Tom: Thank you for the heads-up. I left about 2 AM on 9/8/09 and saw the Sand Plover spcies from about 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM along with about 7 others. Per the directions in the postings to the Days Inn in Stauton VA it was an easy find. In the beginning the birds flushed then settled and there was movement. After about 10 minutes the bird rested with its rear-end facing me and that is how it stayed for the rest of the time. The crowd diminished to 2 when I left. I got home about 8 PM. A great day with a new bird. I read and listened to the discussion as to whether it is a Greater or Lesser and it seems to be going to Greater based on the call that some folks heard (not when I was there).
The bird appears only in my The Shorebi9rd Guide by Michael O"Brien et al. Jerry Lazarczyk Grand Island NY As some who follow either the Frontiers of Identification birding list-serve, or check the Virginia Birds list-serve will have noticed, a Sand-Plover (species of shorebird ranging thru Eurasia-Africa- Australasia), exceedingly rare in eastern N. America) has been photographed & continued to be seen in the Staunton, Virginia area thru Monday, 7 Sept. The Sand-Plover may await ID to species. For more, see recent posts from those two lists: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/VABD.html (Virginia Birds) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/FRID.html (Frontiers of I.D.) Greater or Lesser - good bird and great find! Tom Fiore, Manhattan ____________________________________________________________ Best Weight Loss Program - Click Here! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/fc/BLSrjpYSwrCLfrrhC40jzJv6GrDaAd2cLF4lc2ESe7xAquZZj17ZiB1KRLy/ -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Temporary archive: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
