[bcbirdclub] Re: Dave Worley's Longspur Quest
- From: Roger mayhorn <rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: rainbrk@xxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 2015 20:20:07 -0500 (EST)
Nice photos and great report Dave. Congratulations.
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
----- Original Message -----
From: "David and Susan Raines" <rainbrk@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 2:08:17 PM
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Dave Worley's Longspur Quest
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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