VA-Birders,
Harrison Road (Route 750), near The Plains in Fauquier County has been a
reliable place to catch up with Vesper Sparrows as they start moving through
in spring. I've been checking Harrison almost daily for the last few weeks
(the pond there can host some waterfowl at times), and today was the first
time I found any.
There was a flock of about 16 of them with Savannah Sparrows mixed in there
at about noon. They were within a hundred yards of the intersection with
Old Tavern Road. This is the eastern end of Harrison. They flew from the
road edge into the corn stubble on the north side of the road as I drove
toward them (I didn't see them until they flew). They weren't easy to spot in
the field, but with patience I was able to find them walking in the dirt,
and some teeing up on the corn stubble. A couple even sang a couple times.
I returned here about ninety minutes later, hoping they had returned to the
road edge, but they hadn't. They were deeper in the field, all the way
toward the hedgerow on the north side of the field. It made for somewhat
easier scoping, as a few were in the trees. Also in the hedgerow were
Savannah Sparrows, a few White-crowned Sparrows, Field Sparrows, and Song
Sparrows.
On nearby Belvoir Road, at the farmhouse nearest the large pond there,
there is an active martin colony. I had eight birds there today, males and
females, some of them half in the house. Waterfowl hasn't been good at
either of these ponds for the last few days.
There is also a heronry with nesting Great Blue Herons that I only
discovered three days ago in this general area. It can be seen from Harrison
Road, but it is rather tricky to describe where. If interested, I will do so
if you contact me.
eBird list for Harrison Road today from my first visit:
_http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10306130_ ;
(http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S10306130)
Cheers,
Todd
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Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia
Culpeper County
blkvulture@xxxxxxx
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