Photo courtesy of Fairfax County Park Authority
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Huntley Meadows Park
3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria, VA
Registration: Register Online
Cost $9.00
Come discover Huntley’s amphibian orchestra. Join a naturalist for a discussion and a guided walk to listen for serenading frogs and toads. Learn the calls of a bull frog, southern leopard frog, green frog, tree frog, American toad and more.
Photo courtesy of Eagle Fest
Saturday, May 7, 2022
10am – 6pm
Mason Neck State Park
7301 High Point Rd, Lorton, VA
The Eagle Festival will be live and in-person this year! Please mark your calendar for a wonderful day at Mason Neck State Park. There will be live animal presentations all day long, as well as live music, demonstrations, and interactive exhibits from more than 20 environmental organizations.
Article and photos by FMN Mike Walker
Like last year, I saved every scrap of “plastic” that came in to my home in January and February. Fortunately I have a wonderful screen porch to store this stuff outside during the cold weather. As you can see above, in two months, I collected a shocking total of about 60 cubic feel of “plastic” stuff, ranging from bubble wrap, packaging waste (even from organic products) prescription bottles, shrink wrap, etc. I even had a plastic hose from my washing machine, plastic “throw-away” sunglasses from the doctor for eye dilation and plastic clips from ink for my printer. A real potpourri of plastic trash. My wife and I do not go out of our way to buy plastic products, of course, I submit that we are typical consumers. Collecting two months worth of material is a vivid reminder of what is coming into our lives and how difficult it is to avoid an avalanche of plastic material.
After two months of collecting, I sorted the plastic into what can actually be recycled….see my picture below….a small fraction of waste…15 bottles and some caps. While manufacturers offer “helpful” codes on the bottom of many plastic products, most plastic is simply not recyclable and in Fairfax County becomes waste to be incinerated.
Being aware of our use patterns for “stuff”…whether it be plastic, water consumption, gasoline or other resources is the first step in becoming aware of our impact on the earth and the search for serious reductions in consumption. Taking the time to simply collect the plastic that comes into your home for a period of time can become a real eye opener to the sheer volume and variety of plastics – including non-recyclable plastics – that are encountered everyday. It can really make you mindful to look for ways to reduce your consumption, too.
Photo: Barbara Saffir
The Northern Virginia Bird Club offers three guided bird walks a week at a variety of locations. The trips are free and open to all. There is no need to register for the local trips.
Here is the schedule for March – June 2022.
Photo courtesy of Virginia Native Plant Society
Native plants provide better food for insects, which in turn provide food for birds. You can make a huge difference for wildlife by planting native species on your property.
Virginia Native Plant Society maintains a list of native plant sales in the area.
Not on the list, but worth considering is Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Native Plant Sale, which takes place on April 16, 2022 in Morven Park in Leesburg. More information is here: www.loudounwildlife.org/event/spring-native-plant-sale
Photo: Barbara Saffir
Reviewed by FMN Kristina Lansing
After a cold, grey winter, spring once again is on our doorstep. If you’re chafing to get outside but are finding conditions still a bit less than hospitable, try curling up instead with “Spring in Washington.”
“In the year the atomic age was born, a young man on a bicycle appointed himself monitor of spring in the nation’s capital. Starting before sun-up each morning, he pedaled miles and saw much before his workday began at the offices of the State Department. That the year was 1945 is of no importance, for the events he chronicled could have taken place in 1845 or 2045. The rites of spring are eternal.”*
Consider traveling back in time to experience what Washington was like back in 1945. Join author Louis J. Halle on his daily forays to the the Tidal Basin, Rock Creek Park, Dyke Marsh, Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the C&O Canal. Rock Creek was less visited back then and Dyke Marsh, lacking a boardwalk, was essentially off limits to all but the hardy and adventurous. A passionate observer of nature, Halle documents in detail the migration of birds, the awakening of foliage, and the changeability of the wind and the local weather. Written in the style of Aldo Leopold, but speaking very much with his own voice, Mr. Halle reflects not only on nature but on foreign affairs and the human condition. It’s a timely read for many reasons.
This book, which numbers just over 200 pages, is no longer in print but copies can readily be found in the Fairfax County Library system or for purchase via Amazon and Alibris. If at all possible, do try to snag a copy that features the illustrations of American artist Francis L. Jaques, as his drawings truly are delightful.
Louis J. Halle was born in New York City and educated at Harvard University. In 1979 he received the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Paul Dartsch Award for outstanding contributions to the field of natural history.
*“Spring in Washington;” Louis J. Halle; Johns Hopkins University Press; 1988; Forward by Roger Tory Peterson.
Friday, April 15, 2022
6 – 7 pm
Register here for either in person or online.
Brush up on your warbler songs just before the migrants arrive in droves. Sponsored by The Clifton Institute, they will listen to the songs of each of the migratory warblers that pass through our region in spring, while looking at spectrograms to help visual learners identify differences in similar songs. They will also briefly discuss habitats where breeding warblers can be found in our area and cover a handful of other migrants such as vireos and thrushes.
