Saturday, November 29, 2003
Ross's Goose - immature white morph at Leonard's Pond, Rockingham County, VA
Decided at last minute to take an early afternoon drive that took me over
in the valley in search of the reported Ross's Goose along Rt. 11 south of
Harrisonburg. Unsuccessful in locating, I headed over to Leonard's Pond.
There were 75+ Canada Goose and a smaller "white" goose in the far back
section of the pond. To my surprise, it turned out to be an immature
Ross's Goose (white phase). In addition to Canada and the single Ross's,
there was one Red-breasted Merganser, pair of No. Shoveler, 4 Mallard and
flyover of four Killdeer and thousands of Eur.Starling.
Below is link to web page with few pics of the imm. Ross's Goose. Sorry
for quality but it was overcast with light snow showers and very windy that
didn't help with camera shake even with camera/scope on tripod and setting
timer. Bird stayed on far back side of pond.
http://home.ntelos.net/~btkin/Birds_of_the_Commonwealth/image_links/Ross's_Goose.htm
Brenda Tekin
Charlottesville, VA
Directions to Leonard's Pond:
From the south: I-81 north to the Weyers Cave exit, Exit #235. Take VA
Rt. 256 east for 1 mile to the stoplight in Weyers Cave. Turn left onto
VA. Rt 276 northeast, and go across the North River bridge into Rockingham
County. Proceed to the second numbered road on the left, County Rt. 678,
Faught's Road. Turn left on Faught's Road and drive past the first
farmhouse on your right. At 0.2 miles you will see Leonard's Pond at the
bottom of a slight hill.
From the north: I-81 to the third Harrisonburg Exit, Exit # 245, Port
Republic Road, County Route 659. Turn left off the exit ramp. Follow Port
Republic Road several miles until--out in open country--you come to the
intersection with VA Rt. 276, Cross Keys Road. Turn right on 276. Proceed
southwest for several miles until you come to Faught's Road, County Route
678. Proceed 0.2 miles, past farmhouse on right, and you will come to
Leonard's Pond.
You are subscribed to VA-BIRD. To post to this mailing list, simply send email
to va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe, send email to
va-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field.
