This afternoon about 3 o'clock Tom Pendleton called to say he had just seen a
Golden-Plover at Leonard's Pond. He came by and picked me up and I made my
second trip of the day to leonard's Pond. We found the bird right away. It
was not up in the grass as I expected, back from the shoreline. The entire
time
we had it under observation it was feeding along the muddy shore line and
even once in the water.
Viewed through a scope it showed golden speckles still present all the way
down the back, eliminating Black-bellied Plover There was a large black patch
still present on the belly, and other scattered dark feathers still minimally
present in other parts of the breast and along the flanks as the bird is
changing into basic plumage. There was a still prominent white line across the
forehead and running back on either side of the head above the eye.
The tail was dark, also eliminating Black-bellied.
Since I once lucked up and found a Pacific Golden-Plover near San Diego, I
have been very concerned to eliminate others of this group when in the presence
of Golden-Plovers. Acknowledging the huge odds that this was indeed Pluvialis
dominica, the American Golden-Plover, rather than the Eurasian Golden-Plover,
Pluvialis apricaria, I hoped to see the wing-linings to settle that issue,
but even though the bird spent some time preening, it would not raise its wing
or fly.
It ws raining lightly as we watched it, and then a neighbor gentleman drove
by, parked, and asked us why all these people were stopping by the pond
recently. We enlightened him on its richness as a bird haven and he was
impressed;
he even got to see this bird through the scope. But when we finished talking
and he had moved on, we could not find the bird again. Clair Mellinger then
stopped by, too late to see it, though we searched for it for half an hour
longer. It had either gone back in the tall grass or had flown away. Since I
had
been there at 9 a.m. and not seen anything like it, and it was feeding in the
afternoon in the open where I would have seen it in the morning, I conclude it
probably flew in during the day. It remains to be seen whether it is still
there tomorrow.
To reach Leonard's Pond, take VA 276 north from Weyer's Cave and after
crossing the North River (which is the boundary between Augusta and Shenandoah
counties) take the second numbered road to the left (west), Faught's Road, and
drive 0.2 miles. The pond will be on the right. When we saw the bird it was
feeding along the pond's east side.
The female Northern Shoveler was still present in the afternoon, along with 3
Blue-winged Teal females, some 20 Killdeer, a Greater Yellowlegs, 2 Spotted
Sandpipers, 2 or 3 Least Sandpipers, and one Pectoral Sandpiper.
John Irvine
Harrisonburg, VA
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