Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

New regional park in Loudoun proposed
By Holly Hobbs
Source: Loudoun Times-Mirror
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3 2008
UPDATED THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4 2008

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is looking to add another park to its realm of outdoor space, creating White’s Ford Regional Park in Loudoun. Park authority leaders announced Dec. 2 that they have filed a land-use application with the county to turn 275 acres of land northeast of Leesburg along the Potomac into a regional park.

The authority is looking to buy the land from a property owner within a year and is waiting for county approval before purchasing.

The authority’s Executive Director Paul Gilbert said he envisions hiking, camping, boating at the park.

“This property is perfectly in line with our mission, and we’re pleased to be able to offer this land to residents of our region for recreation,” he said.

The purchase would fall nearly in line with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, with which White’s Ford has a link.

“During the Civil War, [Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah V.] White owned the property as a farm,” Gilbert said. “On the way to the Battle of Antietam, a large contingency camped on the property.” The Battle of Antietam was fought near Sharpsburg, Md.

Gilbert said before choosing land for a regional park, the authority looks at historic significance and natural features. White’s Ford, he said, has both.

Also, he said, having regional park status would offer some protection from houses being built at the park site.

White’s Ford is located about one mile from Temple Hall Farm Regional Park, host to the annual Corn MAiZE and just north of White’s Ferry.

Gilbert said the park will have no effect on the ferry, which would lie outside of park grounds.

For more information about the White’s Ford Regional Park plans or the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, visit www.nvrpa.org .

Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com.

People had been talking about it, there were a few posts to a listserv and then there came the article in the Washington Post “Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop”.  Acorns seem to be at not only an all-time low but in many places there are none at all. According to the Post, reports of no acorns (a “zero year”) span from as far away as Pennsylvania, up through New England, out to Kansas. It’s very strange.

One theory provided in the Post points to the wet spring impacting the spread of pollen and subsequent pollination of the oak flowers.  Hickory nuts are also said to be scarce this year. Squirrels, deer and other mammals rely on acorns and other mast through the winter and will likely feel the pinch of this food shortage.

We’re curious about the oaks in Loudoun - if you have oak trees in your yard or neighborhood - did you have any acorns this year?

The American Bird Conservancy, the Piedmont Environmental Council, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries have made available an excellent, detailed, 28-page guide entitled Managing Land in the Piedmont of Virginia for the Benefit of Birds and Other Wildlife. 

This second edition now covers the entire piedmont of Virginia and provides specific habitat recommendations for implementation in agricultural, grassland, scrubland, forest, savanna and wetland habitats, as well as in developed urban and suburban areas such as backyards.

The guide is available for free download at

http://www.acjv.org/documents/VAPiedguide8_08.pdf
 
We’ve looked the guide over and are very impressed with its readability and its up-to-date information on managing various kinds of habitat including grasslands, wetlands, and even suburban (they call them developed) communities.  Definitely worth the download!

In this episode we talk all about Eastern Box Turtles and answer that question …. why did the turtle cross the road? Box Turtles are great wild neighbors with every encounter being a special one.  Their populations are in serious decline however, so it’s up to us to help them.

The photo above is of a male Eastern Box turtle that has been sighted a few times in our yard - the first time being seven years ago. 

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

This coming Wednesday,  August 20, at 9:00 am, LWC plans to again remove mile-a-minute from around the stream buffer shrubs that were planted on March 1 at the Phillips Farm in Waterford.  We’ve been able to control the invasives from around the shrubs but think we need to remove them at least one more time as the plantings take hold. This will be the third time we have done so this summer.  If you’re interested in participating, we’ll meet at the Mill in Waterford at 9 a.m. and you will need work gloves and might find it more comfortable to wear long sleeves and long pants due to the thorns.  Questions, please contact Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildslife.org

Received this great email on Bobolinks from Joe Coleman this morning:

This morning I observed 4 BOBOLINKS, 3 adult males and 1 adult female, on one of my neighbor’s farms along Ebenezer Church Rd in western Loudoun Co near Bluemont. They were flying in & out of an uncut field near Legacy Farm’s “van entrance” as well perching on the utility wires that hang over that field. While one of the males stayed perched the whole time I was there, the other three birds went in & out of the tall grass several times.

This is the first female I’ve seen in my neighborhood since another neighbor’s field was hayed on July 8.  The day after the hay was baled I observed both males & females perched on the bales.

Since BOBOLINKS seem to be pretty late nesters in our area (most egg dates in the records appear to be in June) there will hopefully be some actual fledglings appearing in the next week or so as several fields are still uncut in my neighborhood.  Unfortunately most of those fields are far from the road and one needs a scope to check them out.

Thanks, Joe Coleman, near Bluemont, Loudoun Co

 This is a great time to head over to Algonkian Park. There’s a great walking trail that runs along the river (park near the boat ramp) but there’s also this amazing field of flowers in bloom right now as well. 

You’ll see a variety of flowers (bergamot, rudbeckia, milkweed, cardinal flower, thistle, mullein) as well as some grasses mixed in.  When I was there this morning, the goldfinches, song sparrows and tree swallows were darting all through it, perching on stems and hunting insects.  Dragonflies, butterflies and a variety of bees were enjoying all the vibrance.

It’s definitely worth a look. It’s a great example of what we can do in our yards to covert lawns into wildlife habitat.

If you haven’t been to Algonkian before, you can check out our google map for location, directions and more information about Algonkian Park.  Enjoy!

Many grassland birds, including Northern Bobwhites, Grasshopper Sparrows, Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Dickcissels, have experienced significant declines in recent years due to loss of habitat and changing agricultural practices, especially here in Loudoun County. 

What You Can Do: If you live in a community where your HOA has a meadow area or if you are a large, or even moderate, landowner and don’t need your meadows for pasture or hay, please hold off on cutting them until later in the summer. 

By doing this you will give the numerous birds that nest in tall grass an opportunity to nest and raise their young. Every year the young of these species are killed by unnecessary mowing. You don’t have to mow all that, especially every week. For more information on the native grasslands of Loudoun and the birds that you can help save, click here.