This morning, braving the elements, I drove the 90+ miles to Galax to
search for the Towhee. I arrived around 9:30, found the place easily, and
maintained a watch until almost 2:00 and saw no sign of the bird.
I expected a more rural setting after reading the VARCOM report, and
was surprised to find an urban area. The Townhouse row had a "backyard" of
about 15 feet and then a slope of about 10 feet to a fence which enclosed
a group of storage buildings. The shrubbery refered to in the report was a
thin hedge of brambles on the slope with a few small trees growing up
through them. The people that reported the bird have two sunflower feeders
on their second story deck and seed falls to the ground below attracting
ground feeders. I watched a group of 6-8 WT Sparrows accompanied by a male
RS Towhee come and go throughout the time I was there. Entry into the
storage facility is available and I drove through several times to get
different views into the brambles, but saw no activity. Houses are on all
sides of the Townhouses with little habitat to hide the Towhee.
For those who would like to try on their own, the directions are simple.
From Int. 77, take Rt. 58/221 into the Galax city limits. Look for an
extremely obvious McDonalds on the left. Go straight through the traffic
light there and turn right at the next light. That is Larkspur Lane, and
it is easier to find the storage facility than the Townhouse. You can
easily see the feeders from the road, and there is ample room to pull off
at that spot. Good luck to any/all who go.
Tad Finnell
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