Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

There’s been a lot of information in the papers on the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act  - some of it accurate, some of it not.

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act is something we need here in Loudoun and we need it now. Over the coming weeks we’ll be posting more information that you can use.

A great resource available right now is the website for Loudoun’s Clean Streams Coalition, of which Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is a part.  On this website you’ll find information on what the Act means for Loudoun, a history of the Act in Virginia and how it’s been applied in other counties like Fairfax, links to additional resources on streams and buffers, and more.

Additionally, members of our Board of Supervisors and County staff are out and about doing community sessions to hear citizen concerns, debunk myths, and answer citizen questions. 

I encourage you to learn more about this Act. Our streams across Loudoun need help. We’ve been monitoring our local streams for 14 years along with other organizations in Loudoun and we have the data to show that they are in trouble. We also know that preserving and restoring the buffers along streams helps improve water quality and the overall health of our environment.

Dave Thomas had a wonderful experience this past spring and was kind enough to write up his observations for us here. I’ll include a few of the photos in this post but will put the full album of the 20 photos on our Facebook Album. It’s a wonderful visual chronology!

Red-shouldered Hawks Nesting at Lansdowne, March — June, 2010, by Dave Thomas

In February, a few residents of our condominium in Lansdowne (part of Leisure World of Virginia) noticed a pair of hawks being very active around a tall oak tree behind the rear parking area of our 11-story building.  For those who know the area, the oak is less than 100 yards from the property boundary with our neighbor, Landsowne Resort.

The hawks took over a squirrel’s nest nicely located at a large tree fork opposite the ninth floor. They then greatly enlarged the nest and drove off squirrels that occasionally came back to look.

During March the pair evidently mated and settled in.  Even before the trees leafed out, however, the interior of the nest was impossible to view, so we could not be sure when and how many eggs were laid.  Much later, it became clear that one young hawk was being raised.

The twenty photographs and captions capture a fragmentary “natural history” of the story as it unfolded.  Even though the photography was difficult, and still distant despite a good telephoto lens, it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for us.

The photographs are selected from well over 1000, most of them sequences at six frames per second to capture fleeting moments. 

For example, the snake was visible in successive photos both approaching the nest and being fed to the young hawk. Unfortunately, sharp focus is often difficult to achieve, but the events were faithfully recorded.

I thank many neighbors who watched developments carefully and kept me informed, and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members who identified the hawk species and nesting behavior.  Finally, I have greater awe than then ever of the remarkable work done by dedicated and talented nature photographers. –Dave Thomas