The cover of Birds of Virginia

Guides Virginia

Birds of Virginia

The state's most-recorded birds, ranked from survey data, with when each is present through the year and a life list to keep.

  • Every species profiled with ID notes and habitat
  • A month-by-month presence chart for the whole year
  • Ranked by how consistently each turns up on survey routes
  • Backyard-feeder notes and where to look
  • A printable life list you can keep for years

Not on sale yet

It is built and in final review. We hold a product back rather than sell a draft; it goes on sale when its review clears.

A look inside

What the Virginia pages actually look like

From the Virginia edition

Some of what is actually in it

The 24 species in the Virginia edition, in the order they are most consistently recorded. The first twelve:

  • Indigo Bunting
  • Tufted Titmouse
  • American Crow
  • Red-eyed Vireo
  • Mourning Dove
  • Northern Cardinal
  • American Goldfinch
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee
  • Carolina Wren
  • American Robin
  • Wood Thrush
  • Chipping Sparrow

How the Virginia year breaks down

Counted, not claimed

Of the 24 species, 12 are with you all year in Virginia, 6 move only a short distance, and 6 leave the continent and come back.

Virginia's fullest month is May, when 24 of them are reliably about; the quietest is January with 12. The presence chart shows every month for every species.

In the box

Exactly what you receive

Virginia pages6 pages — every species profiled, with a month-by-month presence chart
FormatPDF, laid out for both Letter and A4
DeliveryAn instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours
AccessYours to keep — no expiry, no account, no subscription
RefundsFull refund within 30 days, no questions

How it works

From checkout to the field

  1. Buy it

    Checkout takes a card and an email address — no account to create.

  2. Open it straight away

    The download link appears immediately and the Virginia files are yours to keep.

  3. Use it through the year

    Print the Virginia pages you want and take them outside; they are laid out with room to write on as the season moves.

Free and paid, side by side

The Virginia pages here stay free. Here is what the edition adds.

The free Virginia pagesBirds of Virginia
What it coversThe month Virginia is in, free and alwaysAll twelve Virginia months, planned before they arrive
The speciesAll 24 Virginia species, readable on screenThe same 24, as a printed presence chart and a life list you keep
Where you can read itOn a screen, wherever Virginia has signalOn paper, in the field, with no signal at all
PriceFree, and staying that way$9.99 once — no renewal, no account

Before you buy

Who this is for

Made for

  • Beginners who want to know which Virginia birds they are actually likely to see
  • Feeder watchers and walkers keeping a list
  • Anyone teaching a child to notice what is out there

Not for

  • Experienced birders after a full Virginia state checklist — this is the consistently-seen species, not every rarity

Everything here describes typical timing across Virginia, drawn from long-run records — weather, elevation and how close you are to water all move the real dates around. So the Virginia pages say "usually early May" and never "May 4th", which is not hedging but the most the data can honestly carry.

Where it comes from

Compiled from

USGS Breeding Bird Survey · State fish & wildlife agencies. How each of these is used in the Virginia edition, and which figures are measured rather than modeled, is set out in the methodology.

Questions

Before you decide

Is this specific to Virginia, or a national guide with the name swapped in?

It is built from Virginia's own data. The species list is the one recorded on Virginia survey routes, ranked by how consistently each turns up — 24 species in this edition.

Where does the Virginia species list come from?

It is drawn from the USGS Breeding Bird Survey routes that run through Virginia, ranked by how consistently each species is recorded.

How accurate is the timing for Virginia?

It describes typical timing across Virginia drawn from long-run records, and because weather, elevation and habitat move real Virginia dates around it says "usually early May" rather than "May 4th".

Is it worth paying when the Virginia pages here are free?

The free Virginia pages are the month you are in; this is the whole Virginia year, planned before it arrives and printable, so you are not holding a screen in the garden.

Will it work for my part of Virginia, or just the big cities?

It is written at state resolution — Virginia as a whole, with regional notes where Virginia genuinely differs end to end, and nothing behind it is recorded finely enough to honestly promise more than that.

What format is the Virginia edition, and can I print it?

A PDF laid out for both Letter and A4, one page per sheet — printing it is the point, since the Virginia pages are made to be carried outside.

What if the Virginia guide is not what I expected?

Email hello@birchcompass.com within 30 days for a full refund on the Virginia edition, and keep the files either way — asking for them back would be theatre.

Details

Format: PDF, laid out for Letter and A4. Delivery: an instant download link, plus a link you can re-open for 72 hours. Refunds: full refund within 30 days, no questions — email hello@birchcompass.com.

Prefer to read online first? The free Virginia birds reference covers the same ground on screen.

The rest of the Virginia shelf

Also for Virginia