In the 1970s and 80s, a bird banding operation run by William & Mary professor Ruth Beck produced many interesting records, including a Bewick’s Wren, and Connecticut and Swainson’s Warblers. Since that era the habitat has changed significantly from the overgrown field it once was to a 40-year old forest with thick underbrush. Accordingly, very little birding has taken place here since the banding heydays. Since then, most of the activity here has been by students submitting incidental checklists from the edge of the parking lot on their way to work at the Pop Lab.
Birding in the now-forested area here is still possible but is rarely done since there are no walking paths and the understory brush can be quite dense.
Accessibility: This hotspot refers to the land south and east of the Population Ecology Lab, or “Pop Lab”, which is owned and operated by the College of William & Mary as a research center. The lab is not open to visitors.
Parking is free on the weekends but is enforced from Monday at 7:30 am through Friday at 5 pm by William & Mary Parking and Transportation.
Owner/Manager: The College of William & Mary
eBird Hotspot: William & Mary Population Ecology Lab
—Nick Newberry