On this cold, rainy morning I ventured out to Carvins Cove Reservoir to see
if any new migrants had appeared. In the mist I spotted a Common Loon in
breeding plumage. It started calling and in just a few minutes a second Loon in
Winter plumage flew in and joined it on the water. It was easy to imagine being
on
a lake somewhere in Canada.
On nearby Murray's Pond there were 10 or 12 N. Rough-winged Swallows among
the 3 or 4 dozen Tree Swallows. Two of the Tree Swallows got into an aerial
dispute that landed them in the water more than once and not far from a
Snapping
Turtle with a head the size of large water snake one might see on Animal
Planet. The biggest Snappers I've ever seen are in this pond.
I know everyone has grown weary of this cold weather and our local weather
guru stated recently that this March may go down as one of the coldest on
record. I was thinking there may be a silver lining, the peak of the Spring
migration of passerines may pass thru Virginia with limited foliage on the
trees which
would afford terrific views of those treetop Warblers! Now doesn't that warm
you up just a little?
Mike Purdy
Roanoke
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