Hello all
Today with all of this mix of snow & rain , I thought it would be a good
afternoon to check out some of the usual places for any type of bird that this
weather system may put down . So after getting off from work I started out by
traveling down Guthrie Road ( Rt. 652 ) looking for Horned Lark . Skunked out
on Larks but I did get about 10 Am. Pipits . I had a couple of shots left in
the disposable camera & the setting of hay bales in the valley with a light
dusting of snow on the Blue Ridge Mountains & some color in the leaves made a
great shot . Finally finished off this camera . Onto the Stuarts Draft Sewage
Treatment Plant to see what was there . After getting there I noticed a lone
Ruddy Duck with about 30 Tree Swallows flying low over the sewage pond . Then
out of no where came this one lone Swallow flying in & out among the Tree
Swallows . It had darkish wings & head , had a buffy collar & a buffy rump
patch . The birds fore head had a reddish patch . This bird turned out to be a
Cave Swallow . It settled down on a wire with several Tree Swallows & I was
able to get a better look at it . Now you can guess by now that I had just
finished off the camera & the light was perfect for a photo . Got back into the
car -- took off back into Stuarts Draft to the 7 -- 11 to get a camera .
Returned to the STP . The Swallow was in flight -- got the camera ready & the
bird flew out towards the south never to be seen again . NO PHOTO . Yes Sue I
will write it up . After that I went over to Quillen's Pond in the Lyndhurst
area to see what was there . Here I had 3 Green -- winged Teal , 300 + Chipping
Sparrow's & one Clay -- colored Sparrow . In all of the places I went this
afternoon other birds were as follows.
Savannah Sparrow -- 110 +
Song -- 75 +
Swamp -- 1
Lincoln's -- 2
Not a bad afternoon of bird watching in Augusta County .
Allen Larner
Staunton
