Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

This past Sunday we had our first amphibian foray of the year and headed over to Algonkian Park to explore the amazing network of seasonal waters and swampland that is over there.

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.

For those interested in Amphibians this will be an exciting week!  I was just checking the weather and there’s a chance of rain Wednesday through Friday and the temps are supposed to be around 50 degrees!!  PERFECT!!

We still have room in our Amphibians Afoot Class and Field Trip so if anyone is interested please sign up soon. If it rains those nights we’ll definitely be doing a night excursion and perhaps a road crossing assist.

So what’s the big deal about the first spring rains in March? Man, if the typed word could only show my excitement! I’m about to jump out of my seat on this and can barely catch all my typos!

The first warm rain in March is when Wood Frogs, Spring Peepers, toads, Jefferson Salamanders and others make their move! Imagine them in their forest homes, under logs, in burrows, nestled in the cushion of fallen leaves….the winter slumber is over and it’s time to breed!  They can’t leave their havens without some rain because their skin will dry out and they can’t move during a daytime rain because predators are out. So they wait……then it happens! Nighttime falls, the rains come and they migrate in force! 

They’ll migrate from as far away as 1/4 mile to get to the vernal pools and other wetlands where they were born in order to meet up with their fellow species to mate, stay a few days and then return to the forest. Wow – it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! Here’s an interview I did with Mike Hayslett when he was here with us last year: Spring Wetlands Interview

This special spring rain sets the season off and is also why we get our amphibian monitoring program going this time of year.  We have these big events and the amphibians are most visible from March through about June/July. Oh it is just so much fun!

So, watch the weather and if you’re out at night when it’s raining, watch the road – what you may think are leaves blowing across the road may actually be frogs, toads and salamanders trying to cross!  Let us know what you encounter!

And please do check out the Amphibians Afoot Class mentioned above – there’s a small fee for this one to help cover some of our costs but it’s well worth it!

Please forward this far and wide to anyone and everyone you know in Virginia and ask them to act today!  Share it! forward it! Make this action alert go viral – it’s that important! Please Email your Virginia State Senator and ask them to vote No on HB515

For those in Loudoun: Please Email Senators Herring (district33@senate.virginia.gov) and Vogel (district27@senate.virginia.gov) 

For those in other parts of Virginia look up your Senators’ info here: http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform 

Our Virginia Senate is about to vote on a bill that will cripple what little wetlands protection we have here in Virginia. This will have a seriously negative impact on our Virginia wildlife and the health of our environment.

Please take one minute to send an email – Please make your voice be heard!

There is going to be a vote on HB 515, Wetlands and Stream Mitigation. The bill summary as passed by the house is as follows:

Prohibits localities from regulating the location of wetlands and stream mitigation projects that are subject to a Virginia Water Protection Permit or a Corps of Engineer § 404 permit. However, a locality may continue to determine the allowed uses within its zoning classifications.

This bill would remove a locality’s ability to require, encourage or incentivize that wetlands or stream mitigation occur within the jurisdiction that is being impacted. In doing so, this bill would also eliminate a county’s ability to enforce a “no net loss” policy for wetlands. Loudoun County has had such a policy in place since 2001, and it is important to note that Loudoun’s policy DOES NOT conflict with State or Federal guidance/regulations on the mitigation of wetlands.

This is a push by wetland engineers to force landowners to either use their services or the wetland banks they have created and haven’t been able to sell. In fact some rural land is so cheap some developers will see this as a chance to push development in Loudoun County (and other areas) and mitigate in jurisdictions far away where the land is much cheaper. The negative impact on our wildlife will be dramatic, especially on the amphibians and invertebrates that depend on smaller wetlands.

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is opposed to HB 515 because: 

1) Allowing a locality to regulate the location of mitigation protects a major community value, water quality, and provides for mitigation in such a way that both the watershed (broad) and local water quality impacts from development are reduced.

