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Snow bunting



Velma, Dave and Pam Harrington and myself were able to observe the Snow
bunting today on White Top Mountain, Grayson Co., VA thanks to a friendly
wave and timely gesture from Wallace Coffee who had already located the
bird.  A life bird for all four of us.  Thanks you Glen Eller's for your
great find yesterday and Wallace's post.  We were able to get great looks at
the bird at close range with binoculars and spotting scope.  We actually
relocated the bird two other times after Wallace's initial find.  It seemed
to prefer the gravel road and road banks.  It is tough to spot, so if you
try to find the bird, go very slowly and watch for movement.  It blends
almost perfectly with the color of the soil and rocks along the roadway.
Also met Allen Boynton and James Coman in the Spruce Fir zone on the way up
White Top and then gave us further instructions and the encouraging news
that they hadn't had any trouble locating the Snow bunting.  Also had one
Red crossbill and Red-breasted nuthatches at that location.

Later, on the way home, Velma spotted three ducks together on the New River
near the Mouth of Wilson.  We stopped and scoped the birds and they turned
out to be a male Bufflehead, a female Hooded merganser and a female Lesser
scaup.  We all thought that it was very unusual for three ducks to be three
separate species.  The ducks were staying close together and were still
together when we left the area.  The Bufflehead was only the second I had
seen in Grayson Co. and the Lesser scaup was a first.  The area is the quite
water above the dam on the New River where Hwy 58 closely parallels the
river.

Beautiful weather, a life bird and good friends.  Doesn't get any better
than that.

Harrol & Velma Blevins
NC/VA border on the New River
kestrel@valink.com