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WINGS Birding Tours – Itinerary

Maryland and West Virginia

Birding the American Civil War: Gettysburg, Antietam, and the Appalachians

June 2025
with Jon Dunn and Matt Orsie as leaders
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As beautiful as it is scarce, Cerulean Warbler is just one of the 25 or more species of breeding parulids we could see in the Appalachian forests. Photo: Giff Beaton

General Robert E. Lee made two forays north into Union territory, the first in September 1862 and the other in late June of the following year. Lee had multiple reasons for both invasions, but a primary goal was to relieve pressure on the beleaguered South, especially in the West. By the spring of 1863, this was along the Mississippi River at Vicksburg. He hoped that significant victories might force the North to give the South its independence, or more realistically cause other countries, particularly France, and Great Britain to officially recognize them. The resulting battles were both tactical defeats for Lee. The first, at Antietam, Maryland, resulted in the highest number of casualties on any day of the entire war. Less than a year later, the three-day battle at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was the costliest of the war, the “highwater mark of the Confederacy.” The South would never again be able to mount a sustained offensive, and its eventual defeat nearly two years later was ordained here at Gettysburg.

Our tour takes us to both of these famous battlefields and to Harpers Ferry, where John Brown’s famous October 1859 raid was soundly repulsed by US forces—under Robert E. Lee, and where Stonewall Jackson’s victory and the surrender of 12,500 Union troops in September 1862 (part of the Antietam campaign) was the greatest federal disaster until January of 1942 when a larger force surrendered at Bataan, the Philippines.

We’ll spend some time birding around Frederick, Maryland, and around Gettysburg, but the bulk of our birding will be in West Virginia, from around Harpers Ferry, the lowest point in West Virginia, to the high Appalachians and the dramatic New River Gorge east of Charleston. In the Appalachians, bird and song activity should still be high, and wildflowers will be at their peak. In the course of the tour we can anticipate seeing 25 or more species of wood warblers, including Cerulean, Mourning, Louisiana and Northern Waterthrushes, and possibly Golden-winged and Swainson’s, as well as Yellow-billed and perhaps Black-billed Cuckoos, Acadian, Willow, Least, and Alder Flycatchers, and possibly Henslow’s Sparrow.

This tour is one in a series organized by Jon to explore the history and natural history of the sites associated with the American Civil War.

Day 1: The tour begins with dinner near Baltimore, Maryland. Night in Baltimore.  

This was my first WINGS tour so I really have nothing to compare it to. Jon and Matt were wonderful tour guides. Their birding skills left me speechless. So many new birds for my life list. The people I met were awesome and I hope to see all of them again. The camaraderie was wonderful. I had a great time and can’t wait to book another WINGS tour!

Andrew K., June 2019

Day 2: We’ll leave this morning for Gettysburg, the small southern Pennsylvania town where the climactic battle of the Civil War was fought in the first days of July 1863. General Robert E. Lee had invaded the North a few weeks before, after his decisive May victory at Chancellorsville; the incursion was partially motivated by the need to relieve Union pressure on Vicksburg and other strategic sites in the deep South. The Army of the Potomac responded, engaging Lee here at Gettysburg. For three full days the battle raged, climaxing in Pickett’s Charge at Cemetery Ridge, although tactically the battle had already been decided by the end of day two perhaps due in part to the heroics of Chamberlain and the 20th Maine (plus others) at Little Round Top and the First Minnesotan closer to Cemetery Ridge. Claiming more than 50,000 casualties, Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the war and a decisive defeat for Lee, who would henceforth be on the defensive: the war dragged on for nearly two more years, but Lee’s fate and the fate of the South were sealed here. 

We’ll spend the entire day visiting the major sites of the battle and the new visitor’s center where we’ll see a film and then see the restored Cyclorama which portrays the events on the culmination of day three of the battle. Birds in evidence on the open farmlands and in the oak woods might include Red-headed Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, Wood Thrush, Orchard Oriole, and Field Sparrow. After an early dinner in Gettysburg, we’ll continue on to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Night in Harpers Ferry.