2) This bill would hamper a locality’s ability to meet water quality standards, such as reducing pollution in streams to meet Federal standards.

3) “No net loss” policies, such as the one Loudoun County has in place, do not conflict with higher level regulation (State and Federal). As long as this is the case, the Commonwealth should respect local authority to protect local priorities such as clean water.

4) Wetlands in locations like Loudoun County help minimize the pollution and sediment that reaches the Chesapeake Bay.

5) Wetlands, even small ones, are invaluable wildlife resources and important nurseries for a wide variety of animals. This is especially true for a number of amphibians and invertebrates that depend on smaller wetlands.

This legislation was proposed because some in the wetland mitigation business dislike county wetland policies or regulations, and they would prefer not to have to compete with other wetland banking operations. They also argue that limitations on mitigation unfairly increase the cost of development and mitigation activities.

Please contact our State Senators and ask them to oppose HB 515:
Jill Vogel at 804-698-7527 or district27@senate.virginia.gov
Mark Herring at 804-698-7533 or district33@senate.virginia.gov

Wetlands are paramount to healthy habitats and drinking water for humans and wildlife – and are critical to amphibian and other animal lifecycles. Wetlands are one of our most valuable habitats.

The pond near the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Rust Nature Sanctuary Manor House is not only excellent wildlife habitat that many of us love to visit, it is a favorite educational tool for the numerous environmental education classes that are held at the sanctuary.  It is a favorite of both adult visitors and children. 

Unfortunately it has sprung a leak which needs to be repaired.  Additionally, there are a lot of invasive alien plants around the pond as well as some other aggressive plants that need to be removed. 

On Friday, November 6, from 9 am to about lunch, the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy will help Bruce repair the leak and begin working on removing the invasive and aggressive plants.  On Saturday, November 7, from 9 am to about lunch, we will concentrate on removing, or at least, reducing, the aggressive plants and invasive alien plants.

If you are interested in helping please contact Bruce McGranahan at bruce@audubonnaturalist.org or 703-669-2561.

A group of volunteers renovated the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Rust Nature Sanctuary pollinator garden to include only native plants and shrubs.  Now they would like to enhance the pollinator garden by adding more host and nectar plants to an area behind the present garden.  To do this they must first remove the non-native invasive wisteria which covers this area.  Once that is completed they will plant pawpaw, sassafras, and spicebush as host trees and possibly a couple of other trees as well.  They also plan to plant additional flowers as nectar sources as well as some native grasses.

The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy plans to help Ann with this project on Saturday, November 7 from 9 am to noon.   If you are interested please contact Ann at ahgarvey@aol.com or 540-882-4405.

On August 8th, four of us worked on the shrubs and trees that were planted along the tributary that flows into the Catoctin on the western edge of the Phillips Farm.  We were pleased to find the trees and shrubs that were planted on April 22 thriving. 

To keep them healthy we first hand weeded around the plants and then put mesh guards around them to keep the deer, rabbits, and rodents from gnawing on the stems and eating the leaves.  We managed to complete about half the trees and shrubs there but need to go back and finish the reminder there as well as work on the trees and shrubs that are near the village. That’s where we could use your help!

On Wednesday, August 19th, from 9:00 to noon we will complete this project if enough volunteers can come on out and lend a hand. 

We’ll meet at the mill and put mesh guards around the plants which are experiencing some deer, rodent, and rabbit damage and remove some of the aggressive invasive alien plants in the planting area.  We also plan to so some hand weeding around the trees and shrubs so if you have some favorite weeding tools please bring them and work gloves along.  A mallet to hammer the mesh strakes in would also be useful.  One group will finish the work along the tributary while the others will work on the trees and shrubs closer to the village.

We’ll also water the new plants with our new pump if it doesn’t rain between now and then.

Please come out and help if you can and leave when you need to. If you are planning to come, please let Joe Coleman know: 540-554-2542 or jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org

Thanks for your help in making this restoration a success!

