Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Seven of us went out to Bles Park in Ashburn, Virginia on Saturday night for a fun night hike to look and listen for frogs.  This is just the second of such night hikes that we’ve done so far but they’re so much fun that we’ll definitely be doing more starting next spring when the frogs and toads are really out in force.

For our walk last Saturday, we started by gathering in the parking area, discussing the possible species that we would encounter and listening to recordings of their calls. Through past nature walks at Bles, we’ve identified at least six species of frogs and toads that are definitely at Bles, but due to the time of year, we were most likely to only hear three of them (Green Frog, Gray Tree Frog and Bullfrog).

So, off we went along the trail. Bill Roberson from the county’s Parks and Recreation dept came out as a resource for us in case of anything which was great since it allowed us to just focus on wildlife. The park certainly looks different at night but donned with headlamps and flashlights, we were able to spot all sorts of great creatures.

As we walked along, we encountered numerous (at least 20)  juvenile American Toads (toadlets) out hunting for dinner -  hopping across our path and hunting through the grasses. There were also quite a few millipedes out hunting along with some really interesting beetles.

We were hoping for a slight drizzle to get the frogs to call but it missed us and the frogs stayed pretty quiet except for a lone Green Frog that called from along the river. As we explored along the river, we saw a bat or two hunting over the water. By the size of it, I’m guessing a Big Brown Bat.  We’ll have to bring the bat detector next time. We also had Great Blue Herons flying over just as the sun was setting.

The big fun of the evening was spotting the many Pickerel Frogs along the river.  They would have been breeding in the early spring time so it’s no surprise that they were not calling out their funny snore but it was great to spot them and practice some night photography.

We wrapped up our hike at 9pm.

This past Saturday, before the monthly Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy birdwalk at Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, 3 folks spent an hour+ at the Dulles Wetlands and found that the 3 juvenile WHITE IBIS remain.  They were feeding actively in near, open shallow water, easily observed, along with the same companions as on Monday. 

At Banshee Reeks, 12 people came out to look for birds. The highlights of the lovely, still-cool morning were singing Blue Grosbeak (also one at the wetlands), Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and groups of Cedar Waxwings.  Mike Friedman, arriving as our bird walk broke up, reported finding (hearing then seeing) a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO near the entrance to the preserve.

The list follows, with birds at the Dulles Wetlands second where applicable.

Canada Goose – x/x, Wood Duck – x/x (many young), Mallard – 0/x, Great Blue Heron – 0/3, Great Egret – 0/12, Green Heron – 0/2, WHITE IBIS – 0/3, Turkey Vulture – 2, Accipiter – 0/1, Red-shouldered Hawk – 1, Red-tailed Hawk – 1, Am. Kestrel – 1, Killdeer – 0/12, Solitary Sandpiper – 0/6, Semipalmated Sandpiper – 0/6, Pectoral Sandpiper – 0/1, Mourning Dove – x, Yellow-billed Cuckoo – 2, Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 1, Belted Kingfisher – 1/1, Red-bellied Woodpecker – x, Downy Woodpecker – x, No. Flicker – 2, Pileated Woodpecker – 2, E. Wood-Pewee – x, E. Phoebe – x, Great Crested Flycatcher – 1, E. Kingbird – x/x, Red-eyed Vireo – x, Blue Jay – x, Crow sp. – x/x, Barn Swallow – x/x, Car. Chickadee – x, Tufted Titmouse – x, Car. Wren – x/x, House Wren – 0/x, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher – 1, E. Bluebird – x/x, Am Robin – x/x, Gray Catbird – x/x, No. Mockingbird – x/x, Brown Thrasher – 1, Cedar Waxwing – many, C. Yellowthroat – x/x, Scarlet Tanager – 1, E. Towhee – x, Field Sparrow – x/x, Song Sparrow – x/x, No. Cardinal – x/x, Blue Grosbeak – 1/1, Indigo Bunting – x/x, Red-winged Blackbird – x/x, C. Grackle – x/x, Am. Goldfinch – x/x

Many thanks to Mary Ann Good and Del Sargent who led this walk and to David Crooks for getting photos of the White Ibis. We’re adding it to our Bird Atlas data!

Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve and the Dulles Wetlands are located in Leesburg, Virginia – a great place to explore Loudoun nature and wildlife.

It’s curious what we take for granted or never even notice.
Untold thousands of insects are devoured nightly by our little fury friends, the bats.
They emerge at dusk and disappear at dawn,
and we are hardly aware of what they have done for us.

- Amanda Lollar, Bat World

Here’s a terrific resource on gardening and pollinators: The Pollinator Partnership. 

They have excellent wildlife habitat and planting guides that you can download for free that are specific to our area. To go directly to the guides, visit their page called Ecological Planting Guides, enter your zip code and a map as well as the pdf file will come up.

There are also two excellent YouTube videos on the site that you’ll want to watch.  They’re really informative and talk about the role that bees, butterflies, bats and birds play in our food chain.

We can do so much just in our own backyards by planting the right types of plants, using wise practices (like not using pesticides), and talking to others about the wild nature around us. We’re all connected, and truly more so that most people realize.

For teachers, homeschoolers as well as anyone else interested in learning even more about pollinators, they have a page called Useful Resources that has nature activities for kids, educational curriculum focused on nature, lesson ideas, and more.

Just in case you have trouble with the pdf downloads, I’ll post two of the guides here, but I highly recommend doing the search on your zip code from their site too.