Day 3: This morning we’ll visit Antietam, where the fighting of September 17, 1862, resulted in 23,000 casualties—more than on any other single day of the Civil War. Lee faced George McClellan, whose army not only outnumbered the southern forces but had also come into possession of Lee’s war plans (the now famous Order 191), which had been dropped by mistake along the road and retrieved by a Union soldier. In spite of this, the battle was not decisive, though it did result in Lee’s retreating back into Virginia, providing the Union a strategic victory. But, had McClellan not dithered for over a day and engaged his entire force, there is little question that Lee’s Army would have been smashed. This would have possibly led to an early end of the Civil War and saved hundreds of thousands of lives. McClellan’s inability to achieve a definitive victory and his reluctance to pursue Lee’s retreating army in Virginia convinced Lincoln that the Army of the Potomac would soon need a new leader. Lincoln previewed his decision with his famous quotation: “If General McClellan isn’t going to use his army, I’d like to borrow it for a time.” At Antietam, grassland sparrows such as Grasshopper, Field, and possibly Vesper should be much in evidence as they sing from the restored Civil War era picket fences. Overhead there should be Black and Turkey Vultures and we’ll check the crows carefully for the hoarser sounding Fish Crows. On our way to lunch in Sheperdstown, we’ll stop at the Lock 38 on the B & O Canal next to the Potomac River.  Here there should be woodland species like Acadian Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Warbler.

Later in the afternoon we’ll visit Harpers Ferry, the site of John Brown’s famous raid of October 16-18, 1859. Brown was an ardent abolitionist, and it was his Kansas exploits a few years earlier that gave that territory the name “Bloody Kansas.” The federal forces sent to retake the armory at Harpers Ferry were led—ironically—by Robert E. Lee; the armory was ultimately retaken, and John Brown and others were hanged by the end of the year.  It would also figure prominently in the action at Antietam. The fall of Harpers Ferry and all of the armaments to Confederate forces, allowed first Jackson, then A.P. Hill the following day to march quickly back to Antietam late in the day but just in time to relieve Lee’s forces at the south end of the Antietam battlefield. The confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers offers stunning scenery and here we should see a variety of species including perhaps nesting Ospreys. In 2021, a pair of Peregrine Falcons nested here across the Potomac in Maryland, the first time in well over a half century. From here, we’ll drive west to Martinsburg where we’ll have dinner and be joined by Matt Orsie, our co-leader and one of West Virginia’s best birders. After dinner and weather permitting, we will head west to do a bit of evening birding around Sleepy Creek WMA; we’ll be in search of Eastern Whip-poor-will and perhaps Barred Owl or Eastern Screech-Owl. Night in Harpers Ferry.

Day 4: We’ll leave early to bird briefly in Loudoun County, Virginia, and along the Shenandoah River, West Virginia where we’ll have our best chance at Prothonotary Warbler; we should also see Kentucky, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Parula and possibly Cerulean. Warbling Vireos (larger eastern subspecies, a possible split from the smaller western birds that sing differently) should be much in evidence in the tall trees along the Shenandoah.  Moving on to eastern Berkeley County, West Virginia, we’ll bird second-growth woodland for White-eyed Vireo, Prairie Warbler, and Yellow-breasted Chat. Then we’ll return to Sleepy Creek, one of the best forests in eastern West Virginia for breeding warblers. Here we’ll hope to see the threatened Cerulean Warbler, a small population of which nests here. Other warblers we can hope to see include Prairie, Black-and-white, Worm-eating, American Redstart, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Ovenbird. Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Acadian Flycatcher should also be present, along with a wide variety of other deciduous-forest passerines. We’ll check the numerous Turkey Vultures overhead for a Black Vulture or a Broad-winged Hawk.  If we have time we may check the Kimsey Lake area or elsewhere where a few Red-headed Woodpeckers may be present.

Later we’ll head west, leaving the hot eastern lowlands for the cool and lushly wooded Appalachian Mountains. Night at the lodge in Canaan Valley State Park.

