I was one of the people who received a call this morning about the Long-tailed
Ducks at Mill Creek Lake. Needless to say I dropped what I was doing and rushed
out to look for them. Mark Johnson and Jim Elder were already there when I
arrived. What an unexpected sight - 14 long-tails - some in breeding plumage
and calling, too! Besides the BLUE-WINGED TEAL and NORTHERN BOBWHITE that Mark
mentioned, some other personal highlights around the three lakes (Mill Creek,
Thrasher & Stone House) included: 3 Green-winged Teal were still at Mill Creek
(area late date is April 15); 7 Ruddy Ducks (3 males in breeding plumage); 3
Wild Turkeys seen from Route 778 on the way to Mill Creek (saw two singles
elsewhere in Amherst County on the way home); 15 Double-crested Cormorants at
Mill Creek; 4 Great Blue Herons at Mill Creek; at least 8 FOS OSPREY (4 at Mill
Creek, 3 at Thrasher and 1 at Stone House); an adult and an immature FOS
BROAD-WINGED HAWK within a mile of each other on Route 610 between the
turn-offs for Thrasher and Stone House Lakes; 4 Belted Kingfishers at Mill
Creek; 3 Pileated Woodpeckers flying over at Thrasher Lake; and FOS Northern
Rough-winged and Barn Swallows (I know they have been around for weeks but I
have been out of the country).
I took the long way home and drove south across US60 on Route 610 and then
Route 635 to Route 130 West to the Blue Ridge Parkway South to US 501 East to
Boonsboro. This yielded a few more FOS birds for me: Blue-headed Vireo,
Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Brown Thrasher, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Brown-headed
Cowbird. I saw a total of 57 species today. (Note to Lynchburg birders: I know
I'm behind all of you since I have been gone for nearly a month but I added 12
species to my 2009 Lynchburg area total today so I'm at 107.)
Rexanne Bruno
Lynchburg, VA
