VA-Birders,
I saw this morning, just as the sun was rising, a very unusual bird flying in a
southwesterly direction, following the Blue Ridge Parkway. To my lasting regret
I wasn't carrying my binoculars so I will never be certain what it was.
The underwings appeared to be white, with a distinct black trailing edge, and
the back appeared to be dark (but I really only saw the underwings well). The
neck and head stuck straight out in front, and the neck appeared to be no
longer than one half the wing length. Unfortunately I couldn't really see the
bill. I think I could see legs sticking out behind. It looked to be larger than
a crow and smaller than a red-tail, although the wings seemed rather long for
its size, but there were no other birds around to compare it to. Its wingbeats
were fairly shallow and quicker than a Great Blue Heron, and I saw it glide a
couple of times for a very short distance.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Father John
Blue Ridge Parkway
Franklin County
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