This unique park has two rather distinct areas: a Heritage Farm Museum area featuring historical structures and two ponds; and a segment with a recreation center and ball fields. The best birdwatching opportunities are offered around the 2 ponds, fields and woods in the Heritage Farm Museum area at 21544 Old Vestal’s Gap Road. Note that this is not considered the main entrance for the park, but it is a great place to park for proximity to the Visitor Center and birding opportunities.
There are also 8 color-blazed trails of varying lengths through a myriad of forested areas of the park. A trail map can be found here.
Red-Breasted Nuthatches enjoy the coniferous trees behind the Visitors Center and on the edge of the parking lot. Sparrows thoroughly enjoy the tall grasses near the first, smaller pond named Frogshackle Pond. Baltimore and Orchard Orioles can be found in trees along Vestals Gap Road. The occasional Barred Owl can be spotted off the Green Trail which runs behind the second, larger pond, called Wildlife Pond. Warblers can be spotted all around the property during migration with hotspots behind the large shelter across from the Visitor’s Center, and the woods and trees that border a second shelter along Vestal’s Gap Road. A variety of waterfowl enjoy the ponds with a hard-to-find Little Blue Heron and Black-Crowned Night Heron making appearances in recent years. And don’t forget to keep an eye to the sky as bald eagles and hawks soar overhead. In September, Broad Winged Hawks often make an appearance during their migration to Central and South America.
Accessibility: The park is open Dawn to Dusk. Bathrooms are in the Visitor Center and are available even when the Visitor Center is closed.
Owner/Manager: Loudoun County Parks and Recreation
eBird Hotspot: Claude Moore Park
—Nicole Hutcheson, January 2023