Canvasback, January 31, 2019 ©Drew Chaney
Covering 980 acres just southwest of Charlottesville, Ragged Mountain offers an extensive system of trails and Albemarle County’s largest lake. At 170 acres, the Ragged Mountain Reservoir is one of the prime places to find waterfowl in the Charlottesville area. The 6.7 miles of trails are also a prime destination for hikers and offer great opportunities to view neotropical passerines. Breeding species include Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Wood Thrush, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, and Louisiana Waterthrush, and Bald Eagles may also nest in the vicinity. In winter, like in much of the Piedmont, waterfowl presence is generally dependent on storm events or freezes, but over the course of any given winter, one can expect a wide variety of species to be found. The oak forests around the reservoir also reliably host Red-headed Woodpeckers from Oct-Apr. Viewing of the reservoir is best accomplished from the area below the parking lot at the end of Reservoir Road, or from the dam. If you are going on a weekend, be sure to arrive early, as this destination is extremely popular with hikers and the small parking lot fills up quickly, especially on a warm day. This location has produced regional rarities including Brown Pelican (5/1/1947), Surf and Black Scoters, Long-tailed Duck, Brown-headed Nuthatch (4/1/2004), as well as all expected species of waterfowl in the region.
eBird Hotspot: Ragged Mountain Natural Area
—Drew Chaney, February 2023