Notes from the Woods
We have enjoyed an exceptionally mild winter so far, no excuse not to take a stroll somewhere outside. A couple of weeks ago, we were in the Washington, DC area, and our son escorted us on two hikes, one short, one moderate. On a trip to Arlington Cemetery, we stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, on a small island in the Potomac accessible only by footbridge from the George Washington Parkway. From the Park Service website, http://www.nps.gov/this/index.htm: "One of Theodore Roosevelt’s greatest legacies was his dedication to conservation. Today, this island stands as a fitting memorial to the outdoorsman, naturalist, and visionary who was our 26th President."
The island is small, mostly wooded, with a marshy area on its north side. It is distinguished by a thick forest understory; no deer can reach it. We noticed a great blue heron, a belted kingfisher, and a red-belly woodpecker, among other species. Nice, easy loop trail, and a memorial tastefully integrated into the woods.
We also did a 4-mile loop trail around a small lake at Senaca Creek State Park, near Germantown, MD. It is inhabited by deer as we deduced from the carcass in the water and the very sparse understory, like most of the Sourlands. Notable were some areas with dense, evergreen ferns and resprouting American chestnuts, protected by deer fencing. Chestnut blight kills the tree, but the root system hangs on. The hope is that sprouts may become tolerant of the blight. Our hike was brightened by an encounter with a small flock of eastern bluebirds, who seem to favor wet areas in winter.
Here, the feeder birds are active as usual, as are the grey squirrels looking for spills or castoffs. One of ours met a grisly death, partially decapitated, brains and guts missing, noticed early one morning. This was likely the handiwork of a owl, though there are other possibilities Several years ago a Cooper's hawk demolished two feeder birds in one morning, and the same species was seen carrying off a fat squirrel, with difficulty.
Feb. 17-20, 2012 is the time for the GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT. Amateurs with varying degrees of proficiency take a census of birds in their yards; last year about 11.5 million birds were tallied on over 92,000 checklists from the US and Canada. For information on participation, check out www.birdsource.org/gbbc. A talk and walk on the topic, suitable for kids, is scheduled for Feb. 18 at the Hunterdon County Arboretum on Rte. 31 north of Flemington.
Chance of lifetime: Snowy Owls have been seen in unusual numbers in the area this winter. One has been seen at Merrill Creek Reservoir, as recently as Jan. 25. A birder reported "She was perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the dam." Great news for those of us who don't visit the Canadian tundra very often!
Toni Robbi
