Beaver Creek Reservoir

Elevation: 826 ft.

The Beaver Creek Reservoir is one of the premier wildlife watching sites in the Martinsville area. The open water body is at its best during migration and winter when Bonaparte’s or herring gulls as well as numerous waterfowl including ruddy and ring-necked ducks, pied-billed grebe, bufflehead, and hooded merganser join the ring-billed gulls. Migration can also turn up a few visiting sandpipers such as spotted sandpiper and the occasional solitary sandpiper that join the more regular killdeer along the lake’s edge. A pine forest dominated by white pine surrounds the reservoir. This provides excellent habitat for brown-headed nuthatch and pine warbler. More regular birds to be encountered in the woods include Carolina wren, northern cardinal and American goldfinch. The quiet inlets around the lake provide serene environment for the eastern painted turtle, while the banks host a variety of damsel- and dragonflies including eastern amberwing, black-shouldered spinylegs and eastern pondhawk. Additional trails are found on the south side of the lake through the parking lot of Patrick & Henry Community College.