We had an unforgettable weekend in the New River Valley for the VSO summer field trip June 17-19. We had both storms and gorgeous weather with lots of birds and special friendships formed or renewed.

The VSO field trip to the Outer Banks February 4-6, 2022, was a huge success for a number of reasons. We had a record number of registrants (115!), and we were able to have safe, fun field trips in spite of COVID-19. And we had no rain, which is always a plus! We found a total of 145 species over the weekend.

The weather was perfect for the VSO field trip to Chincoteague on September 10-12, and we had breezes or winds that kept the mosquitoes at bay most days. We tallied 141 species, which included birds found on the Causeway, Chincoteague Island and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.

Despite a little rain on Saturday and some strong winds, the January 31-February 2, 2020, annual VSO field trip to the Outer Banks was fantastic! With the combined eyes and ears of 90 participants, we tallied 148 species.

During the 2018 and 2019 nesting seasons, VA Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Virginia Tech banded over 5,000 of the nesting birds on the South Island of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel in order to evaluate dispersion of these populations of seabirds in years subsequent to the colony's displacement from the HRBT South Island .

VSO congratulates Conor Farrell representing the youth team, C’ville Ceruleans, who won the youth category of the 2020 Kiptopeke Challenge.

The weather was magnificent for the VSO field trip to Chincoteague on September 20-22, and we tallied 122 species. It was exciting to return after missing last year due to the mandatory evacuation related to the hurricane. We had many first-timers among the 85 participants, and several got at least one life bird.

Light rain started shortly after we arrived at Tayloe but did not deter our enthusiasm and we were rewarded with great looks at Yellow-breasted Chat, Common Yellowthroat, Orchard Oriole and Summer Tanager.