This morning I found an Eared Grebe at one of the "King George Ponds" along
route 3 near Sealston. I called a local birder, Tiffany Corsello, and she came
out to see it too. She shot some photos and video through her scope. This
winter plumage bird is on private property at Farley Vale Farm, but Mrs Beth
Blanton, the landowner, said it would be OK for me to post its location to
VA-Bird. She asks that you park just off the main driveway just off of route 3
and walk down the road that goes off to the left (almost parallel to route 3)
between the two ponds on the left. There is a place that has been mowed where
these two roads meet where a couple cars can park. Please do not go down the
other roads of the farm and please do not walk off the road. The grebe was out
in the middle of the pond that is closest to route 3. It is only the second
time I have seen one in VA.
If coming from Fredericksburg, Farley Vale Farm is on Farley Vale Rd (on the
right) before the Aggregate Industries sand/gravel mining site and before
LaGrange Rd.
Also present was a blue grosbeak, pectoral sandpiper and some least sandpipers.
In Leedstown (Westmoreland Co) in the farm fields along Horner's Mill Rd near
Layton Landing Rd were 15 horned larks, 12 pectoral sandpipers, 480 killdeer, 2
spotted sandpipers, 1 solitary sandpiper, 1 lesser yellowlegs, 2 semipalmated
sandpipers, 4 semipalmated plovers, and over 20 least sandpipers. I looked
long and hard for buff-breasted, upland, stilt, white-rumped, and baird's
sandpipers and found none; but who knows what else was hidden in the furrows of
the farm field? . If you go to look at these birds, please view only from the
paved road. Do not drive down the farm roads.
At dusk at my property in Leedstown (Peedee Creek) i found about 10 turkeys
roosting in the tops of the pines and 5 or 6 wood ducks in the swampy pond.
I had a great summer birding elsewhere but it's good to be back in VA too!
All the best
Fred
Frederick D. Atwood fredatwood@xxxxxxxxx
Flint Hill School, 10409 Academic Dr, Oakton, VA 22124
703-242-1675
http://www.agpix.com/fredatwood
http://www.flinthill.org
http://tea.armadaproject.org/tea_atwoodfrontpage.html