Please Take Action by Attending this Public Input Session: On Wednesday, July 29 at 7pm, Supervisor Kurtz, along with other members of the county, will hold a public meeting to hear the county’s plans to realign the Woods Road. This is a serious threat to the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve. The location for the meeting is 215 Depot Court in Leesburg. Please come out to show your support for Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve!

Loudoun County claims that the landfill’s expansion requires that The Woods Road be shifted from its current location into the preserve itself. If this occurs it could seriously harm the preserve’s natural values and destroy a rare natural habitat.

First we need to ask if this relocation is necessary at all. The county claims it is necessary based on a special exception that was passed over 15 years ago.

Lots has changed since then and it is hard to believe that this still the case especially when one considers how valuable and special the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve is.

1) Seriously degrade, if not destroy, a rare natural habitat, a Mountain/Piedmont Basic Seepage Swamp, of which there are only 12 examples known in Virginia.

2) Seriously impair the integrity of the entire natural preserve which is a mix various different kinds of habitats including the large, intact upland forest that The Woods Road would bisect. It will disrupt wildlife habitat, destroy wetlands and other sensitive areas.

3) Create a paved road with a minimum speed limit of 35/mph right next to a natural area and result in excessive and unnecessary amounts of roadkill.

4) Destroy an historic road that has existed for over two centuries and linked the Carolina Road to Oatlands Plantation.

5) Possibly destroy other archaeological treasures along this historic road.

6) Violate an existing Virginia Outdoor Foundation conservation easement.

At the March 2008 meeting on The Woods Road, in response to concerns raised by its citizens, the county indicated they would create a transparent process and involve various stakeholders in the development of their plans for The Woods Road. Inexcusably this has not happened. To our knowledge the public has not been involved in any of the deliberations that have occurred since March 2008. This is not a transparent process and is indicative of a county handling business as they always have and ignoring citizens and their concerns for the environment.

The Woods Road as it exists today is an historic dirt road steeped in both natural and cultural history that forces people who drive on it to slow down; to protect the treasure that is Banshee Reeks, it should stay the same.

Please attend this meeting! Let’s fill the room and show our support for Banshee Reeks! In addition, email your Supervisor bos@loudoun.gov and let them know how much you value Banshee Reeks and keeping it as it is!

So we held our first evening amphibian foray into the woods last night.  The plan was to enjoy the Gray Tree Frog chorus at the Blue Ridge Center, since in past years, the chorus was in full swing this time of year. The Gray Tree Frogs, however, must have missed the note because they stayed quiet all evening.

That was ok though, since lots and lots of American Toads and Green Frogs, as well as one Bullfrog, were out and about.

We started the evening with a short talk about amphibians and Gray Tree Frogs in particular, looked at photos of the frogs (including the egg and tadpole stages as well as frog scat!) and listened to a recording of the Gray Tree Frogs calling so we all knew what to listen for. 

We had 18 people on the walk with us, three of whom were burgeoning (6-8 year old) herpetologists. As we headed out along the trail, it didn’t take long to find our first American Toad crossing the path.  The three young boys hopped into action and caught it so we all could see.

We stayed at the pond near the visitors center for a bit as we listened to the Green Frogs calling and swimming through the green duckweed. We then headed down to Piney Run stream to see if we could hear some other species….like our elusive Gray Tree Frogs. Along the walk, we must have encountered at least 15 more American Toads – of all shapes and sizes. We had just had a light rain and it was humid so they were no doubt out hunting for their dinners.

Along Piney Run, we listened for a bit, observed some bats feeding just over the tree tops, and scanned the trees for any eyes watching us. After a pause here, we headed back to the pond. By this time, it was dark and the Green Frogs, with their banjo twang, were in full song. We used our headlamps and flashlights to scan the pond and saw lots of eyes reflecting back. It was great to see so many of them.

