Hello All. Yesterday was a rare and wonderful day for me. I went in search
of two possible lifers and found both!
I drove from McLean to Weyers Cave and enjoyed a brief but nonetheless
grand look at the Harris's Sparrow, now in breeding plumage, in the Houff's
back yard. I arrived there around 9:45 a.m., the Harris's Sparrow & nine
equally handsome White-Crowned Sparrows ten minutes later. They busied
themselves in and below the Houff's Flowering Quince, as they have been doing
for the past three weeks. A Ruby-throated Hummer stopped by the feeder above
our heads. My 2-1/4 hour drive was well worth while. Directions are
reiterated below.
Since I was "on a roll", I tried for a Blue-winged Warbler such as
Ashley Sutton had noted in her April 21 posting for The Nature Conservancy's
brand new Fortune's Cove Reserve. I knew the Reserve is north of Lovingston
but not exactly where, so I stopped for directions when I believed I was
close to it. It's so new that nobody had heard of it at the first two places
where I inquired. At my third stop the chief mechanic dug out his book of
Nelson County maps and found me a Fortune's Cove Road that seemed the best
bet. Thanks to him, I found the Reserve (directions below). It's a gem in
TNC's Virginia crown: some fields and streams, birds galore, and good albeit
steep woody trails to the nearby ridge tops (I didn't get very far along the
trail, but what I saw and heard portended a wonderfully birdy hike).
A light rain began fifteen minutes after I arrived. Foolish me, I had
believed the Weather Channel that no rain was expected in Virginia before
Saturday evening and had left my rain gear at home. I had to retreat to my
car. During my few minutes on the Reserve's trail, however, I saw and, in
several instances was serenaded by, an Orchard Oriole, Red-eyed Vireo,
Yellow-breasted Chat, Indigo Bunting, Gray Catbird, Northern Cardinal,
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Black Vulture, Mourning Dove, Carolina Chickadee
and Eastern Bluebird. The best was last -- shortly before I left the trail,
a Blue-winged Warbler sang his heart out for me while perched atop a small
tree not 20 yards from where I was standing. He made my day 2 for 2! Thank
you too, Ashley, very much. Fortune's Cove Reserve offers much more for
birders; Ashley posted 60 species, including five species of woodpeckers, 3
of vireos and 12 of warblers.
To reiterate the driving directions for the Harris's Sparrow: I-81
north or south to Virginia Route 256; the exit is for the Grottoes, Weyers
Cave and Blue Ridge Community College and is nine miles south of the
southernmost Harrisonburg exit. Drive east on Va 256 for one mile to a
traffic signal where you turn right (north) onto Keezletown Road (Va Route
276). Drive just about 1.5 miles and turn left (west) onto Pence Lane
(standard green street sign). The Houff's home is a two-story red brick home
on your left, #50 Pence Lane. Please call them ahead of time, but not before
9 am or after 5 pm, at 1-540-234-0494. Mrs. Houff is a birder and has been
most welcoming to the rest of us.
Fortune's Cove Reserve is north of Lovingston, Virginia, and is 3
miles off US29. To get there from Charlottesville and points north, take
US29 south from Charlottesville. Almost exactly 28 miles south of the US29 &
I-64 interchange, and 6 miles south of the intersection where Va Route 6
branches off to the west from US29, turn right (west) onto Mountain Cove
Road. At the corner there is a small "vineyard tour" sign for the Mountain
Cove Vineyard. Follow those vineyard tour signs along Mountain Cove Road and
then Fortune's Cove Road until you reach a fork where the right-hand road
goes downhill to the Mountain Cove Winery and the left-hand road goes
straight ahead and slightly uphill. Follow the left road another 1/4 mile or
so to the Reserve parking lot.
Good birding. Stuart White, McLean, Va <kirtland1999@xxxxxxx>
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