Staunton View Public Day Use Area, also known as Staunton View Park is located in Mecklenburg County where it connects with the borders of Halifax and Charlotte Counties. To access the day use area, continue straight down county road 699 directly off of state route 15. This road will lead you to a parking/picnic area which offers free parking. If you take the left turn before reaching the day use area, you will be led to a boat ramp which requires a fee to park. At the day use area, you will be at the confluence of the Staunton (Roanoke) and Dan Rivers as they drain into Kerr Reservoir.
This area is birded mostly in the late summer and fall when birders hope that water levels will be low enough to unearth productive mudflats. If water levels drop at this time of year, birders can expect to find a variety of shorebirds utilizing the flats. Although numbers of shorebirds are not high relative to productive coastal sites, what they lack in quantity they make up in quality. Shorebirds considered rare inland often show up at Staunton View under the right conditions. The scarce and declining Buff-breasted Sandpiper has been an annual visitor to the flats around the first of September, often multiple birds. Other uncommon species seen annually include Black-bellied and American Golden-Plovers, Short-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Sanderling. Less than annual are Western, White-rumped and Baird’s Sandpipers but you have a good chance to see these species if conditions are right. Other noteworthy species seen at Staunton View on more than one occasion have been American Avocet, Whimbrel, Western Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Marbled Godwit, Piping Plover and Wilson’s Phalarope. A Red Knot was even spotted down there one year. Even when things are quiet, you can usually count on seeing plenty of Killdeer, both yellowlegs, Pectoral, Spotted and Least Sandpipers and Semipalmated Plover. Shorebirds aren’t the only family drawn to this area. Wading birds also frequent the shallow water around the flats. Sometimes there can be large numbers of Great Egrets present. You can almost always count on seeing multiple Little Blue Herons, mostly white juveniles, at some point during the season and Snowy Egrets as well as Tricolored Herons have made appearances here. Some years White Ibis are seen and sometimes in good numbers as well as the odd Glossy Ibis. This is also a good place to see terns and probably the most reliable spot in the county to see Black Tern in late August. On the right day you might see a flock of Common Terns migrating and usually there are a few Forster’s and Caspian Terns around. The trees and bushes around the water and the picnic area can be good for migrants including various warbler species. On a day after a cold front, these areas can be quite busy so don’t forget to look away from your scope once in a while to check for activity here. Speaking of scopes, one is absolutely necessary to view the mudflats. If Staunton View has one drawback, it’s that many of the birds on the flats are a good distance away so trying to use binoculars to identify these birds is useless. Also, the time of day is an important factor. Unless you’re birding on a heavily overcast day, it is essential that you bird Staunton View in the morning when the sun is behind you. Anyone birding there in the afternoon on a bright, sunny day will throw up their hands in frustration at all the unidentifiable distant silhouettes shuffling about the flats. Although most of the bird activity occurs on the flats directly in front of the parking lot, don’t forget to take a peek up the Staunton River. There is an obscure path connected to the far end of the parking lot that allows you access to see upriver. When water levels are at their lowest, more mud is unearthed and there can be quite a bit of activity upriver. Another way to bird the area is from a kayak. A kayak is easily launched from land here. One can then paddle out to the flats to get closer looks at the birds and/or to take photographs. It is important to stay in the kayak at all times. You will disturb the birds less and you will not risk getting stuck out there. As dry as a flat may look, anyone venturing out of their kayak may find themselves sinking in the mud. Some outstanding rarities seen from this area have included Franklin’s, Laughing and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, American White Pelican, Yellow-headed Blackbird and even a wayward juvenile Clapper Rail. So, give it a try. As is often said, you never know what you might find at Staunton View.
In regards to water levels, the link below will show the current water level of Kerr Reservoir. The general rule of thumb is that if the level is at 300 feet or below, you should be able to find birds here. The lower the water, the better as more and more fresh mud will appear as the water level drops. http://kerr.uslakes.info/Level/
eBird Hotspot: Staunton View Public Use Area
—Adam D’Onofrio