City of Williamsburg

Rusty Blackbird, © Max Nootbaar

For many, the name “Williamsburg” indelibly conjures associations with Virginia’s, and indeed this nation’s, colonial past. Although the history of human settlement in the region extends further, the association is almost inescapable due to the prominent role played by Williamsburg and the surrounding area in the story of early European settlement and American independence. The City of Williamsburg marks one of the three points of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, a region that also includes Jamestown and Yorktown, with the 23-mile Colonial Parkway providing a literal link between European settlement of Jamestown in 1607 and the decisive turn in the American Revolution with the victory at Yorktown in 1781. For Williamsburg, history is both past and present, with much of the City’s contemporary economy and culture tied to the prominence of Colonial Williamsburg as a national tourist attraction. Similarly, the College of William & Mary, another important bastion of the City, is not only a thoroughly modern, highly regarded institution of learning, but also one steeped in its past; reminders of the College’s founding in 1693, or of the numerous notable alumni (particularly Thomas Jefferson) are always close at hand on campus.

The City occupies a relatively central location on Virginia’s Lower Peninsula, a land feature bounded on either side by the York and James Rivers. Located directly along I-64, Williamsburg is approximately 50 miles east of Richmond and just 30 miles from the tip of the Peninsula in Hampton. The history of the City can be traced back to 1699, when it was deliberately planned to become a regional hub and the capital of the Virginia Colony, replacing the original settlement at Jamestown. As both the seat of colonial government and a center of higher learning, owing to the presence of William & Mary, the City thrived and became central to many aspects of life in the Virginia Colony. It remained an important center through the American Revolution, but after the capital moved to Richmond in 1780, Williamsburg settled into reduced prominence and an identity as a small college town that persists to this day. Inspired by prevailing strains of the Colonial Revival movement in the early twentieth century, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. helped fund a large-scale revival of the City, culminating in the creation of Colonial Williamsburg, which has helped created the City’s unique blend of past and present. Today, over 14,000 people call Williamsburg home, while numerous others have visited Colonial Williamsburg or attended school at William & Mary.

Owing to its longtime status as a center of government and learning, Williamsburg was perhaps unsurprisingly also important in the early practice of natural history in Virginia. Although far more well known for other facets of his life, William & Mary graduate Thomas Jefferson was keenly interested in natural history, incorporating it into his Notes On the State of Virginia and playing an important role in the addition of natural history to the William & Mary curriculum. Even more significantly, naturalist Mark Catesby lived in Williamsburg beginning in 1712, and spent time traveling through the Virginia Colony collecting natural history specimens. While Catesby was a classical naturalist, he had a particularly keen interest in birds and his work The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, at least partly an outgrowth of his time in Virginia, was influential to later generations of naturalists and artists, particularly John James Audubon whose fame would come to eclipse Catesby’s. This association with natural history would continue in the twentieth century with ornithology, by then a professionalized scientific discipline, becoming an important part of the Biology curriculum at William & Mary. Longtime Professor Dr. Mitchell Byrd was for many years an active member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology, as well as a co-founder with Dr. Bryan Watts of the Center for Conservation Biology, an organization that has done important conservation work with shorebirds, eagles, colonial waterbirds, and numerous other species both in Virginia and beyond. Following Dr. Byrd’s retirement, the mantle of ornithology at William & Mary has been capably taken up by Dr. Dan Cristol, and Ornithology continues to be a part of the Biology curriculum to this day.

At just 9.1 square miles in area, Williamsburg is one of the smallest cities in the state. Despite its small size, however, the City encompasses a variety of habitats that often hold a surprising diversity of birds; over 200 species have been recorded with the City limits. The College Woods on the campus of William & Mary is particularly good for migrant thrushes, as well as warblers and other passerines. The campus at William & Mary has a robust population of Barred Owls that are often encountered unexpectedly during daylight hours, and the College Woods usually also hosts nesting Great Horned Owls. Bassett Hall Nature Trail in Colonial Williamsburg is another good spot to check for migrant passerines. It is also the most reliable location in the city to see Red-headed Woodpeckers, and the ponds on the adjacent golf course sometimes hold ducks or the occasional coot. Lake Matoaka at William & Mary is a good spot for waterfowl, particularly in cold winters when it is often one of the few local ponds that aren't frozen over. Tutters Neck Pond is also good for waterfowl, as well as occasionally hosting locally uncommon breeders such as Prothonotary Warbler or Warbling Vireo. One of the best hotspots in the city is College Landing Park, which combines wood edges with a view of College Creek. This spot often hosts waterfowl, can have large concentrations of swallows in spring, and occasionally has shorebirds on the tidal creek flats. Other spots where shorebirds can sometimes be encountered are on the edges of the drainage ponds at John Tyler Blvd. and the Riverside Doctors' Hospital. Field birds are particularly challenging in the city, and are often best encountered by chance at unexpected spots such as overgrown vacant lots or brushy cutovers.

