On my way home from a slow afternoon at the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch, I left
the paved roads and took Hatchery Road hoping to see some sparrows. It turned
out to be a wise choice. I had the best look at a Grasshopper Sparrow I have
ever had, using the car as a blind; it sat on a fencetop and looked at my car
just a few feet away for about five minutes, maybe longer, constantly ducking
and/or twisting its head one way or another so I could see even the back of
the head and neck (but never turning its back to me). I had time to memorize
the entire head and chest pattern details, and after it flew I had enough
detail
available to separate it instantly from the other Ammodramus sparrows when I
looked in Sibley.
After turning the main bend in this dirt road, I came across a flock of
sparrows which kept flying up and settling farther down the road. Several of
them
flashed strong white outer tail feathers. Finally several of them sat still
on the fence and I was able to confirm they were indeed Vesper Sparrows. I
have not found this to be a common bird in this area so I was delighted to see
a
group of at least six of them. Along with these there were at least one
Field sparrow and a basic plumage American Goldfinch.
Since Leonard's Pond was on my way home, I decided to check it out. There
were 13 Killdeer, a single Wilson's Snipe, five Mallards,and two male
Red-winged
Blackbirds among flocks of starlings present; and nearby a female Northern
Harrier.
John Irvine
Harrisonburg, VA
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