If anyone is keeping count these are new postings for the Red-necked Grebes -
two of my students (Tom McHale and Wendy Willis - Wendy and another student
Crissy Willis own the Mexican Restaurant in Strasburg and cater to birders)
saw 7 RNGR on the Shenandoah River between Front Royal Warren Co. and the
Route 50 Bridge Clarke Co. on Mar 1, 2003; 1 RNGR was on Whites Lake,
Frederick Co. Winchester, VA on Mar 5, 2003 (Windy Willis and Patrick
Lorenz); I saw one today Mar 6, 2003, near Middletown at the junction of
Shenandoah County and Frederick County - it was heading in the direction of a
nearby quarry - coming down on this misty overcast morning? or was it leaving
for the northlands? - most of our big lakes were still frozen and when this
happens the Shenandoah River attracts a lot more waterfowl than normal.
Note to Jon Little - when I met you on Sun at frozen Lake Frederick I forgot
to tell you about Whites Lake - it is a decent sized lake that is almost
always open because of a huge spring that flows directly into it. It always
has a good population of waterfowl usually of many species and possibly our
most significant wetlands area in n.w. VA. It is a great birding spot and
hosts a big list of rare and endangered plants - Aster puniceus, Equisetum
fluviatile ... There is an island with a Bluestem Andropogon
"prairie/savanna", calcareous fen, cattail marsh etc. It is south of the
hospital and you have to walk the railroad tracks to get into the heart of
it. Developers are chomping away at the edge of it, the railway and a
pipeline went right through the Water Horse-tail colony but it is still a
neat place to go and when everything else freezes up lots of waterfowl head
there - let me know if you see other RNGRs there and if you can't find it I
will get you better directions - another place to try would be the Green
Springs Pond at the only store in Green Springs, Frederick Co. VA - Rob
Robert C. Simpson , Professor of Natural Resources
Program Head for Natural Resources Curriculum
Program Head for Outdoor and Nature Photography Careers Certificate
Contact for information on: Field Biology, General Ecology, Wildlife and
Fisheries, Habitat and Food Plant Identification, Special Studies in Wildlife
Field Techniques, Birds, Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish, Mushrooms
Edible and Otherwise, Plants and Nature Photography.
Lord Fairfax Community College, Middletown, VA. 540 868 7206
lfsimpr@xxxxxxxx
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