Birding at Burkes Garden
A red-headed woodpecker.
On February 1st, 2025, Blue Ridge Birders took a trip out to Burkes Garden in Tazewell County, VA for a winter birding trip. Burkes Garden is a unique geological area known as an upland valley, and the large bowl-shaped appearance of the area gave it the nickname “God’s Thumbprint.”
Burkes Garden holds the title of the highest elevation valley in Virginia. It has incredibly rich soil for farming and is currently occupied primarily by Amish farmers. The area got its name from an Irish surveyor named James Burke who was the first person to map out the area in detail. The large swaths of fields surrounded by tall ridges and forest edges make Burkes Garden an incredible habitat for raptors such as hawks, falcons, owls, and eagles.
Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a wintering resident at Burkes Garden, given that the valley is a perfect habitat for them with its higher elevation and plentiful open areas. Golden eagles can be seen soaring miles and miles above, barely visible to the naked eye, or sitting at the tops of trees along the tall ridgelines surrounding the valley. Golden eagles claim the title of largest raptor in North America with a wingspan of up to nine feet, and rank among the largest raptor species in the world.
Golden eagles are widely distributed across North America, Northern Europe, Asia, and North Africa, giving them the largest range of all the eagles. This species is diurnal and hunts during the day, primarily feeding on small mammals like rabbits, hares and groundhogs. They can occasionally take larger prey as well, including coyotes, deer, turkeys, and other raptors. Unfortunately, the Blue Ridge Birders did not get to see any golden eagles on this particular trip.
The Blue Ridge Birders did, however, get to see the other species of eagle found in Burkes Garden. Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are a well-recognized bird for being the national bird of the United States. Bald eagles are smaller in size than the golden eagles, with a wingspan up to seven feet, and have a more limited geographic range, being endemic to North America.
Despite a smaller geographic range, it is more likely for someone to see a bald eagle than a golden eagle due to the fact that they prefer lower elevations near bodies of water rather than the high elevations that the golden eagle prefers. Bald eagles prefer being near bodies of water because their diet mainly consists of fish; however they are opportunistic and will take birds, mammals, and other vertebrates when they are available. It is documented that over 400 species have been taken as prey by the bald eagle. Another unique fact about the bald eagle is that they have the largest nest size of any animal in the world, averaging 13 feet tall, eight feet across, and weighing up to one metric ton in weight. A single pair of bald eagles can have several nests within their territory and often alternate between them each year. The Blue Ridge Birders saw two bald eagles and their nests in a patch of trees within view from the General Store.
Other raptors seen on this trip include the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), the American kestrel (Falco sparverius), and the Eastern screech owl (Megascops asio). Another carnivorous bird, but not a raptor, that was seen was the loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus). These little songbirds are not as cute and sweet as the feeder birds most people are used to, despite being a member of the passerine family that comprises many feeder birds.
Loggerhead shrikes, nicknamed “butcher birds,” are known for their unique hunting method that lets them take down prey much larger than most delicate passerines could, sometimes even larger than the shrike itself. They use their incredibly sharp beak to spear the neck or head of an animal and twist rapidly, leading to a serious case of whiplash. Depending on the size of prey, this whiplash may not be enough to finish off the prey, meaning the shrike has to get creative. They will take their prey to a hawthorn, which grows large thorns, and impale the prey onto it. They’ve also been observed doing this with barbed wire. This strategy is effective both as an option to kill their prey, but also as a method of storing food for later.
Other birds seen on this trip included the great blue heron (Ardea herodias), belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), hairy woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus), and plenty of others! We were also treated to some incredible sandwiches for lunch at the Burkes Garden General Store!
An American Kestrel, North America’s smallest falcon.
