Sorry folks for the late post. On Sunday, I joined Bill Wiliams and his wife,
Arlene, for a survey of Grandview Preserve. We were completing a sparrow survey
for the Center for Conservation Biology at William and Mary, looking for the
Ipswich subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow.
While out there, we saw a Purple Sandpiper feeding, with Dunlin and Sanderling,
on the edge of the peat, along the beach, north of the rock pile that is
located just off the beach. This was an interesting sighting for me. It was my
first Purple away from rocks an, in Virginia, away from the Eastern Shore.
We found only 3 Ipswich Sparrows. All were at the far north end of the beach --
even past the new beach deposit. I was expecting the sparrows to be farther
south along the beach dune.
Also, normally everyone should avoid walking the dunes. In fact, due to where
we found the sparrows, you really don't need to -- just scan the grass edges
from the beach. Though there is that approximately 3 mile (one-way) walk!
Elisa Enders
Portsmouth, VA
