Say's Phoebe Was Seen Today, 1/9/98
Don Henise (deheni@ark.ship.edu)
Fri, 09 Jan 1998 20:49:09 -0500
Robyn and I went out the the Weaver Farm on Wildwood Lane late this
afternoon. When we arrived there were already 4 other birders searching
for the bird, but it had not been seen yet. After looking around the
tower and checking the end of the chicken barn, Peter Robinson and I
walked between the barns and scanned the fence lines. After the first
scan we came up empty. I turned back to rescan the fence that parallels
the chicken barn and watched the phoebe fly onto one of the fence posts.
This was at around 4:30 pm. We got all the other birders to see the
bird. Mr. Weaver and his wife and 2 daughters all got to see it through
our scopes. One of the daughters, who works away from the farm during
the day, had not seen it yet. She was very excited to finally see this
bird that the rest of her family had been talking about.
The bird sat on the fence post for 10 - 15 minutes before flying across
the field to another fence. It sat on the second fence for maybe 5
minutes before it took off and flew over the woods to the southeast out
of sight for the night.
The Weavers have been very open and friendly to birders. Please be
courteous if you plan to make a visit over the weekend.
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Directions: From I-81 take the Newville Exit (#11) and follow Rt. 233
north to Newville. From the traffic light at the intersection of Rts.
233 and 641 in Newville continue 1 block north on 233 and turn left onto
Green Street which becomes Steelestown Road after you get out of town.
Look for the first road to the right - Wildwood Lane - about 2 miles or
so from 233. Wildwood Lane does a lot of twisting and turning and after
one sharp left turn you will come to a farm lane with the name Ethan
Weaver on the mailbox and a sign for Blue Mountain Supply. There is a
microwave relay tower on the farm.
We spoke with the owner and even showed him the bird. He was pretty
excited about it and is open to anyone coming to search for it on his
property. Just be sure to stop in at the house if you go there. There is
a large, but friendly german shepherd at the farm. His name is Dino.
The bird has been seen working around the base of the microwave tower
and around some of the farm buildings especially on the roof at the far
end of the long chicken house. It was also seen on the fence line behind
the barn. The original sighting of the bird on Saturday was at the next
sharp left bend in the road beyond the microwave tower and that is where
it was first sighted Sunday morning just before 9:00 am.
Mr. Weaver gave us permission to walk around his farm but said to stay
out of his neighbor's fields on the opposite side of the road. Remember
to check in at the house if you go into the farm.
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Don Henise Mailto:deheni@ark.ship.edu
Information & Computing Tech Center Voice:(717) 532-9121 ext 3170
Shippensburg University Home:(717) 776-6550
1871 Old Main Drive Fax:(717) 532-1427
Shippensburg, PA 17257 http://www.ship.edu/~deheni/
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