Notable records in Williamsburg include Rufous Hummingbird, Purple Gallinule, Monk Parakeet, Bewick's Wren, Bicknell's Thrush, European Goldfinch, Swainson's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, and Painted Bunting. A number of these notable records stem from a banding program, initiated in 1969 by Mitchell Byrd and Bob Kennedy, and continued by Ruth Beck through 1982, at an early successional field on the site of the William & Mary Population Ecology Lab. In addition to these notable records, this banding program also contributed historic records of open country birds such as Yellow-breasted Chat, Eastern Meadowlark, and Bobolink that are now very difficult within the City. The College of William & Mary campus is also known for a wintering flock of Rusty Blackbirds, a sharply declining species, that typically numbers over 300 individuals, a very high count for the region.

—Matt Anthony

Hotspots

Accessibility & Surroundings

Williamsburg is easily accessed from both Richmond and Norfolk by Interstate 64, which runs just to the east of the city, or US 60, which passes directly through the city and offers a more leisurely drive. From Newport News, VA 143 is also a convenient access point. Coming from the west, VA 5 is a scenic rural route that runs the length of Charles City County and into Richmond. The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry, which is free and operates 24 hours a day, is the most convenient way to cross the James, and connects Williamsburg with Surry County and other points southwest.

Amenities

Williamsburg's main attraction is its rich colonial history, which can be experienced at both Colonial Williamsburg and the campus of William & Mary. For history buffs, these locations are ideal places for a leisurely walk that will allow you to enjoy historic Williamsburg while also doing some birding. Tourists may also be interested in the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg, which emphasize folk art and the decorative arts, as well as the Muscarelle Museum of Art on the William & Mary campus.

Shopping can be found at the Williamsburg Premium Outlets, another popular attraction located just north of the city limits. Shopping is also available at Merchant's Square in Colonial Williamsburg.

There are a wide variety of dining options available. Richmond Road is the easiest spot to find fast food and chain restaurants. The Cheese Shop, located in Merchant's Square, is a particularly popular spot for sandwiches, though expect a long line during tourist season. There are also several good bars in town. The Green Leafe is popular with William & Mary students, and offers a good selection of craft beer and specialty burgers.

The Williamsburg area is home to four breweries, with another one due to open by 2018, and one meadery. Alewerks, Brass Cannon, and The Virginia Beer Company are all located just outside the city limits, and feature a rotating selection of craft brews as well as trivia contests, live music, and food trucks. Billsburg Brewery, recently opened at the James City County Marina, has the best outdoor venue for getting in some birding while enjoying a beer. Amber Ox Kitchen & Brewery, opened in late 2017, is the first within the city proper, and serves up locally-sourced food alongside their own brews and an array of guest taps. Silver Hand Meadery is also located in Williamsburg, and while they only offer tasting on premises, their mead is also available in many of the bars in town.

Bird Clubs

The Williamsburg Bird Club has been active since 1977, when it was co-founded by Ruth Beck and Bill Williams. The club meets on the campus of the College of William & Mary on the third Wednesday of every month, with the exception of June, July, and December, and meetings are free and open to the public. Additionally, the club conducts monthly field trips to various local birding spots and coordinates the annual Christmas Bird Count as well as a Spring Count each May.

The Bird Club of William & Mary is a student organization at the College of William & Mary, founded in 2014 by then-student Nick Newberry. Although membership is only open to W&M students, the club is an excellent resource for student birders, as well as a good way for students to gain knowledge about (and transportation to!) local birding sites.

Christmas Bird Counts

The only active CBC in Williamsburg is the Williamsburg CBC, which is organized and compiled by the Williamsburg Bird Club. This count was first conducted in 1946, but only sporadically until 1977, the same year that the Williamsburg Bird Club was founded, and annually since then. The entire City of Williamsburg falls within the count circle, which also includes much of James City and York Counties, and parts of Surry and Gloucester Counties.

Recommendations

As a popular tourist destination, Williamsburg offers a multitude of dining and shopping options, and birders making repeat visits will enjoy sampling this variety. The editors recommend The Cheese Shop which serves up delicious sandwiches, as the best lunch spot in town. The food here is not to be missed, but those in a hurry should beware that it is a popular destination for tourists at Merchants' Square and the wait can sometimes be a bit long. Their Virginia ham is somewhat of a specialty, and no sandwich is complete without the house dressing, which is so good you may find yourself purchasing a jar to take home. The Cheese Shop also has a cellar with an excellent selection of craft beers. Craft beer fans will find much to like about the five breweries currently operating in the Williamsburg-area, but the editors recommend The Virginia Beer Company for some of the best beer around.

Further Reading

The most comprehensive resource for bird records in Williamsburg is Bill Williams's The Birds of Virginia's Colonial Historic Triangle: An Annotated Checklist, available through the Williamsburg Bird Club. This provides a succinct summary of the Williamsburg-area avifauna, including detailed notes on local distribution and seasonality, as well as specific records for notable species.

Of less contemporary ornithological relevance, but interesting from a historical perspective, Alan Feduccia's Birds of Colonial Williamsburg: A Historical Portfolio is a beautifully illustrated coffeetable book that grew out of Feduccia's interest in the writings of Mark Catesby.

Sources