Day 5: The mixed deciduous and spruce forest of the high Appalachians at Canaan Valley State Park and nearby Dolly Sods Scenic Area should be full of warblers. Yellow-rumped, and Magnolia are near the southern end of their breeding ranges here. Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, and Blackburnian Warblers should be fairly numerous. We’ll search the bogs for Northern Waterthrushes and Alder Flycatchers (sometimes side by side with Willow Flycatcher in the Canaan Valley), and in the secondary edge forest we might find Golden-winged Warbler. In the dense spruce we should find Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush and Purple Finch (eastern subspecies). To the north, near the Maryland border, there are some reclaimed strip mines where we might find the always local, and usually scarce, Henslow’s Sparrow. We have not seen it on the last few trips. We should see Bobolinks in the grasslands of the Canaan Valley along with a few Savannah Sparrows. Black-billed Cuckoos are sometimes present but are in decline, and there’s always the chance of running into a Ruffed Grouse (two family groups were seen minutes apart in 2011). In 2021 a Sedge Wren was on territory. Night in Canaan Valley State Park.

Day 6: This morning we’ll head south to Fire Road 91 in Randolph County. This ten-mile stretch of road ranges in elevation from 1,500 to 4,000 feet, offering a great diversity of habitats with a resultant wide variety of species. Many will be repeats from Canaan Valley, but some will likely be new, including our two primary targets: Golden-winged and Mourning Warblers. Golden-winged in particular is scarce and  is  decreasing sharply over much of its range, but we’ll search carefully for it. We should also see Least Flycatcher, and both Swainson’s Thrush and Veery occur here. Later we’ll drive down to the Cranberry Glades area of southwestern Pocahontas County, 750 acres of peat bogs resembling those typically found 500 miles farther north in Canada. Here Northern Waterthrush breeds and in 2015 we saw a single territorial Olive-sided Flycatcher.)  Depending on bird priorities, we might not bird Cranberry Glades until the morning of Day 7. If conditions are right in the evening, we may try for Northern Saw-whet Owl, a few of which nest on Black Mountain nearby, at least in some years. American Woodcock might still be displaying even on this late date.  Four years ago we even saw a Bobcat. Here and elsewhere the butterflying should be excellent; in 2015 we found 26 species including notables like the Pink-edged Sulphur, and the striking Baltimore Checkerspot and Diana Fritillary. Night near Marlinton.

Day 7: We’ll use this morning to look carefully for any species we might have missed in the mountains, especially Golden-winged and Mourning Warblers and maybe the notoriously nomadic Red Crossbill. Time permitting, and depending on our ornithological success, we may visit Droop Mountain Battlefield, where on November 6, 1863, a Union force led by Brigadier General W. W. Averell defeated a smaller force under Confederate Brigadier General John Echols. Union forces had been attempting to disrupt the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad line. Not only was this one of the largest engagements in West Virginia, it was also the last. Later in the afternoon we’ll drive west to Fayetteville. Night in Fayetteville. 

Day 8: We’ll bird the splendid New River Gorge in south-central West Virginia (now a National Park) in hopes of seeing Swainson’s Warbler. A few of this often reclusive species breed in this region and we may  encounter Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Blue-winged, Worm-eating, Black-and-white, Hooded and Yellow-throated Warblers, and Louisiana Waterthrush. Wood Thrushes are numerous. We’ll depart mid-morning for Charleston and the airport, perhaps stopping at nearby Coonskin Park where Summer Tanager is sometimes present.   The tour will conclude at about noon in time to catch mid-afternoon flights out of Chuck Yeager Airport at Charleston, West Virginia.

Updated: 11 August 2022

Prices

  • (2025 - Not Yet Determimed)
  • 2023 Price Was : $3,390

Notes

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Questions? Tour Manager: Sara Pike. Call 1-866-547-9868 (US or Canada) or (01) 520-320-9868 or click here to email.

* Tour invoices paid by check carry a 4% discount. Details here.

Maximum group size 6 with one WINGS leader and local leader

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