[va-bird] First Rockingham County Record of Glossy Ibis

This morning birder Kay Gibson of Grottoes had a phone call from a friend  
who commutes to her job in Harrisonburg.  This lady reported seeing a large  
white bird in a pond in a field not far from the Lynnwood Road Bridge over the  
South Fork of the Shenandoah.  Kay went out to check on it and before she  ever 
found the Great Egret, she spotted a much rarer bird for the Shenandoah  
Valley, a Glossy Ibis.  She called Tom Pendleton of Port Republic to come  and 
verify her observation, which he did, and they began to get the word out to  
the 
local birding community. After lunch Kay and Tom Pendleton, along  with Ken 
Hinkle and Tom Mizell, were there when I arrived and shortly  afterward Clair 
Mellinger arrived also. It turned out to be a first county  record for the 
Glossy Ibis.
 
A nice mix of birds was present:  beside the Egret and the Ibis, there  were 
several Wood Ducks, a Green Heron, two Killdeer, seven Solitary Sandpipers,  
one Pectoral Sandpiper (female), one Least Sandpiper, and five or six  Horned 
Larks which were foraging in the stubble of the mowed field across the  road 
from the pond.  One of these flew over to take a drink from  the pond, it being 
a very hot day.  
 
This pond in past years has been productive for water birds but rarely in  
recent years, due to the growth of vegetation, and often in times of drought it 
 
has pretty much dried up.  Thanks to recent rains today it has plenty of  
water, plus extensive mud flats, and the corn field that surrounds it is 
neither  
tall nor densely packed near the pond shore.
 
One can access this pond from four directions.  (1) From US  Route 340, 
several miles north of Grottoes, take Lynnwood Road northwestward  (the same 
road 
on the southeastern side of 
Route 340 is named Ore Bank Road).  Cross the bridge over the river  (often a 
good birding spot).  Lynnwood Road (county rt. 708) ascends a  hill from the 
river bottom and after the road drops a little, look for the pond  on the left 
side of the road about 100 yards before Lynnwood Road makes a T  intersection 
with Lawyer Road.  You can park on the right hand side.
 
(2)  If you are coming from Harrisonburg or north take US 33  eastbound.  
After the stop light at the intersection with VA Rt. 276,  Cross Keys Road 
(this 
same road is named Indian Trail Road on the other side;  the landmark here is 
Massanutten Presbyterian Church on the eastern corner),  continue on Rt. 33 
into the little community of Penn Laird and watch for  Lawyer Road (county rt. 
655) going off to the right.  Take Lawyer Road  southeast to where it turns 
right at an intersection and then continues  southwest.  Proceed further on 
Lawyer Road and watch on your left for  Lynnwood Road (county rt. 708).  Turn 
onto 
it and when you see the  pond on your right in about a hundred yards,  park on 
the left hand  side.
 
(3)  If you are coming from Grottoes toward Harrisonburg on Port  Republic 
Road (VA Rt. 253)
go through the town of Port Republic, cross the North River on a bridge  that 
curves upward, and drive to the first county road on the right, which is  
Lawyer Road at its southern end.  Turn right on Lawyer Road (county rt.  655) 
and 
go 2.1 miles northeast.  You will come to Lynnwood Road on your  right.
 
(4)  If you are coming from Staunton up I-81, exit at the Weyers Cave  exit, 
go east one mile to the center of town and at the stop light turn left and  
take VA rt. 276 northeast to a stop light where it is crossed by Port Republic  
Road, VA Rt. 253.  Turn right onto Port Republic Road.  Drive  southeast 
toward Port Republic and after several miles watch on the left  for Lawyer 
Road.  
(If you cross the river on 253 you have  gone too far.)  Turn left onto Lawyer 
Road, go 2.2 miles, and turn right on  Lynnwood Road.
 
Later several of us went to Leonard's Pond to look for shorebirds but all  we 
found were a female Wood Duck, five Mallards, four Killdeer, a Spotted  
Sandpiper, and about 175 Tree Swallows.  This pond is almost full of water,  
currently leaving a mostly narrow mud shoreline.
 
John Irvine
Harrisonburg,  VA

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