John Fox of Winchester reported: "Heard at 3:20, never saw them. They
must have been fairly low for me to
pick them up." [emphasis added]
Unless Mr. Fox is alluding to a hearing defect, he may have heard them
from much farther away than he realizes. In the cold, clear air of
the mountains of Shenandoah County where I hear and/or see a flock or
two most years during deer season in November, I sometimes hear them
calling from considerable distance. For some of the flocks that I
have spotted after hearing them first, I've estimated that they may be
half a mile (perhaps more) distant. In fact, I have never seen them
low at that location. They are usually far above the ridges--perhaps
twice their height--and the higher local ridges are over 2000 feet in
elevation. In other areas, perhaps where Mr. Fox birds, they may be a
lot lower, but given their known fall migration route across the
northern Shenandoah Valley region, I suspect that they maintain a
rather high flight line. I don't usually encounter them in the
spring, so I don't know whether their flight path and behavior are
different in the spring.
Dave Davis
Arlington and Cedar Creek