Meet at 7:30 AM at the entrance to the Wildlife drive (not the road to the visitor center)

During special “Open Roads” weekends, roads that are normally closed to public vehicle access are open for wildlife viewing and fishing.  We will meet at the entrance, consolidate cars, and form a caravan.  A limited number of two-way radios will be available so that we can communicate sightings along the way.  Our route will traverse open fields, forest, marsh, and flooded woodland, and we’ll also have views of the open waters of Currituck Sound.  Round-trip distance of the wildlife drive is approximately 9 miles.  The wide variety of habitats we explore should give us opportunities to find herons, raptors, songbirds, woodpeckers, waterfowl, shorebirds and gulls.

 Logistics: Most of our birding will be from our cars, but we will make stops along the way as birds of interest come into view. Please remember that other vehicles that are not members of our group will be taking advantage of the open roads, so please pull over as much as possible whenever we stop so that other cars can get by.  We may also include a walk of a half mile or so in the woods & scrub habitat in the western corner.  Plan for the outing to last around 2 to 3 hours.

There are no restroom facilities on the refuge, so plan accordingly!

Directions from Virginia Beach-Norfolk area.  From Virginia Beach, take Princess Anne Road south to the Virginia/North Carolina state line where it becomes NC Route 615.  Continue driving south on Rte. 615 for approximately 4.7 miles where the road makes a right turn at its intersection with Knotts Island Road.  Continue on Knotts Island Road for about another ½ mile, then keep right at bend in the road where the Knotts Island Market and Dollar General are located to stay on Rte. 615. The entrance to the refuge will be a gravel road on your right about 0.9 mile after the Knotts Island Market.