We wrapped up a little past 9pm and headed back to the visitor center where we found another toad hunting around the house. It was fun doing a nightime nature walk and we look forward to doing it again. Keep an eye on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Programs Calendar for more events like this.

The EPA has created an absolutely amazing little video called “Wetlands and Wonder: Reconnecting Children with Nearby Nature.” Click on the link here to view the video. It’s really terrific.

In the video you get to hear great naturalists like Robert Michael Pyle, Richard Louv and others talk about wetlands and the great opportunities they give us for exploring nature.  They talk about the importance of wetlands in our ecosystem and ways that kids (of all ages…me too)  can connect with nature through wetlands.

Wetlands are one of our richest habitats in terms of diversity of life and they’re so much fun to explore! From birds to amphibians to turtles and snakes to insects to fish to bats to really interesting plants – they’ve got it all. Some even have beavers! They serve as nurseries, water filter systems, safe havens and places to rest or fuel up if you’re a migrating bird. 

Where are the nearest wetlands near where you live? Is there a steam, a swamp, a pond, a flooded field or marsh? With all the rain we’ve gotten over the past few days, the wetland near you will likely be teaming with live. Take a few minutes to check out the Wetlands and Wonder video and then go out exploring!

The best part about going out to explore nature is that we already carry with us all the gear we need to get out there and have fun….carry with you all your senses – your eyes, your ears, your nose, your sense of touch, and of course, your imagination. Touch the water, feel the plants, get mud between your toes! Yeah! It’s simply wild out there!

Wetlands Awareness Month was started in 1991 (19 years ago!) by the EPA to not only celebrate our local wetlands but also bring their importance back to the forefront.

In just 200 years, we have lost over 42% of our wetlands here in Virginia; and while our rate of loss has slowed over the past 20 years we’re still loosing these vital natural resources.

So in celebration of May and all the great signs of renewal that it offers, lets learn about wetlands:

The EPA has a page set up with all sorts of information about wetlands: http://www.epa.gov/wetlands/awm/ as well as a number of wetland fact sheets that can be used to learn and teach others.

For educators, there’s a great resource called WOW: The Wonders of Wetlands. But even if you’re not a teacher (well, we’re all teachers of some sort, aren’t we?) there are lots of activities and information on these pages. Check out Wetlands 101 to learn about these really important habitats.

Yep, I’m not making it up. And really, it makes sense since we’re right in the thick of amphibian breeding season.  Wood frogs that came out of the forests in late February and early March laid their eggs and tadpoles are now being seen.

Spring peepers are heard throughout our area and are starting to lay their eggs in both temporary and permanent wetlands. Pictured here is one of our Spring Peepers peeping. Keep in mind, these little guys are small – one could sit on a quarter or silver dollar pretty comfortably, but wow what a sound they can put out, especially when a bunch of them get together!

As all this is going on, Pickerel frogs (with their funny snoring call) are jumping into the mix as are our American Toads, which we’re just starting to hear trill; and Cricket Frogs, which make a call that sounds like two stones being tapped together.

It’s a really neat time to not only watch amphibians but also gain a first hand look at their life cycles from egg to tadpole to adult and to learn about their habitat needs for both the breeding season (vernal pools, ponds, swamps) and the non-breeding season (forests, marshes).

Here’s a site that has some ideas on How to Celebrate National Frog Month. If you’re up for a little challenge, we have a crossword puzzle on Frogs and Toads that you can try out too. For the artistic ones, our coloring book has a couple of frog pages in it along with some fun facts about the animals. Every month is great for learning about Loudoun’s nature and our environment and this month is a wonderful time to focus in on amphibians!

The Virginia Herpetological Society has an excellent online resource for calls of frogs and toads that we have in Virginia.  So, if you’re out and about, taking a nature walk or running errands and hear frogs and toads calling give a go at identifying the species you hear and then, let me know and I’ll add the information to our  Amphibian Monitoring Program database. I’m also working on gathering and making frog and toads call recordings from here in Loudoun so any locations you identify could really help with that.