Fun That Flies To Town
Smith Mountain Lake’s Birdwatching
By Kate Hofstetter


  Twenty years ago when Joel and Norma Shapiro were shopping for a home on Smith Mountain Lake, one of their greatest questions was:   “How’s the bird watching?”
  “Great,” was the real estate agent’s reply. “We have red, yellow and blue ones.”
  Joel, who at the time worked in Philadelphia and lived in South Jersey, says he regularly observes birds at his backyard feeder that he used to have to go on field trips to see.
  He ran down the list of woodpeckers sighted on his 6 acres of wooded property on the Blackwater like an academy award winner thanking the crew that made it all happen: Yellow Bellied Sap Suckers; Hairys; Downys; Flickers; Red Bellies; Pileateds. Then he acknowledged the little guys: the Brown Creepers; Red Breasted Nuthatches; Brown Headed Nuthatches; White Breasted Nuthatches.
  “The Brown Headed Nuthatch used to be rare here,” Norma said, “but about 10 years ago a colony started at the State Park, and they spread across the Roanoke River.”
  Winters need to be really cold for us to get the Red Breasted Nuthatch, she went on to say. We also see a wider variety of ducks on the lake when winters are cold. This is because small lakes and farm ponds freeze and ducks that would normally go to those bodies of water come to the lake, she said. Plus, when we have a hard winter, the variety of birds increases as more of the northern birds come here to escape harsher, life-threatening weather further north.
  Some of the ducks that the couple has seen on Smith Mountain Lake include: The Canvasback, Ruddy Duck, Pintails, Buffleheads, Mallards, Redheads, Hooded Merganser, and Wood Ducks (Joel says they have not seen a Wood Duck for several years but used to see them when they first came here) and an occasional Coot.
  Other water fowl include Canadian Geese, Gulls, Terns and King Fishers all of which are fairly common. Horned and Pied-billed Grebes are also seen on the lake, Joel describes the Pied-bills as looking like little wind-up toys that dive.
  Birds from higher elevations and colder climates may “shift” up to 200 miles during winter, Norma said, but that doesn’t mean they are migratory. The migratory birds go to tropical climates such as South America.
  Loons come to the lake every winter and, if conditions are right, they will breed here. Increased activity from personal watercraft, however, makes the lake less attractive to breeding pairs. Norma said she once saw a family of loons near the Dam, a sight she said she will always remember.
  “Loons, unlike several other water fowl, enjoy open water,” she said. Cormorants also are usually seen in open water.
  The Great Blue Heron, which winters here along with the Green Backed Heron and the Great White Egret (which are summer birds), are typically seen in coves. While boating, Norma and Joel have found the Gills Creek area one of the better spots for viewing herons and egrets.
  Last year, several owners of martin houses were disappointed by the low number of martins to return to this area. Norma said the Purple Martin, a swallow highly valued for controlling mosquitoes, is becoming more and more scarce because their habitat in South America is disappearing.
  “There’s really not much we can do about that,” she added.
  Likewise, the habitat of quail in this country is being lost. Quails nest in hedge rows, but more and more farmers are putting up fences and cutting down their hedge rows. Of course, the same is also true of land that is developed. The numbers and varieties of birds begin to disappear as woodlands are cleared to make room for developments.
  Joel and Norma join other members of the Roanoke Valley Bird Club (RVBC) each year to count hawks during migration. They go to Harvey’s Knob at mile post 95.4 on the Blue Ridge Parkway to experience this spectacular event where thousands of hawks can be viewed flying back to their breeding grounds or to their winter homes. The hawks arrive in April and begin leaving in September. During these periods of migration there are times when you can see hawks flying over all day long.
  The RVBC was formed in 1957 as a local Chapter of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. It currently has more than 150 members. The Club promotes an interest in the study of birds and the conservation of wild bird habitats. Each year, the club sponsors a full calendar of field trips and uses the information gathered from these trips to keep a census of bird populations in the Roanoke Valley. During spring and summer months there are three bluebird trails that club members monitor, checking nesting boxes weekly to determine breeding success.
  The RVBC meets the second Monday of each month from September through May at 7 p.m. at the Grandin Court Baptist Church on Brambleton Avenue. For information on joining, visit the club’s web site at www.roanokebird.tripod.com
  Some of the birds that are the earliest to return to our area in the spring include Pine Warblers, Robins, Tree Swallows and Red Wing Black Birds. You can bet birders will be out on field trips to welcome them back.
  One of the easiest birds to lure to a “back yard” feeder is the hummingbird. Although you will find they are far more plentiful at feeders during hot weather they actually begin arriving in Virginia with the flowers. By the time fruit trees or azaleas are in bloom your hummingbird feeder should be up and ready for business.
  Listen, it sounds like Joel is still talking.
“....Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, Bluebirds, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Orioles, Scarlet Tanager’s, Goldfinch, Purple Finch, Wild Turkeys, Great Crested Flycatcher, Doves, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Towhees, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Blue Jays....”
  Yup. Just like the Academy Awards!