Trip day 23 Sunday May 16, 2021 At Martinsville VA -Lanier Lake and Sportsplex Park

Today was church day and although we can’t get the internet at our site, we can at the Office. So after breakfast we drove to the office, parked and got out the computer to participate in the church service on Zoom. Tim gave a fine sermon on “Being Surprised” and Eric played the harpsichord for some of the music.

We came home and decided to look for a breakfast place . Googled some places and the “Biscuit House” looked great .Only 2 miles away and so we headed there and as we arrived we noticed two things, First there was no dine in, and second the “drive in” line stretched around the building and into the main highway. OK, maybe another time. We tried two other places but one was not open (Many places here do close on Sunday, as I think we are indeed in the “Baptist Bible Belt”) and the other did not have breakfasts (It was afternoon  now.) So we headed back and had eggs and leftovers for lunch.

We were excited to head out to find birds and it was another good day. There were two  places we wanted to see. One was Lanier Dam and Lake, and the other a Sportsplex that has many trees and potential birds environment.
 

The Dam was only two miles away and unbeknown to us was a Community project of many years ago. An earthen dam on one side and where the river continues after the dam, a golf course run by the community. Interestingly after we had met one man with his grandson teaching him to fish, I saw a woman parked uphill from the golf course. I wanted to ask her if those yellow blooming flowers we saw  were tulip trees, so I did. Turns out she had a bumper sticker “I am proud of my 3 Eagle Scouts”. A definite conversation opener.  Not only did I learn about them, but she  (Sue) wanted to walk me down the hill on the golf course and show me something. We walked a short distance and there was a plaque in the ground which I will post for you to read. Sam Lions was their leader and a local street is named for him. It is believed that many slaves were buried on this site from a nearby plantation, and they were moved in the 1950, evidently to make room for the golf course. Her husband drove up in his golf cart and she gave his lunch in a bag and said “One  (hamburger) is for me remember”. Thanks Sue!

The birding was good as we watched a pair of Lincoln’s Sparrow gather mud and insects from a shallow flow under the bridge there and take it to their nest.
It was a residential area with many beautifully landscaped homes and parks.

The second place we drove to was the Sportsplex for Martinsville , which was a few miles out of town. It was huge  with multiple facilities, a boat launch and many trails as well and accommodations for a “dog trail”. Here we did see more birds and the light rain  sprinkle was  hardly reaching the ground. That was it, for the traveling today. Less than 20miles and we were home again.

We were getting settled when both Ruth and I heard a “different” bird sound from the trailer.  I did go out twice to look for it and finally found it as it flew across the Smith River. But not before i had a good look at it and saw the rump had a very white patch. A Prothonotary Warbler.  Add that to the BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, BROWN THRASHER,  CORMORANT, LINCOLN’S SPARROW, PURPLE FINCH, and the 16 other birds and it was a good day.

I’ll try to download more  photos as that has been difficult here.  Weather was cooler today and we just got above 69F today. Nights still are in the high 40’s.

Tuesday we travel with the truck only, to visit my niece Catherine Keiser and Bruce in Roanoke, A straight 50 mile drive on US 220.

Hope to visit with you tomorrow.