We enjoy a plethora of beautiful birds through the windows on our small parcel of real estate in Franklin Co., Va. This past week it occurred to me to wonder what all kinds of birds could be found at Smith Mountain Lake other than those we have seen.

Not being a devoted bird-watcher I am lacking knowledge of this sort, so I researched info. on Birding and Wildlife in this area. I came up with an interesting list of feathered creatures that can be found at or near the lake.

I do not have a complete list of birds for this area, but I was surprised at some of those I did find. This is an accounting of a few of those birds documented as having been seen out and about: Red-bellied woodpecker, terns, great blue herons, eastern kingbird, chipping sparrow, eastern bluebird, song sparrows, and eastern meadowlark, northern flicker, cardinal, pileated woodpecker, and the eastern wood-pewee.

Also found here are double-crested cormorants, eastern phoebe, wild turkey(less common than 20 yrs. ago), downy woodpecker, the common loon, horned grebes, ring-billed gulls, and many more.

We are even listed as one of the top 10 areas in the south for bird watching tours, specifically due to the graceful osprey living at Smith Mountain Lake. SML is also listed as one of the top 5 places in Virginia for bird and wildlife watching. Have some fun this summer identifying and watching some of these fantastic birds for yourself.