This workshop will be of interest to birdwatchers of all skill levels. It will definitely be more fun than listening to a warbler song CD in your car! This program will be a hybrid in-person / virtual event. They think it’s more fun to get together in-person and learn from each others’ birdwatching experience, but also want to make this class accessible to people who don’t live within driving distance of the Clifton Institute. Please indicate which way you plan to attend below by RSVP’ing. If you RSVP to the “Virtual (Online) Only”, you will be sent a Zoom link a few days prior to the event.
Photo by Nicolas Ladino Silva on Unsplash
The Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District 2022 Photo Contest theme is “Conservation Moments.” A full list of contest rules can be found here: Photo Contest Rules or on the VASWCD website. You can submit up to 10 photos online, here. All photographs must be taken within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Reach out to Maura Christian with any questions.
Article Photos courtesy of Fairfax County Park Authority
Author Suzanne Holland is Visitor Services Manager at Hidden Oaks Nature Center.
Preparations for construction take many forms. For Hidden Oaks Nature Center, the upheaval to the trees, park access and program scheduling are but a few of the aspects that site staff have long considered to get ready for the current renovation. One consideration was the construction’s impact on the pond that many frogs and salamanders use to mate in late winter and spring. Assisted by Eagle Scout Daniel Tootle, Hidden Oaks management planned a year in advance to minimize the habitat impact – a plan that has proven to be successful over the past two weeks.
Wood frogs arrived at Hidden Oaks Nature Center’s temporary pools on Feb. 20, 2022.
The current construction required filling in the existing pond. Staff’s concern was that this would disrupt mating patterns for the frogs and later the American toads and yellow spotted salamanders. Every March, more than a hundred wood frogs gather in a small body of water just outside of Nature Playce – the site’s outdoor nature exploration area. The male wood frogs call in a laughing duck manner to woo the female wood frogs from their winter slumber. All meet up in the pond. Females lay thousands of eggs which hatch into tadpoles which metamorphose into froglets by mid-summer.
In June 2021, Dylan Tootle and 23 volunteers installed two temporary ponds on either side of the planned construction zone as part of Dylan’s Eagle Scout project. Using repurposed baby pools and prefabricated pond liners, Tootle’s “ponds” created above-ground and in-ground options for the park’s resident amphibians. The first wood frogs appeared on February 20 and soon had eggs floating in the above-ground pool in front of the building. A few days later, the second pond was brimming with frogs. While programs are currently suspended at Hidden Oaks Nature Center, the frogs and their cacophony of sound have fascinated the construction crews and contractors. Unfortunately, a dozen frogs opted to disobey the signs, hop into the construction zone and plop into the partially rainwater-filled new pond still being built. The team from Kadcon installed a ramp in the new pond to accommodate the wood frogs, who find it easier to jump in than climb out the comparatively steep sides. Though rains have created plenty of puddles over the last few weeks, the frogs seem to prefer our ponds over the rainwater puddles.
Frog mating calls joined the construction noise to create a cacophony of sound at Hidden Oaks.
Wood frog egg masses soon appeared in the baby pool pond.
The new larger and permanent pond should be ready for its new inhabitants next week. Naturalists will then relocate the egg masses and newly hatched tadpoles into their new home. Sometimes the earliest laid eggs do not survive a hard freeze, but the adults can return to their shelter under the forest’s leaves and reenter “brumation”, a partial form of hibernation. They will rouse again when the weather warms up. The staff will track which pools the frogs and salamanders prefer and look forward to sharing the marvels of metamorphosis with visitors old and young.
Hidden Oaks Nature Center is located at 7701 Royce Street in Annandale. Please note the Nature Center is closed Feb. 14 to June 10, 2022, for renovations. No public restrooms will be available until April.
This entry was posted in Resource Management and tagged construction, Hidden Oaks Nature Center, nature, outdoors, Wood Frogs on .
Photo: Ashley Bradford
Tuesday and Thursday, March 29 and 31, April 5 and 7, 7:00 – 8:00 PM
ONLINE
ASNV members: $40
Non-members: $50
Register here.
Learn how to identify warblers visiting Northern Virginia in spring migration during this Audubon Society of Northern Virginia course.
Warblers are some of the most challenging birds to identify. They are small and often fast-moving, with easily confused calls and songs. This four-part course will cover plumage, behavior, and vocalizations to help you identify the 35 species of warblers you might see this spring.
This course will be presented by Bill Young, co-creator of the MPNature.com website, which describes the natural history of Monticello Park, a hidden gem and warbler hotspot in Alexandria, VA. Bill is the author of the book “The Fascination of Birds: From the Albatross to the Yellowthroat.” He also makes nature videos, and his YouTube channel has had 850,000 views.
An optional field trip, led by Phil Silas, will be held on Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 7:30 AM for 20 Identifying Warblers participants. The field trip fee is an additional $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers. The field trip will be held in Woodbridge, VA, but the exact location will only be revealed after registration. An email with a link to register for the field trip will be sent upon registration for Identifying Warblers. The field trip is first come, first serve and there will be a waitlist.
Photo credit: American Redstart, Ashley Bradford