Great Dismal Swamp

The southernmost stop on the Seashore to Cypress Trail is perhaps the most impressive: Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. The Great Dismal is the subject of too many colorful stories to count, and it is famous nationwide among birders. I spent a full day there and felt I only got a glimpse of the place.

There are three ways to explore the Great Dismal: by boat, by foot, or by motor vehicle. My son and I had canoed into the swamp via the Feeder Ditch a while back and had camped at the Army Corps spillway site near Lake Drummond. For my most recent trip, I decided to drive in on the service road that leads from the visitor center to Lake Drummond, a distance of about seven miles. I stopped at the visitor center, filled out a permit form, and was given the combination to the lock on the service road gate, with the admonition to be out by three o’clock.

The road runs along a pine woods, and then a forested wetland, past a swampy grassland, and ends up on the shore of the lake, where a small observation platform is located. The birds you’ll see vary greatly according to the season, and can include some rarities such as the Swainson’s warbler. It’s best to park the car at intervals and slowly walk the service road. If you visit during spring migration, buy a tape of birdsongs and hone your skills. You will likely hear more birds than you’ll see. It is thick in there.

At 110,000 acres, the Great Dismal is huge, and can be overwhelming to some. If your time is limited, or you simply want a less ambitious birding trip, try one of the small parks in the area. Many have a surprising variety of birds. Fort Story has boardwalks that overlook Cape Henry beach, where the bay meets the ocean. Francis Land House is on a remnant of a 1,000-acre plantation and has a nature trail and elevated boardwalk that crosses a wetland. Great Neck Park has pine woods and a marsh trail, and Beach Garden Park has ponds, wetlands, and grasslands.

More Birding Adventures

More information on these and other birding sites is available in the Coastal Area edition of “Discover Our Wild Side,” published by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

About the Author — Curtis Badger is a writer and naturalist who has written more than 30 books. His most recent book, "The Wild Coast," was published in the spring of 2005 by University of Virginia Press.