Pollinator Partnership Guide: Central Appalachian

Pollinator Partnership Guide: Southeast Mixed Forest

As you drive along the back roads of Loudoun and look along the telephone wires, you may very well see an American Kestrel.  They love to hunt over fields for small rodents. They’re wonderful to see on the wing as they hunt and they are our smallest falcon.

Check out a great article that Gerry Hawkins wrote on the American Kestrel awhile back for our Habitat Herald newsletter and then try out our Ketsrel word search puzzle. It’s good fun!

More puzzles on Loudoun wildlife and environment can be found on our Educational Resources page.

David McCarthy, President of the Friends of Banshee Reeks, sent over this email and I wanted to share it with you here. The Friends of Banshee Reeks is an important organization in making sure this incredible nature preserve is protected into the future.

The note from David:

Follow-up to the Public Meeting of July 29

I would like to thank all of you who were able to attend the public meeting Wednesday evening to address the issues related to The Woods Road.  It is unfortunate that an understandably frustrated group from Courtland dominated the question period, as the majority of people in the audience did not get to raise their questions about the status of a road that appears on the earliest maps of the county; that runs through an area that reflects the human ecology of man’s interaction with the natural habitat in Loudoun from 4,000 BC through the 1970’s; and is the only publicly owned collection of traditional Piedmont habitats that exists in the county on a scale which keeps them viable.

The good news is that Lewis Rauch, Director of the Office of Capital Construction attended the meeting and has offered to head up a Woods Road Stakeholders Group that would meet regularly this year and next to address the safety concerns of the road, the county’s solid waste disposal needs, and the need to protect irreplaceable natural resources and the conservation easements that protect them. Mr. Rauch has earned a reputation of bringing an open, positive and professional approach to problem solving, and he understands that all the issues related to The Woods Road need to be seen within the larger context. I believe that someone who can look at this situation with fresh eyes and knows how to listen can help take us beyond the stale rhetoric we have been subjected to before.

As always, Supervisor Sally Kurtz played the key role in seeing that the process of public participation promised in April 2008 was not allowed to die. The Woods Road presents a striking example of the constant pressure that the county’s diminishing resources are under from competing demands. The Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve will be pleased to enter into a transparent and participative process at the front end of the decision making, rather than having to react to the damage caused by decisions made without consideration of the consequences.

Loudoun County has been the victim of a risky and speculative development process that has been driven by the short term possibilities of monetary gain. It is recognized that the economic situation the county finds itself in now is the result of this kind of approach. We all know now that we need a new way forward based on an informed and engaged citizenry. The decisions made about The Woods Road will send a clear message of how Loudoun County will approach the future. We all agree that business as usual is not the answer. Let’s help shape a new one.

David McCarthy, President
Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve  

On Wednesday, July 29, Supervisor Sally Kurtz led a public meeting on the issue of The Woods Road relocation. Also speaking for the County were Lewis Rauch (Director of Capital Construction and Solid Waste Management), Rick Weber (Solid Waste Management Program Manager), Harry Walsh (Citizens Relations Manager from the Office of the County Administrator), and Diane Ryburn (Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services).

Over 100 citizens attended, coming from two primary interest areas: residents of Courtland Woods concerned about road safety and viewsheds, and residents from across Loudoun concerned about Banshee Reeks and the wildlife and habitat impacts of any road realignment.  I took notes throughout the meeting and wanted to share what I gathered with you here:

Supervisor Kurtz conveyed that the landfill will be expanded and the future phases have already been planned and prepared. At the current rate of trash collection, these future phase of the landfill will be opened and used over the next 10-15 years. In order to use these new phases of the landfill, there need to be ground water monitoring stations around the perimeter of the landfill to make sure toxins are not escaping from the landfill. The perimeter for the expanded landfill butts directly against The Woods Road in some places. Because it is a residential road, there needs to be a 300′buffer.

VDOT is responsible for The Woods Road. In 2009, however, budget cuts caused them to defund the relocation plans. In response to that, our Board of Supervisors put $750,000 of County money against doing a 30% design plan for relocating The Woods Road. Once that plan is in place, it will be the determining document for what is done to The Woods Road when the final phases of the landfill are opened up. [So -- What is decided in the next year about The Woods Road and Banshee Reeks will be what we have to live with in 15 years from now - regardless of how technology, environment and other factors change between now and then]

Mr. Rauch explained that “VDOT has washed their hands of the project,” and therefore the County is putting money in to make sure this project goes forward.  Sally explained that because County funds are being used, there will be more flexibility in what is done in relocating The Woods Road. 

Citizens raised questions around the impact of the landfill on Goose Creek, as well as wetland issues such as the impact of relocating The Woods Road on the rare Mountain/Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp that is on Banshee Reeks and the Virginia Outdoor Foundation (VOF) conservation easement on the property. The response that we received from Sally was that in moving the road, the Mountain/Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp would not be destroyed. Mr. Weber said “We don’t know where the road will be – we need to do the environmental analysis.”  Additionally, the county is in discussions with VOF because the current plans do violate the easement.

The next step is for the County to set up a Woods Road Stakeholder Group and signups were taken [yes, we signed up]. In addition to residents of Courtland, there were members and leaders from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Friends of Banshee Reeks, Virginia Master Naturalist (Banshee Chapter), Audubon Naturalist Society (Rust Sanctuary), Piedmont Environmental Council, and the Loudoun Preservation Society present. Together, we will make sure the environmental and historic concerns around the relocation of The Woods Road are heard and considered as alternatives are identified and plans move forward. We will keep you informed throughout.