President's Message
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As a reminder, it is important to keep our distance from all wildlife so as not to disrupt their feeding and breeding behaviors. While there may be unmarked trails in the park, these are not for public use. Huntley Meadows Park is a protected wildlife sanctuary in Alexandria, VA, with strict rules to protect its sensitive ecosystem. Key regulations include keeping dogs and bicycles off the central boardwalk/wetlands area, prohibiting fishing and netting, and requiring visitors to stay on marked trails, keep voices quiet, and leave all plants and animals undisturbed.
Photo courtesy Seth Honig
We always mark spring’s arrival at Huntley Meadows with the start-up of the park’s volunteer stewardship and community science observation projects. The duck box monitoring team began donning their chest waders in early February to head out to check the boxes for nesting activity. The boxes in the park provide homes to our two cavity nesting duck species, Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks. We are pleased to report the nesting season is progressing well with some hens already incubating their clutches of eggs.
Photo courtesy Bob Ochs
The park’s volunteer Frog Watch team also began seasonal monitoring of frog populations in February after temperatures reached 42 degrees in the evening. We’ve heard the shrill steady calls of toads early on, followed in succession by coastal plain leopard frogs, pickerel frogs, and most recently, green frogs. Several sightings of our trailside cope’s gray tree frog, “Scout” (or Scout’s successor) have already been documented by observant visitors.
Photo courtesy Liz Train
Each day at the park reveals more flora and fauna as they wake up from their winter dormancy. Nodding spring beauties carpet the forest floor, raising their blooms only when the sun is out to protect their pollen until the pollinators (primarily native bees) are out and can readily access this important food source. The characteristic umbrella- shaped leaves of the mayapple are popping up in colonies along the side of the trail, and early blooming redbud and dogwood trees punctuate the landscape with deep purple-red and white flowers respectively.
Photo courtesy Liz Train
Photo courtesy Liz Train
If you haven’t yet visited the park this spring, head on out and enjoy the wonders of the Huntley Meadows Park wetlands. Don’t forget to come out for Wetlands Awareness Day on Sunday, May 3rd, 12-4PM. Huntley Meadows Wetlands Awareness Day flyer.
Liz Train - President FOHMP