All,
No one has yet posted (so far as I can see) on yesterday's search for
the LeConte's at Occoquan. So far as I know, the Leconte's was not
observed on Bay View Road at the refuge yesterday. I did have receive
one one off line contact from a veteran birder, reporting a possible
Leconte's candidate in one of the trees adjacent to the pond, just off
the Occoquan the parking lot. This possible observation was made at a
distance, without benefit of a scope, from the portion of Bay View Road
nearest the pond. By the time, the respondent got over to the pond
trees, he was unable to locate either the LeCone's or his candidate
bird.
Yesterday, I also received a vague, second hand report of a LeConte's
observed near the wetland area on the top of Charlie Road. I do not
know anything more about this possible observation.
A couple of off line contacts wrote, asking if the bird might not have
already moved on? Perhaps this is the case. But, I have been unable to
answer this mail, first because I don't know the answer to this or to
many of the other questions I have been asked about LeConte's recently.
My first person experience with this species does not add add up to
much. I was fortunate to see the LeConte's a couple of times at
Occoquan this week. This was a life bird for me. I was also lucky
enough to get a couple of serviceable digiscopes of the LeConte's too.
But, this and some some reading is the sum total of my first person
LeConte's expertise, which is to say that I have none.
I can suggest that if the LeConte's does not turn up on Bay View Road
today, birders might wish to begin looking for the it elsewhere in the
refuge, not just on the relatively small section of Bay View Road that
has been getting most of our collective attention recently. And, if
this bird is still in the refuge, I would think that all of Bay View
Road, the area near parking lot pond, and the tops of Fox, Easy, and
Charlie Roads might indeed be good places to look for the LeConte's.
It would also be helpful if birders picking up candidates on Bay View
or elsewhere within the refuge could post these observations through
the weekend. I have received lots of off line line mail asking if I
thought the LeConte's was going to be around through this coming
weekend. So, obviously, birders are hoping the Leconte's will be around
for a bit. For me, the fact that the LeConte's may not have been seen
on Bay View Road yesterday is not by itself yet material. The bird
could be parked 100 yards off Bay View in any direction, just waiting
to be located again. Or it may have indeed moved on.
But, I you are a local birder, and if LeConte's is going to be a life
bird for you, even if the LeConte's is not posted at Occoquan today, I
would not necessarily recommend canceling plans to look for this bird
this weekend, especially since Occoquan is already such a great venue
to bird in the fall anyway. The last time I looked their were still
some remarkable sparrows at Occoquan. I did not see the LeConte's
yesterday on Bay View Road, but I did see an immature White-crowned
Sparrow and my first fall Fox Sparrow on Bay View yesterday. Also, the
day before yesterday, I had a real good candidate for a Vesper Sparrow
just at the intersection of Fox and Bay View Roads. So, if the weather
holds, why not do a little "sparrowing" at Occoquan this weekend.
Paul Kane
Falls Church, VA
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