meadows, which are decreasing rapidly. Powhatan is a haven for birds like this quail, as they are working on meadow restoration. I was excited to see indigo buntings and blue grosbeaks because the males are so colorful! And it was interesting to compare the females we also saw. 

Feminist Bird Club of RVA on a bird walk with Ranger Hilda LeStrange at Powhatan State Park.

On a separate visit in the fall, I was enjoying the glowing fall foliage on Cabin Trail when I heard the calls of red-headed woodpeckers. I realized there were several! They were flying back and forth from what seemed to be their home in a snag (dead tree). I also heard or saw several other species, including the barred owl, eastern towhee and white-breasted nuthatch. I definitely recommend that trail as well! 

At the trailhead of Cabin Trail during a fall golden hour.

4. Sky Meadows State Park

In Northern Virginia, this park is tucked into the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains with access to the Appalachian Trail. I highly recommend hiking and birding along the Sky Meadows loop (details on that route—which includes multiple trails—in this blog “The inside scoop to the Sky Meadows loop”), where I counted 33 species during my 5-mile hike on May 8, 2024.  

A few favorites that I spotted, were the red-headed woodpecker (that is prolific at this park), a yellow-breasted chat (which was a lifer—first time spotted) and so many warblers!  

5. Pocahontas State Park 

With 7,919 acres of forest, three lakes and 90+ miles of trails, Pocahontas is certainly a great place to go birding. It’s also a favorite because it’s where I earned my Virginia Master Naturalist (VMN) certificate. During the VMN training, there are various field trips for hands-on learning. My ornithology VMN field trip was held at the park on May 6, 2023, where we did a bird walk and count. On this count, we saw and/or heard 55 species!  

Green heron looking into the water at Pocahontas State Park.

Among my favorite sightings on this day and others: cedar waxwings—a whole tree full (in the parking lot of all places), great blue herons—in their rookery above Swift Creek, bright colored summer tanagers, beautiful calling orchard oriole, and numerous warblers and woodpeckers.   

On National Public Lands Day, I went on a birding/clean-up hike led by Chief Ranger of Visitor Services Rebecca Whalen. This was extra special because at the end of enjoying birding along Beaver Lake with a group, the Virginia Master Naturalists who were at the park monitoring eastern bluebird boxes (they have over 50 at the park), gave away some extra bluebird boxes they have so that I could host them at my own home. Now I have a piece of Pocahontas State Park in my own backyard!  

Haley and her friend Lexi proudly hold the bird boxes gifted to them.

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There is no wrong answer as to which park ends up being your favorite to go birding at! They all offer wonderful habitats for birds and other wildlife. The first step to finding your favorite is to get out there and go birding. You are sure to have your own unique experiences like I shared. 

Find guidance on our birding page. Happy birding!