The shorebirds at this favored farm pond in Rockingham County change from day
to day. Late this afternoon Ken Ranck and I found a slightly different mix
from those present yesterday. Birds seen included:
Canada Goose 50 or so; 98 yesterday
Mallard 9 (7 yesterday)
Blue-winged Teal 3 females (1 yesterday)
Killdeer 10 (13 yesterday)
Greater Yellowlegs 1 (replaced yesterday's Lesser)
Solitary Sandpiper 2 (not present yesterday)
Spotted Sandpiper 2 (1 yesterday. One absolutely refused to teeter!)
Least Sandpiper 2 (same number as yesterday, but one was more colorful than
either of
yesterday's birds)
Pectoral Sandpiper 1 (2 yesterday)
Mourning Dove 2
American Crow 2
Tree Swallow 30
Barn Swallow 2
European Starling 80
Common Grackle 2
Tawny Emperor 1 on the mud edge of the pond.
I suspect there is much turnover overnight in these shorebirds.
Leonard's Pond is on the north side of Faught Road, the second numbered road
to the west (left) after you enter Rockingham County northbound on VA Rt 276.
It offers an unobstructed view of the pond, which is next to the road. The
road has recently been paved and the berm widened, and parking and viewing are
excellent; traffic there is very light. There is at present a good supply of
water in the pond, and apparently a good supply of invertebrate life in the
mud. The cattle in the field do not seem to bother the birds much, even when
they are close to the water.
John Irvine
Harrisonburg, VA
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