Re: Another Soapbox Message
BlkVulture@aol.com
Wed, 23 Sep 1998 18:13:38 EDT
In a message dated 98-09-23 12:11:46 EDT, you write:
<< Mike you couldn't possibly have had a MacGillivray's Warbler on Saturday.
Don't you know it's a western bird. It's not like we've had any western
birds show up here in the Mid-Atlantic lately. (CINNAMON TEAL, SELASPHORUS
hummingbird, WESTERN TANAGER, WILSON'S WARBLER, AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER,
LARK SPARROW, DICKCISSEL, PACIFIC LOON, WESTERN GREBE, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, >>
I am not sure that anyone is saying that MacGillivray's is impossible in
Virginia. Birds can and do show up in unexpected places. However with a
rarity like a MacGillivray's, a detailed description should accompany any
report of the bird.
What I am sure of, is that Wilson's warbler breeds in New England. Dickcissel
breeds in Virginia and Maryland. I have never considered these western birds.
At worst they are difficult to find eastern birds. At best they are regular
visitors.
Lark sparrow is a regular, albeit uncommon, winter resident on the east coast
south of VA. American golden plover and Baird's sandpiper are both regular
fall migrants. This is not in the same realm of a MacGillivray's Warbler
showing up in Virginia.
That said, your sarcasm is not totally wasted. And I do agree with this and a
previous post; I had never previously heard of Wakefield Park, and now I have
been there. Mike's posts are most certainly the reason that I made the effort
to do so.
Cheers,
Todd Day
Jeffersonton, VA