FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Pulaski County, Waterbirds & Eurasian Collared Doves, 6 Feb 2005

[ckessler <ckessler@xxxxxx>]

Greetings,

This morning about nine o'clock, my Son Alan and I drove to Parrott (Pulaski 
County) to check for waterbirds.  On our way there we found Eurasian Collared 
Doves at three (!!!) locations.  First we found one perched on an electric 
wire in Fairlawn at the intersection of Route 600 and 114.  (RT. 600 is the 
road to Belspring & Parrott.)

Then at Belspring we saw four perched in a large tree.  Just about a mile 
further and beside the bridge just before the right turn on to Parrott River 
Road, we found six perched in a tree by a brick house.

These are the first Eurasian Collared Doves that I have seen in Virginia.  I 
saw five in Green County Tennessee just after Christmas, and I have seen 
several in South Carolina, and scads of them in Florida.

This is the second sighting of the species in Pulaski County.  Ron Underwood 
reported one in Dublin last year (2 March 2004).  There have been two earlier 
sightings in this area, in Montgomery County: two birds both times in Prices 
Fork, both records by Sally Pfeiffer.  These were in late 2003, and in 
February 2004.

After the surprise at finding so many collared doves, Alan & I bird watched 
along the river for about 40 minutes.  We headed home back along Route 600, 
but only found two of the doves.  We didn't stop and search nearby on the way 
back, so the others could have been just out of view of the road or flown some 
place else.

We saw the following water birds along the New River at Parrott:

Pied-billed Grebe 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 125+
American Wigeon 1 male
American Black Duck 4
Mallard 25+
Lesser Scaup 77
Bufflehead 37
Hooded Merganser 3 females
Killdeer 7
Ring-billed Gull 900+
Herring Gull 1 (2nd year bird)
Belted Kingfisher 1 female

That's it.  Time to get ready for a super bowl party for Alan and a few of his 
buddies.

Cheers!

Clyde Kessler
Radford, VA

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