Prince George County 

White-throated Sparrow, © Yamil Saenz

Just 30 miles south of Richmond, Prince George County is the last stop on the south bank of the James before Virginia’s Tri-Cities of Colonial Heights, Hopewell, and Petersburg. The land that now constitutes Prince George was visited by Christopher Newport in 1607 as a prospective site for English settlement, and was an attractive location for English settlers in the subsequent years. From Newport’s original visit through 1613, this region was administered as a corporation of the Virginia Company. In 1634, King Charles I reorganized the Virginia Colony into a local government consisting of eight “shires,” with the land that is now Prince George included in Charles City Shire. This arrangement stood until 1702, when the General Assembly proclaimed the land south of the James as Prince George County, a declaration that was made official the following year. The new county took its name from Prince George of Denmark and Norway, a Scandinavian royal who was also the husband of England’s Queen Anne. During the 17th century, this region was populated by English settlers who received large land grants from the king, including original Jamestown colonist John Martin, who received a grant called Martin’s Brandon in 1616. In 1619, Sir George Yeardley established Flowerdew Hundred, a massive tobacco plantation as well as the site of the first windmill in the British colonies. Flowerdew Hundred was a major archaeological site from the 1960s-1990s, leading to the discovery of hundreds of thousands of artifacts from the Native Americans, English colonists, and enslaved peoples who lived on the site.

By the mid-1700s, settlement in this region was continuing to grow, anchored by the towns of Petersburg and Blandford. In 1752, present-day Dinwiddie County was created from Prince George, taking with it both of the aforementioned towns. Prince George was a major battleground area during the Civil War, and Union troops ultimately used it as a major base of operations during the Siege of Petersburg. Following the conclusion of the war, former slaves played a major role in reviving the county’s fortunes, and the subsequent twenty years also saw the founding of numerous African-American churches that still exist today. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Prince George was also a destination for Eastern European immigrants, who left a cultural legacy that is celebrated by the Virginia Czech & Slovak Folklife Festival each October. The 20th century also saw the growth of a major military presence in Prince George, beginning with the creation of Camp Lee during the First World War. While the camp was inactive between the wars, it was revived during World War II and in 1952 became a permanent installation renamed Fort Lee. It is now a major training center for over 70,000 troops a year, and a huge part of Prince George’s economy and identity.

Despite its proximity to Richmond, Prince George is not a frequently-birded county. Nonetheless, it has a rich avifauna that is sure to delight any birders who make the trek. Geographically, it is dominated by the James River on its northeast edge, and the Tri-Cities to the northwest. To the south and west, it shares borders with Sussex and Dinwiddie County in a sparsely developed patchwork of forests and agricultural land. I-95 skirts the western edge and is the main connector to Richmond in the north, as well as Emporia and points south. From the southeast, Rt. 460 forges a direct path through the heart of the county, offering an easy route between Petersburg and Suffolk. The birding in Prince George is as mixed as this geography. Many of the major hotspots are in the eastern and southeastern portions of the county that abut the James. The highest species total in eBird belong to James River NWR, which offers a nice mix of habitat types included forests, swamps, and regenerating cutovers. Unfortunately, this location is has limited access, and is accessible only through special arrangement or during planned events. The other star of birding in this region is the Brandon area, a peninsula that juts out from the county’s far southeastern corner. This area is heavily agricultural, and has sprawling fields, a smattering of good-sized farm ponds, and a direct border with the river. As such, it has some of the most productive birding around, offering a nice mix of open country species, waterfowl, wintering goose flocks, and occasionally large congregations of icterids.

The northern part of the county offers equally exciting birding spots. Jordan Point Marina, at the base of the Rt. 156 bridge, is a great spot to stop in the winter and scope the James for ducks and geese, and in spring and summer the bridge is alive with Cliff Swallows. Peregrine Falcons have attempted nesting here, and can sometimes be seen hunting the pigeons that roost on the bridge. West of Hopewell, the Sleep Inn Ponds off Rt. 144 often hold good numbers and variety of ducks in winter, and are also home to a small resident population of Mute Swans. Appomattox River Regional Park is a good spot to check for woodland species in any season, and also has river access. Driving to the park on Rt. 645 also brings you through an extensive grassland zone abounding with open country species. The southern and western portions of the county are largely undeveloped forested or agricultural land, with limited venues for birding. In the extreme southwestern part of the county, the area known as Carson Wetlands is home to a breeding population of Anhingas that are reliably seen from the I-95 rest area. When driving through southern or western Prince George in summer, always keep an eye out for soaring Mississippi Kites as well.

For a relatively under-birded county, Prince George boasts a number of notable records. The Brandon Area has turned up Lapland Longspur and rare geese including Ross’s and Cackling, while a Great White-fronted was at Flowerdew Hundred in 1998. The Anhingas at Carson are among the most reliable in the state, and have delighted dozens of birders. Though generally rare in the Coastal Plain outside the immediate vicinity of Richmond, Common Ravens are beginning to make an incursion in this area and can sometimes be seen in northern Prince George. Other notable records for Prince George include Franklin’s Gull, Snowy Owl, Loggerhead Shrike, American White Pelican, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, and White Ibis.

—Matt Anthony

Hotspots 

Christmas Bird Counts

The Hopewell CBC, conducted since 1954, is the only active count in Prince George County. The count circle also includes the entire City of Hopewell, a small part of the City of Colonial Heights, and portions of Chesterfield, Charles City, and Henrico Counties.

Sources