They enjoyed, in addition to excellent weather and camaraderie, good looks at Scarlet Tanagers, Warbling Vireos, Great-crested Flycatchers, and Eastern Kingbirds. 

The complete list of sightings includes:

Canada Goose 6, Wood Duck 4, Mallard 1, Double-crested Cormorant 6, Great Blue Heron 2, Green Heron 1, Black Vulture 1, Turkey Vulture 5, Red-tailed Hawk 1, Spotted Sandpiper 2, Mourning Dove 5, Chimney Swift 5, Red-bellied Woodpecker 4, Downy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 1, Pileated Woodpecker 1, Eastern Wood-Pewee 1, Eastern Phoebe 2, Great Crested Flycatcher 7, Eastern Kingbird 4, Warbling Vireo 2, Red-eyed Vireo 4, Blue Jay 3, American Crow 2, Fish Crow 10, Tree Swallow 8, Barn Swallow 5, Carolina Chickadee 5, Tufted Titmouse 5, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Carolina Wren 3, House Wren 3, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 6, Eastern Bluebird 4, Wood Thrush 1, American Robin 3, Gray Catbird 8, Northern Mockingbird 2, Brown Thrasher 2, European Starling 25, Cedar Waxwing 5, Yellow-rumped Warbler 4, Black-throated Green Warbler 1, Black-and-white Warbler 2, Chipping Sparrow 5, Savannah Sparrow (Eastern) 1, Song Sparrow 1, Scarlet Tanager 3, Northern Cardinal 5, Indigo Bunting 1, Red-winged Blackbird 4, Common Grackle 6, Brown-headed Cowbird 2, Orchard Oriole 4, American Goldfinch 8

To start the morning, Casey Pittrizzi, the naturalist at Algonkian Regional Park, let everyone have up close looks at a Wood Frog, Spotted Salamander, American Toad and Gray Tree Frog, that NVRPA has temporarily for education purposes. This was a great way to start off the program and start learning about our amphibians!

After our classroom session, where I basically gave everyone the run down on the different habitats amphibians use (forests and wetlands) and talked through the 25 different species we have here in Loudoun, we headed out into the field. [check out the photo album]

Our first stop was the little man-made pools at the mini-golf course.  To our excitement, we spotted numerous strings of American Toad eggs. 

That was special since we haven’t really heard the toads calling yet but they have obviously had an opportunity to get to the pools for breeding.

We also saw spotted salamander egg masses and hundreds of wood frog tadpoles, already hatched from their eggs.  We also spotted a newt in one of the pools, possibly eating frog or toad eggs.

From there, we headed out along the trails to look at the different wetland habitats – both vernal pools and swamp areas.

Here, we found an adult American Toad, obviously very cold and still in hibernation.  We also did a little dip netting and found lots of FAIRY SHRIMP! This is an obligate species for vernal pools and is only the second documented occurrence here in Loudoun.

Many thanks to all the participants for being a part of the day and to all the new volunteers for jumping in to the amphibian monitoring program this year!

Algonkian Regional Park is definitely one of our great places here in Loudoun.  Casey has some fun nature hikes and other programs lined up through the spring and summer, and we look forward to partnering on more events together!

Nests built in trees become visible, cavities that may have served as nesting sites are revealed, and sapsucker holes, that may have been feverishly drilled last spring, stand out.

When we went on our bird walk at Algonkian Park last Saturday, we came across a tree along the river that had signs of sapsucker activity – a row of sapsucker holes, so level and so evenly spaced. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers themselves were flitting through the forest as well and it was great to see this connection.

To learn about Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, read this article by the Smithsonian – it’s fascinating!

As we waited for folks to arrive, we watched hunters across the river monitoring their flocks of decoy ducks - one of which (in every flock) was a duck with frantically flapping wings that didn’t stop (kind of like of one those pinwheels we may have had as kids but bigger and more life-like). Needless to say, while we heard a lone goose flying, we didn’t have any actual ducks today.

Anyway, the morning was great. We walked mostly along the river, as the bird activity was pretty high through that forest buffer.

Highlights of the walk were certainly the amazing views we had of the Golden-crowned Kinglets as they gleaned insects from the trees, and of the Brown Creepers, which we had at least 4 of throughout the morning.

Woodpeckers were also quite active, as we saw 6 out of the 7 species here in Loudoun and enjoyed watching Sapsuckers, which were here in good numbers. A flock of about 6 bluebirds were also active along the trail.

The views of the river with the rusty fall colors holding out as a final hurrah before winter were lovely to soak in, as we wrapped up just before lunchtime.

Here’s the complete list of the 33 species that we saw:
Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Carolina Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, and House Sparrow.

Check our Facebook photo album for some photos from the morning.

Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-shouldered Hawk, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, Fish Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Goldfinch

Algonkian Park is a terrific home to all sorts of wildlife – from salamanders, skinks and frogs to butterflies, birds and mammals of all sorts. I love going there for nature walks and being delighted by the wilds of nature — but have to say, I often find myself carrying a trash bag to pick up litter along the trails. Not sure why people litter but this is a great event to help clean it up (and teach our kids to respect nature and not litter).

