City of Hampton

Sanderling, © Alex Shipherd

Europeans first laid eyes on present-day Hampton in 1607, when the explorers who subsequently founded the Jamestown Colony came ashore at Old Point Comfort (the eventual site of Fort Monroe). Located at the tip of Virginia’s Lower Peninsula, overlooking the body of water known as “Hampton Roads” at the confluence of the James and York Rivers with the Chesapeake Bay, Hampton has long held strategic importance. In 1609, settlers constructed a wooden defensive structure named Fort Algernourne in the area where Fort Monroe now stands. The settlement that became Hampton was established in 1610 when English colonists forcibly seized the land where Algonquian Native Americans had previously lived in a village known as Kecoughtan. This area has been continuously occupied since that time, a fact which gave rise to Hampton’s claim to be the “first continuous English-speaking settlement,” owing to the Jamestown colony’s eventual abandonment. Along with the settlement, the English also constructed a church and created the Elizabeth City Parish, an Anglican parish which still exists today (though known as St. John’s Parish), making it the oldest English-speaking parish in North America. Hampton’s 17th Century history is unfortunately marred by the fact that, in 1619, Old Point Comfort was the spot where the first enslaved Africans were brought to British North America.

Over the subsequent two centuries, Hampton remained an important strategic site, ultimately leading to the construction of a permanent fortification at Old Point Comfort. Completed not long after the War of 1812, it was named Fort Monroe in honor of President James Monroe. This area became especially important during the American Civil War (1861-1865), when Fort Monroe remained under Union control despite the rest of Virginia joining the Confederacy. Under the command of Major General Benjamin Butler, Fort Monroe became an important place for enslaved people fleeing the south; when Frank Baker, Sheppard Mallory, and James Townsend escaped to Fort Monroe and requested asylum, Butler denied Confederate requests to the return them to enslavement, famously declaring escaped slaves “contraband of war” and therefore not subject to the Fugitive Slave Law. As a result, Fort Monroe became a destination for enslaved people seeking their freedom, and by war’s end more than 10,000 former slaves were encamped there. Ultimately, these settlers founded the Great Contraband Camp, a community which is preserved in some of the modern-day street names in Hampton. Formerly enslaved people were instrumental in establishing Hampton University in 1868, a major institution for the education of freedmen that counted famed educator Booker T. Washington among its students. Hampton University continues to serve the Hampton community to this day.

In the 20th century, Hampton’s military importance expanded into the burgeoning field of aerospace technology with the creation of Langley Air Force Base and the NASA Langley Research Center. Originating as “Langley Field” in 1917, the air force base has played an important role in conflicts from World War I through the Cold War and beyond. The research center was also established in 1917 as the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, and is an important site for cutting edge research in aviation and aerospace technology. Beyond these military centers, the 20th century also witnessed the growth of modern-day Hampton into a bustling city. Hampton became an independent city in 1908, but the City of Hampton as we known it came into being in 1952 through its consolidation with surrounding Elizabeth City County and the incorporated town of Phoebus. In 1957, the construction of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the first structure of its kind, linked Hampton and Norfolk by spanning the mouth of Hampton Roads, further accelerating growth in the region.

From a birding perspective, the City of Hampton is no less interesting than its history. With 284 species reported in eBird as of May 2020, Hampton boasts strong avian diversity and is a great place to see many species that are largely restricted to coastal areas. The crown jewel is Grandview Nature Preserve, a publicly accessible park that combines salt marshes, tidal creeks, and Chesapeake Bay beachfront. Clapper Rails abound in the saltmarshes, and in the proper seasons, other marsh specialties including Marsh and Sedge Wrens as well as Seaside, Saltmarsh, and Nelson’s Sparrows can be found here. The tidal creeks are often excellent for wading birds, particularly both species of night-heron. Hiking the beach is the star attraction here; a roughly two-mile hike will take you to the tip of Factory Point, directly across the channel from Plum Tree Island. In winter, this hike gives ample chances to view the Bay and search for loons, grebes, gannets, scoters, and more. Diligent checking may even yield a rarity such as Eared or Western Grebe, or Common Eider. Western Sandpipers are frequently spotted along the beaches in winter, while Purple Sandpipers frequent the rocky breakwaters; occasionally, a Red Knot or two winters here as well. For many, the true prize in winter is the small numbers of Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs that are sometimes found at the tip. Alongside Grandview, Fort Monroe (which has been publicly accessible as a National Monument since 2011) is another major birding destination. It offers similar waterfront views of Hampton Roads, which in winter can be useful for spotting grebes, loons, ducks, and sometimes Razorbills. On the north end, the sheltered bays often host congregations of scaup, Canvasbacks, Redheads, Ruddy Ducks, and other species. When shorebirds are moving through, grassy fields on the north side sometimes flood after a rain and can serve as a congregating site for any number of interesting species. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons breed at the fort. During the summer months, Fort Monroe is also a good spot to watch for Black Skimmers and several species of terns from the huge breeding colony that formerly occupied the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and has recently relocated to adjacent Fort Wool. For woodland species, including migrant passerines, the best spot is Sandy Bottom Nature Park, which offers extensive trails with a large lake and a mix of interior woodland and freshwater marsh habitats. In addition to passerines in the woods, the marsh is a good spot to check for shorebirds and waders, and has also hosted Common Gallinule several times.

Between its eminently bird-y location and its relatively thorough coverage, Hampton sports a tantalizing list of statewide rarities, including Black-tailed Gull, White-cheeked Pintail, Yellow Rail, Purple Gallinule, Bullock’s Oriole, Snowy Owl, Henslow’s Sparrow, Red Phalarope, Wilson’s Plover, White-winged Dove, Western Grebe, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. This list is augmented by an assortment of regionally notable finds that includes Hudsonian Godwit, Harlequin Duck, Eared Grebe, Wilson’s Phalarope, King Eider, Marbled Godwit, American Avocet, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Eurasian Wigeon, Piping Plover, Anhinga, Dickcissel, Painted Bunting, Glaucous Gull, and Iceland Gull. In September 2019, Fort Monroe proved its potential as a hurricane birding site with several reports of Sooty Terns, alongside lesser records such as Black Tern and Whimbrel.

—Matt Anthony

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