Hola,
On Tuesday afternoon, 29 August, I went to Remington which straddles the
Fauquier and Culpeper line. With rain in the forecast for every day on
weather.com's icon for this part of the world, I thought it would be good to
see how
the fields looked. I was also hoping for a Buff-breasted Sandpiper.
I started in the Culpeper County part, viewing the Woodward Turf Farms from
a gate along Newbys Shop Road (Route 673), about a quarter-mile northeast
from the intersection with Kellys Ford Road (674). The field has recently
been
disk-harrowed, and then flattened out, and presumably grass seed has been
planted. But right now, it's a lot of brown dirt just begging for a muddy
puddle. There were about 100 horned larks here, and a few dozen killdeer.
There
was a lone Upland Sandpiper poking about as well.
Across the river in Fauquier County, I checked the better-known Woodward
Turf farm (along Route 651), and am happy to report that the soy that was
growing on the main field has been harvested, and it too is bare dirt, growling
for
some rain. There were 200 Canada Geese here, and about another 100 Horned
Larks. Nearby (and a little north on 651) is the Remington Turf Farm, a
smaller operation, but also consisting of fields of nothing but dirt. No
birds
here, and it's a little tricky to find places to bird it. I've never
approached the folks there about birding from their driveway into the office,
figuring
I'd wait until a bird showed up before I pestered them.
This morning I stopped at what was once termed the Opal Puddle, at Opal,
which is the intersection of US 29 and US 17 south of Warrenton. The puddle
is
a small pond behind an East Coast gas station (and by the way, gas in
Warrenton today is $2.59 a gallon, but I didn't notice the rate at the East
Coast
which is usually a few cents higher). The pond has had high water in it for a
number of years now, but once upon a time it would get a few shorebirds, the
best being a Red-necked Phalarope 22-25(ish) Aug 1999. With the lack of rain
this summer out here, I've checked the pond a couple times, and come up
empty. Today there were a few Solitary Sandpipers, a Green Heron, a couple of
distant brown peep that were probably Leasts, and that's it. To access this
pond (if anyone is interested), find your way to the East Coast, and then head
behind the building. There are nine giant truck parking spaces. At the one
to the far left, there is an informal path that leads into the grass and to
the shoreline made by those looking to fish the pond. There is often a huge
puddle in this parking area, full of greasy, oily, water and such, and often
there is a truck parked here. Just make your way to behind the trucks and you
should find the trail.
Cheers,
Todd
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Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, VA, USA
blkvulture@xxxxxxx
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