Birding

Hayfields State Park

540-396-4489, Hayfields@dcr.virginia.gov

Situated between Bullpasture Mountain and Jack Mountain in beautiful Highland County, Hayfields provides varying birding habitats ranging from heavily wooded mountain slopes to expansive valley pastures and small wetlands. The Bullpasture River also runs through the park providing excellent riverside birding in a serene bottomland setting. The elevation of the park ranges from 1,800 to 2,400 feet.

Type of birds

A variety of waterfowl species can be spotted along the Bullpasture River and at the park's four ponds. Species frequently observed are common mergansers, wood ducks and Canada geese. Other water species include great blue herons, green herons, kingfishers, osprey and bald eagles. Common songbirds include bluebirds, indigo buntings, tree swallows, barn swallows, cardinals, robins, blue jays, mourning doves, chickadees, eastern towhees, brown thrashers, catbirds, mockingbirds and a variety of woodland warblers. Common woodpeckers include red-bellied woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, northern flickers and red-headed woodpeckers. As far as grassland species: eastern meadowlarks and field sparrows are abundant ! There is the possibility that Hayfields could be good habitat for bobolinks . Hayfields is also great habitat for American woodcock and there have been several sightings of ruffed grouse and turkey .

Best time of year to observe

Spring and fall are the more active times for birding, but a variety of species of birds can be observed throughout the year in the park. Hayfields has the potential to be a wonderful winter birding area. There are some unique species that winter over in the area, including golden eagles .

Best places in the park to observe

For woodland birding, springtime on the Laurel Loop trail offers the best chance at seeing multiple warbler species, including northern parula, worm-eating, black and white, ovenbird and many others. There are also scarlet tanagers, orioles, both Baltimore and orchard, and a variety of vireos including blue-headed, white-eyed and yellow-throated. Yellow-billed cuckoos have also been heard. The Bullpasture River also provides a great place to observe a variety of species. Kingfishers are very common as well as bald eagles. Common mergansers and their young have routinely been seen by park visitors. The valley pastures at Hayfields offer a lot of unique bird sightings as well. Red-winged blackbirds are probably one of the most seen birds, but there are plenty of meadowlarks and field sparrows too. Hopefully in the future the property will attract breeding bobolinks as well.

Special birding programs and events

Ranger-led morning bird hikes are offered about every other week in the park. Owl-prowls and Timber-doodle (American woodcock) hikes are in the works for the future. The exciting thing about Hayfields is that it is very new and largely unexplored. We welcome birders to come make new discoveries of cool species that the park staff may yet be unaware of! The birds listed above are just a small portion of what resides at Hayfields. If you visit, and we hope you do, please come to the front office and tell us what you observed.

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