[bcbirdclub] Re: Dave Worley's Longspur Quest
- From: Daniel Kendrick <kendridge@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <rainbrk@xxxxxxxxxx>, <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2015 14:41:13 -0500
Excellent adventure!
Dan
From: rainbrk@xxxxxxxxxx
To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Dave Worley's Longspur Quest
Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2015 14:08:17 -0500
On Sunday, Dave posted on the listserve that he and Tom
Hunter were going in search of the Smith's Longspur being reported on VA-birds.
Dave, generously, offered 2 seats to anyone interested in going. I called and
luckily got the last seat as Bill Reed, from the Wytheville area, had locked
down the other. Monday morning, Dave,Tom and I headed out around
7:00a.m.,picked
up Bill in Wytheville around 8:30 and departed for points North. The Longspur
was reportedly hanging out at the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport just
off I-81 near Staunton in Augusta County. We made good time and rolled into the
airport around 11:30. A group of birders ,with scopes set up on the shoulder of
the street, informed us that the Longspur was "right there" pointing at a side
street on our left. We quickly drove to the parking area and began walking back
to join the others. On the walk back up the drive , we were amazed by several
Horned Larks approaching us and landing on the pavement or the
snow- cleared shoulder within 8or10 feet of us. Naturally, we had to pause
to admire them and snap a few pics(see attached photos). Those "Horned" Larks
must have been in league with the devil because when we reached the other
birders they informed us that our target bird had flown away! To make matters
worse, the Longspur had flown in a direction we could not follow due to denied
access. But, this tale is not a tragedy as after a little more than an hour of
searching, Bill relocated the Smith's Longspur in the same area it had been
seen
earlier. We all enjoyed long looks and were able to get photos(see attachments)
from close range. A life-bird for all 4 of us!
Our thirst for birds had not been quenched, so we decided
to check out a nearby area that Bill was familiar with. We drove
through the little town of Grottoes and checked out some large fields where
Lapland Longspurs had been found foraging with Horned Larks. We found the
Larks(lots of them) but no Lapland Longspurs. We left after growing weary of
the
bellowing from a bull that was evidently unhappy with our visit!
We all wanted to make the long trip as rewarding as
possible, so we decided to look for the Trumpeter Swan that John and Sheri had
seen Saturday. Our friend, Daryl Owens, had sent the coordinates for the lake
where it had been seen, so off we went. None of us needed the Trumpeter for a
lifer but -hey we could put it on our year list plus we were just out having a
great time! Silver Lake was very worthy of a visit. Not only did we see the
Trumpeter and Mute Swans but a good group of other waterfowl. The list
included; Redhead, Canvasback, Mallard, Gadwall, Bufflehead, Coot,
Red-breasted Merganser, Ring-necked Duck and Canada Geese. This visit provided
a
wonderful ending for our day.
Many thanks to Dave Worley for putting this trip together
and for all the driving! Also thanks to those who posted info on VA-birds
and thanks to Daryl Owens for sharing E-bird info... I guess, the only big
thing
we missed was the "Osprey" that John and Sheri saw! Maybe next
time.
DaveR/Breaks,VA
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