All – I headed out this morning to see if anything new had arrived in the
Lexington/Rockbirdge Co area.
At a pond just outside of Lexington, I was surprised to find that there were no
ducks (yesterday there were Gadwalls, Coots, and Mallards). There were 4
Killdeer and 1 Coot. This was to be a consistent pattern for the rest of the
day – the ducks that were here in early to mi- November seem to have moved on.
In the cattail marsh below the dam at the pond there were a lot of sparrows. I
found White-throated SP, Song SP, Field SP (8), Swamp SP (5), Savannah SP (1),
and a Tree Sparrow. I was only able to get a few glimpses of the Tree SP (no
photos), but I clearly saw the rusty cap and spot on the breast. Hopefully, it
will stay around until 19 December, Lexington’s CBC count day.
Willow Lake near Raphine there was the usual large flock of Canada Geese (100
or so), 8 Ruddy Ducks, 2 Cormorants, and some Coots (maybe 20). The Gadwalls,
Wigeons, and most of the Coots (there were nearly 150 Coots yesterday) that
were there on Thursday were gone.
At McCormick’s Farm near Raphine there were a lot of Bluebirds, a few
Golden-crowned Kinglets, many Goldfinches, Mallards on the back pond, and a
single Bufflehead on the back pond (which seemed unusual given that they are
diving ducks and the back pond is shallow).
I drove along a number of back roads looking for Harriers – none to be seen. I
did find along New Providence Rd (Brownsburg area) there were a number of
White-crowned Sparrows and a Bald Eagle.
Also near Brownsburg along Hyde Rd, I was surprised not to hear any
White-crowned Sparrows. But I did find a pair of Purple Finches (first of the
season for me) near the intersection of Hyde Rd and RT 252.
I’ve posted some photos from today: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vmibiology/
Dick Rowe
VMI Biology
