Photo: Green-winged Teal, Richard Spener
Tom Blackburn
Huntley Meadows Park is arguably the crown jewel of Northern Virginia public parks. Thanks to a $3 million restoration project completed in 2014, the park, which boasts wetlands, flooded forests, and dry forests, is the top birding destination in the region. Birders at Huntley Meadows have uploaded more than 17,000 bird lists to eBird, the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s world-wide data base of citizen-scientist bird sightings. They have recorded at least 252 bird species on the park’s four main birding trails and sites – second in Northern Virginia only to Dyke Marsh Wetlands Preserve with 270 recorded species.
With water birds migrating to the region as their more northern habitats freeze over, Huntley Meadows is particularly inviting to birders at this time of year. On a mid-December morning, I spotted Northern Shovelers, Hooded Mergansers, American Black Ducks, Green-winged Teals, Northern Pintails, and Gadwalls, in addition to the resident Canada Geese and Mallards. On the same day, other birders found American Wigeons, Redheads, and a Cackling Goose. Thanks to the sharp eyes of another birder, I had an excellent view of the secretive Wilson’s Snipe with its extraordinarily long bill (“find the half-sunken yellow bottle and look diagonally left at the edge of the vegetation”). Other birders found one and perhaps two hard-to-spot Soras and one and maybe two shy Virginia Rails near the boardwalk.
Wilson’s Snipe, Lynette Spence
Green-winged Teal, Richard Spener
Huntley Meadows’ wildlife is attractive to non-birders as well. Large numbers of turtles sun themselves on logs on any warm sunny day. You can hear or see ten species of frogs and toads in warmer weather. Beavers have made extensive changes to the wetlands, and there is no better place in the region to see their dams up close. Otters and muskrats also make their homes in the wetlands, and occasionally you can see or hear red foxes and coyotes in the forest.
It’s important to remember that places like Huntley Meadows Park didn’t “just happen,” and their preservation is still under threat. Plans to restore the park’s wetlands were discussed as early as 1992, and it took more than twenty years for those plans to come to fruition. As Northern Virginia’s population continues to grow, there is increasing pressure to convert natural spaces like Huntley Meadows and other parks and open spaces to more intensive uses. Fairfax County removed from its plans long-standing proposals to construct bike trails through sensitive wetlands at the southern end of Huntley Meadows Park two years ago. A proposal to convert a portion of Justice Park in Alexandria to a parking lot was defeated just a few weeks ago. Proposals to construct a highway bypass that would degrade the JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary in Loudoun County and to “enhance” Loudon County’s Bles Park by constructing roads, parking lots, and ball courts in the passive enjoyment portion of the park’s wetlands, forest, and floodplain are currently under consideration.
Protecting and enhancing our region’s natural spaces requires continuing vigilance. If you’d like to help ASNV protect our region’s natural spaces, you can make a donation during our current Annual Appeal. We advocate at the Federal, state and local level to preserve natural habitat and work with public land managers to make parks and public spaces more attractive to wildlife. If you’d like to help us with our advocacy work or help us improve habitat on public lands , email us at info@audubonva.org.