Here’s the information from Susan:

The Rotary Club of Sterling, Algonkian Regional Park, the  Potomac Heritage Trail Association and my Office are sponsoring a Cleanup Day at Algonkian Regional Park, where we plan to clean up the shoreline of the Potomac River in addition to the shores of the Sugarland Run stream, a mile of which flows through the park.

I would like to invite you to join us. We will be working all morning, so feel free to come and go as suits your schedule. You are welcome to distribute the attached flyer to your friends.

As you know, sooner or later, the trash and debris flow downstream via the Sugarland Run through Algonkian Regional Park, into the Potomac and into the Chesapeake Bay. This is our chance to do a little something to help the environment in our own backyard.

The good news about all that snow that we had this year is that the swamp area and the vernal pools that run through Algonkian were full! We compared photos from last year at some of the same points along the trail and the comparison was dramatic. A vernal pool last year that was no bigger than a bathtub spanned over 100′ this year. It was great to see the water levels back up and the ground properly saturated.

Along our walk, Mike Hayslett, our field trip leader and director of The Virginia Vernal Pools Program, talked about soils, seasonal wetland habitats, lifecycles of the amphibian life found in these habitats, and other cool nature facts.

We did a bit of netting to try to find evidence of Marbled Salamanders as well.  Marbled salamanders lay their eggs in the fall in the dry leaf litter. The female then waits and protects the eggs until the fall rain comes and fills the pools. The eggs then hatch and develop through the winter. At one of the pools we did find a Marbled salamander tadpole. It was not alive but we could still make out the markings to identify it. Salamander tadpoles are easier to find at night because they are nighttime predators….moving through the water column in search of tasty insects.

Other critters that showed up in our netting were various freshwater insects – isopods, coepods – as well as clams. It was really fun to explore these swampy waters and learn about the lifecycles of the animals that use them. 

As soon as we have our first “Big Night” rainfall of the spring, the swamp will be crazy with activity from Wood Frogs, peepers, and other salamanders. Looking forward to that rain, hopefully this week!

I posted a few photos from our walk on our Facebook page – feel free to check them out.

Other highlights of today’s outing included two Barred Owls enthusiastically vocalizing with each other for several seconds and our first of season Eastern Kingbird.  Double-crested Cormorants and Yellow-rumped Warblers were plentiful, a few Palm Warblers showed themselves, and a couple of Osprey flew over.  We had great views of several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and a lone Brown Thrasher.   We found about eight Blue-winged Teals remaining in an ephemeral pool between the river and the soccer field.  Bill saw his first of season Orchard Oriole before the rest of the group arrived and a Spotted Sandpiper after they had left. 

Altogether we saw 45 species, including:  Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-shouldered Hawk, Spotted Sandpiper, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird¸ American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Palm Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch.

This year I have begun to think about what I want to do on my walks in the woods, what is the goal? After writing down a bunch of goals and tasks I still didn’t have the answer I was looking for. The question was all wrong. So then I asked why do I go and what do I experience. The answer wasn’t what I thought it would be. The answer was that WOW moment that I cherish, that always draws me back.

I love that sense of wow and wonder that I get when I am truly in the moment and I discover something that has been there all along. It is brand new to me and suddenly I see it everywhere. My eyes have been opened and I marvel at the new discovery and beauty of this new object. I look around for someone to tell and want to shout from the mountain tops, “Look at this…..it is sooooo cool.” These moments are addicting like a drug that opens up my consciousness. I guess John Denver would call it a Rocky Mountain High.

The challenge is to continually find that new wonder, the new discovery on the same trail year after year. But the challenge is always met. Something always pops out. Even one small thing is enough to experience that wonder. Mother Nature never fails to deliver.

Sometimes just seeing old friends like spring ephemerals is wonder enough. I can delight in the fact that they are back and I recognize them. Seeing them only once a year keeps them fresh to my eyes. But there is always the fear that they won’t return signaling the end of the world as I know it. I just can’t conceive of spring without Dutchman’s breeches along the Shenandoah River. It would be too much to bear.

So my goal this year is to just be there in the moment and notice what is right in front of me. And to say hello to old friends and see what they have to offer I didn’t notice before.

How about you?

Cheryl

Note: The photo included here is from Algonkian Park – as I went there this past weekend, hundreds of Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers filled one of the vernal pools that runs through the property. Their chorus was so loud, people stopped their cars in wonder. It was fabulous.

The waterfowl also included four COMMON GOLDENEYES, one male and three females, a flock of nine CANVASBACKS which flew up the river, and several other ducks.  We were also pleased to see a BALD EAGLE, perched above a couple of geese hunters and to find a WINTER WREN.

Andy’s complete list follows:

Canada Goose, Mallard, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, SURF SCOTER, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Great Blue heron,Black Vulture, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Eastern Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal