A wildlife refuge is, of course, an excellent place to spot birds at almost any time—and a September scouting trip can be especially rewarding. It’s a migratory month, a time when birds from the north make their annual flights south to warmer climes in central America, South America and the Caribbean. (Birds are smart, too.)
I’m a birding novice. I couldn’t distinguish a tufted titmouse from a pine warbler if they each perched in my hand. Expert birders can identify scores of different species, from impressive distances, and rather quickly. I was curious to watch them work and to take a peek at the culture of birding.
Bill Akers and Jerry Via, who led the Woodland Trail hike, are ornithological experts—and good company, besides. Akers, a husky, quick-witted pharmaceutical rep, has been studying birds for nearly 40 years. A Blacksburg resident, Akers describes our morning jaunt, with a chuckle, as the “Red Cross walk.” If you’ve ever spent time in a wildlife refuge, you’ll know why—the skeeters are thick. Via, his birding partner on this day, is a genial naturalist and biology professor at Virginia Tech. He has taught tropical ornithology in the Dominican Republic and seems to know as much about butterflies and wildflowers as about birds.
Before Akers, Via and I get the car parked, a knot of khaki-attired birders in our group are peering into the woods with their binoculars. Some have their spotting scopes at the ready, should a bird settle on a tree limb. All have their birding guide books—Sibley’s is a popular choice—in their pockets. Akers strolls over to check things out. There are little creatures flitting about in the mottled sunlight 20 yards away, but, to me, the birds are all vague apparitions in shades of brown amid the leaves and tree branches.
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