Hello all
This morning I met up with John Pancake & we did some birding in & Around
Augusta County . Our first stop was the Quarry pond in Fishersville , here we
only found a few local Canada's Next was Quillen's in Lyndhurst , here we found
some Tree Swallows & a Great Egret . The front pond is full & the drain vent is
totally under water . Next was the flooded fields in Stuarts Draft . There
were several & when I list the birds I will place where they were seen . The
fields were on Hall School Rd next to the church ( hsr), both fields off of
Patton Farm Rd .(pfr) & two fields on Wayne Ave ( Rt 639 ). Below is a list of
birds seen at these locations .
Killdeer -- 50 + seen at all locations
Black - bellied Plover -- 10 -- hsr , pfr , Rt.639 at intersection with Vernon
Rd.
White - rumped Sandpiper -- 14+ hsr , pfr , & Rt 639
Western Sandpiper -- 1 pfr
Solitary Sandpiper -- 2 pfr
Pectoral Sandpiper -- 32 + -- hsr , pfr , & Rt 639
Buff - breasted Sandpiper -- 1 pfr
Merlin -- 1 fly over the Shorebirds on Patton Farm Rd
Horned Lark -- 125+ pfr
We then ventured out to the Swoope area where we encountered a few roads that
are blocked by high water . I drove thru the one on Cattleman rd. in-between
Smiths & Michael Godfrey's place . I knew the road was two lanes so I ventured
into the water . By the time I got halfway thru I noticed that the water was
most likely up to the running boards on my truck . By the way in my time I have
crossed many rivers with some high water . We make it thru but a different
route was taken . Smith's Lake was flowing over the dam . The new owners had
the over flow valve totally turned off . Anyway only Tree Swallows to report a
few hundred .
Once back to Staunton we checked out Bell's Lane . The beaver pond is full &
the other side is filling fast . Here on Bell's the only thing to report is
Tree & Rough - winged Swallow's & one Great Egret . All in all a nice
assortment of Shorebirds & two very wet & soggy birder's .
Allen Larner
Staunton
