Most birders visiting Poquoson head straight for the salt marshes and shorebird pools at Messick Point; relatively few visitors associate the city with other habitat types, particularly woodland birding. However, for those interested in beefing up a Poquoson list or exploring neglected birding spots, the Oxford Run Canal Trail holds a great deal of promise. This roughly 1.5-mile, out-and-back trail runs directly parallel to the canal through a large tract of intact, mixed woods with a fairly intact understory. During the breeding season, the woods are home to a suite of species including Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian and Great Crested Flycatchers, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Parula, Ovenbird, and more. The presence of scattered pines in these mixed woods also proves attractive for Yellow-throated Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch, and Summer Tanager. During the winter, expect a variety of winter woodland birds including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown Creeper, both kinglets, Hermit Thrush, and Winter Wren. The shallow canals and wet bottomland here may also attract Rusty Blackbirds, which have been reported from this location. This trail is most productive during spring and fall migration, when a wide variety of migrant warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and thrushes – many of which are otherwise difficult to find in the City of Poquoson – pass through. Near the main parking area there are also two medium-sized drainage ponds which may host the occasional Spotted or Solitary Sandpiper in migration, or Green Heron during the summer. Finally, it is worth keeping in mind that the riparian woods here have some potential for lingering migrants or even vagrant passerines. There is a mid-November record of Cape May Warbler from this location, which certainly suggests that other, possibly rarer finds might turn up with better coverage in late fall and winter.
Accessibility: Its location almost directly adjacent to the intersection of the two major roads into Poquoson (Victory Boulevard and Wythe Creek Road) means that this trail is almost impossible to miss for any birders coming from out of the city limits. The trailhead is accessed from behind the Poquoson Public Library and City Hall building complex, and there is a large public parking lot here as well. The trail itself is unpaved but well-maintained, and stretches for about 1.5-miles. It is largely flat and not particularly strenuous walking.
Owner/Manager: City of Poquoson
eBird Hotspot: Oxford Run Canal Trail
—Matt Anthony