Smithfield Packing Plants (private)

Located on VA 10 north of town, the Smithfield Packing Plants comprise a massive industrial complex for one of the global meat-packing giants. The property here is strictly private and inaccessible, and would hold little interest for birding were it not a favored site for Boat-tailed Grackles, a species that is typically uncommon to rare away from coastal marshes. At the packing plants, it is possible to see upwards of fifty grackles, and the eBird hotspot mainly exists to consolidate reports of this species. There is not much else to recommend this site from a birding perspective, although in the winter the plants also attract large concentrations of Fish Crows, as well as sizable gull flocks. Birding here is mostly done as a quick drive-by; the parking lots are for Smithfield employees only.

eBird Hotspot: Smithfield Packing Plants (private)

—Matt Anthony, August 2020