FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Great White Heron - Shenandoah Co

["Jon Little" <littlejon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

For those interested in seeing this bird, I'm posting this caveat - the bird 
will probably be in the area, but may not be all that easy to find, as we found 
out yesterday:

After noting the original post about a Great White Heron at Fisher's Hill, BJ 
decided to check it out Monday AM. The bird was very near the area described in 
the original post - in the creek that runs through Fisher's Hill (South Fork 
Run). East of the RR trestle, there is a small pond & dam. The bird was in that 
pond in the morning.

At 4 PM, we went to the same pond and found it empty. We therefore followed the 
creek west to the actual battlefield (just west of I 81bridge). All along are 
spots where that bird could easily hide. We then stopped at the grocery/Post 
Office to ask advice. The proprietor has FANTASTIC photos of that bird - 
according to him, it's been there for a few months. We continued to check all 
viewable habitat along the creek until we reached Hwy 11, near where it joins 
the river. The bird was nowhere to be found, so we headed back toward 
Strasburg. To our delight, 1/2 mile south of town, at a spot where the river 
comes near the road, the bird was sighted on a rock in the river - pretty hard 
to miss - this is a Really Big White Bird! Unfortunately, as for photo ops, 
there were a lot of branches between me and the bird, so most didn't turn out - 
but it is definitely a very nice bird to see; and having seen a few only in 
Florida, it was a nice treat in Virginia!

Anyway, be advised that it may be hard to find, but worth it if you do.

Jon & BJ Little
Winchester