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February 20, 2016 [LINK / comment]
Life bird: Virginia Rail!
Thanks to an e-mail alert sent out by Gabriel Mapel, who went birding with Allen Larner yesterday, I managed to see and photograph my first-ever Virginia Rail on Bell's Lane this afternoon. I was looking all along the wetland stream that parallels the road, not having any luck until a lady passed by in a car and told me where it was. So, I went over to another stream just past the sharp corner and after 15 or 20 minutes of waiting, the bird popped into view. I was amazed and delighted by the stunning appearance of the Virginia Rail, and count myself as lucky that there were ideal sunlight conditions for taking photos. It was my first life bird of the year, and my 462nd overall, so of course I had to update my Life Bird List page.
Virginia Rails nest in the northern states and Canada, and they winter in the southeast, so they aren't seen in Virginia very often, mostly during migration season. Perhaps the relatively mild winter (until this month at least) accounted for this bird's appearance here in the Shenandoah Valley.
Virginia Rail, on Bell's Lane, February 20, 2016.
Ross's Geese
On Thursday, I went looking for some Ross's Geese that were reported by Allen Larner and Penny Warren just east of Staunton (on Route 254), and sure enough I quickly saw four of them in a field. In one of my photographs, it seemed that one was bigger than the others, which might indicate a Snow Goose rather than a Ross's Goose.
Ross's Goose, east of Staunton, February 18, 2016.
The above photos have been posted on the Wild Birds yearly page, along with a few others.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 21 Feb 2016, 12: 45 AM
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Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007:
Category archives:
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Baseball
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War
Wild Birds
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This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 10, 2016 ~ Cooperstown calls Griffey, Piazza
January 17, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland (& Bath!) County
January 21, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Glenn Frey
January 26, 2016 ~ Sweet Briar College is saved!
January 31, 2016 ~ Presidential campaign begins
February 6, 2016 ~ Fall bird migration season 2015
February 20, 2016 ~ Life bird: Virginia Rail!
February 21, 2016 ~ 2016 primaries: populists propel polarization
March 10, 2016 ~ Yes, another Wrigley Field update!
March 26, 2016 ~ Trump triumphs, Republican Party implodes
April 4, 2016 ~ Opening Day(s) in America, 2016! (& Sportsman's Park update)
April 18, 2016 ~ R.I.P. Alan L. Clem
April 21, 2016 ~ Flying out to So. Dak. (& back)
April 30, 2016 ~ Trump & Clinton take commanding leads
April 30, 2016 ~ Migration season reaches peak
May 7, 2016 ~ Trump secures victory; Sanders fights on
May 21, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Reddish Knob
June 7, 2016 ~ ABC field trip to Highland County
June 9, 2016 ~ FOD [first-of-decade] Prothonotary Warblers!
June 14, 2016 ~ Birding on Hite Hollow Road
June 16, 2016 ~ Holy $#!+ -- Nationals win big showdown with Cubs
July 1, 2016 ~ Nationals sweep the Mets, widen NL East lead
July 3, 2016 ~ Kentucky Warblers, and more!
July 8, 2016 ~ Soras breeding in the Valley!
July 13, 2016 ~ Redistricting reform movement is growing
July 16, 2016 ~ The Nationals' starting rotation
August 5, 2016 ~ New page: Stadium profiles!
August 7, 2016 ~ Magical mushroom tour*
September 7, 2016 ~ To the northeast: Baseball road trip, 2016
September 18, 2016 ~ East by Northeast: Big city scenery travelogue
September 25, 2016 ~ Nationals win National League East Division
September 27, 2016 ~ Lucky! 13 warblers on Betsy Bell Hill
October 2, 2016 ~ Nationals' regular season ends on a high note
October 5, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park birding (II)
October 14, 2016 ~ Nationals flinch, Dodgers advance to NLCS
October 14, 2016 ~ Shenandoah National Park getaway
October 16, 2016 ~ World War II aircraft show (II)
October 25, 2016 ~ Holy cow: Cubs beat Dodgers, win NL pennant!
November 3, 2016 ~ The Cubs win the World Series!!!
November 4, 2016 ~ New month arrives, & new birds too
November 6, 2016 ~ Campaign 2016 grinds to a nasty, ugly end
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Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)