HUNTLEY MEADOWS PARK IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 12-5-23 WHAT I NOTICE IN THE WOOD

Before starting our walk we always stop at the signs to see what is going on at the park.

I am concentrating more on the trees and plants today as we walked through the wooded area, but the first thing I saw was a squirrel running up the side of a very tall tree trunk about 30 feet high. We don't see squirrels very often here, but we saw a lot of things today that we don't normally see.

He's eating something, perhaps a tasty acorn. I was surprised to find they were omnivores.  If I knew that originally, I have since forgotten. Aside from eating mostly nuts and acorns from oak, beech, walnut and hickory trees, as well as seeds, fruits, bulbs and flowers from other plants and trees, I read that they will also eat frogs, insects, bird eggs and farm crops such as corn and wheat.  And, of course, my daily feast of whatever I buy for the bird-feeding table!  They don't seem to be fussy eaters.

I am one of those people who enjoys looking at all the dead leaves as we walk by, to see what I can identify. The bright green leaf with all the veins drew me in. I identified it as English Ivy. European colonists introduced it as early as 1727 according to this website. Its origins are Europe, Western Asia and Northern Africa. There is a lot more information at the link. 

The smaller, lighter green leaf is Japanese Honeysuckle.  One little snippet I read at the previous link is that it was "introduced to Long Island, New York, in 1806, for ornamental, erosion control and wildlife uses."  I'm wondering if the plant app identified it correctly as I read further "It is a fast-growing vine that twines around stems of shrubs, herbaceous plants and other vertical supports.  In full sun it forms large tangles that smother and kill vegetation.  It can kill shrubs and saplings by girdling."  

It certainly looks like the kind we had in our garden years ago, but it didn't last and died off.  I was thinking I would plant more next growing season but the suggestion is to use native alternatives, "Coral honeysuckle, hairy honeysuckle, crossvine and trumpet creeper."  

I will be coming back to read this before I take a trip to the garden nursery. I remember the scent being incredible and I noticed it especially when the weather was warm.  Before it got too hot it was lovely to sit on the deck and just breathe it in.  I loved its scent, still do when I see it elsewhere.  

The Coral honeysuckle is what we had in our planter.  I don't remember any scent but then I didn't stick my nose too close to it and I couldn't detect any otherwise.  I think it was definitely Japanese honeysuckle growing in our garden, after looking at all the photos online.  If any of you are growing it, or have grown it, what do you think?  Would you plant it and can it be controlled with a lot of tender loving care?

"The red-leafed plant coming up is called the Burning Bush. It is native to northeastern Asia and was brought to North America around 1860 as an ornamental shrub.  It has been widely cultivated and planted through the eastern United States and Midwest.  Soon after its introduction, it escaped into the wild and has now naturalized in 25 states, including Pennsylvania and Delaware."  More at the link above.

Another pretty red leaf found was Arrowwood virburnum, botanical name Viburnum dentatum. It is native to the Eastern United States and Canada, to regions from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to Georgia.  The name was inspired by Native Americans because of their use of the strong shoots which developed from the roots, for shafts of their arrows.

This is the time of year we see all the interesting fungus growing on dead logs. The one below is called Birch mazegill, botanical name Lenzites betulina

It is commonly found on decaying coniferous or deciduous woods. While its natural color is a yellowish brown, it may sometimes appear to be green due to its propensity to host algae.  It is said to be inedible because of its touch and leathery texture.  I found very similar photos of the following fungi that looked like the above photo, but my plant app kept identifying this as Turkey tail, botanical name Trametes versicolor.

Its meaning 'of several colors', versicolor in its Latin name reliably describes this fungus that displays different colors.  

Because its shape and multiple colors are similar to those of a wild turkey, it is commonly called Turkey Tail. 

Next we have a plant called Winterberry, botanical name Ilex verticillata. These bright red splashes of color were everywhere.  The berries were used for medicinal purposes by Native Americans, especially during fevers, so it is also called Fever bush.

Though I have several more photos from the park, I'll finish here for now with two photos of the Canada Goose.

They were all very quiet this time.  I hardly heard a honk!

Thanks for looking and I hope the weather is treating you well in your part of the world.

HUNTLEY MEADOWS PARK IN ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 12-5-23

This is the entrance to the park looking from where we leave our car. There is a metal box on the right-hand side for donations. We leave a few dollars but it's not compulsory, and if we find ourselves without any cash, then we get them next time. If families are on a tight budget, even those without families, it is free to all.  A great place to bring children and introduce them to nature. There are classes advertised, though I am not sure if they hold them in the winter months. Definitely in the summer during school breaks, but information on this would be at their website (link at the bottom of this post).

I always search for deer at the park but there have been none for a long time. It's always a joy to see these beautiful animals and their soulful faces, and graceful style. I always feel so blessed to be around them. Always stretching my neck to see if I can spot one but not today.  We saw more birdlife than we normally do.  As soon as we reached the boardwalk across the marsh, there were dozens of Canada Geese on both sides of the walk.

I have always been a fan. At other times of the year, they have been paired up or in small families. This is my first experience of seeing this many at one time.We saw more bird life than we normally do. Time of year, a cloudy day, time of the day, all of the above, or were we just plain lucky?  Next, we saw the Great Blue Heron.Great Blue Herons possess excellent vision. To put it simply, their eyes possess binocular vision that also gives them excellent depth perception. Their eyesight is about three times more detailed than humans. They can see great at nighttime, almost as well as they can see in the day. This benefits them greatly during their annual migration, as they typically start flying at night. I love what I find out online!  We often find that when we are staring into the trees, obviously looking for something, someone walking from the opposite direction will more often than not tell us what they have seen and where to look.  I have mentioned this a few times before, and in this case it was the Belted Kingfisher.A lady told me that she had seen one and pointed us in its direction. I saw other photographers and bird watchers with binoculars, standing in one spot along the boardwalk a hundred yards away. We joined them, though giving them their space. After looking for some time, we spotted the bird high on a tree branch.  Too far away for a decent photo but I could make out its shape and distinctive color…and then he flew down onto a nesting box where I was able to get a better photo.  Thankfully this was before my battery went dead.  Looking on my computer later, I read, "Belted Kingfishers are one of the few bird species where the female is more colorful than the male, sporting a chestnut or rust-colored band across her chest. Males are all blue-gray and white. If you are looking for one, you can listen to their distinct and loud rattling or chattering call. It is typical to hear the sound before you see the bird.” If you scroll down to the bottom right of this website, you will be able to hear its call. It was very exciting for me. I have never seen one other than in other people's photos or on nature shows.

After the disappointment of finding out about the battery, I was happy to come across a couple of photos that I had taken of the Hooded Mergansers before the camera failed. Another delightful bird, it is distinguished by its long black bill and a rather grand crest of feathers - or hood - on its head. The male is black and white with tawny brown sides and flanks. A large fanlike crest surrounded by black atop its head is its dominant characteristic. The male also has a black bill, bright yellow eyes and dull yellow feet. Thankfully I was able to crop another photo, and it was a nice surprise to find as I blanked out the fact that I had taken them right before the battery issue. Those line patterns in my photos are made by the wake of the other mergansers.

The females have russet-brown heads with a backward slanted crest that is considerably smaller than the males. They have dusky brown backs with gray chests and sides. The female has a black upper bill edged with orange. The lower bill is yellow, the eyes are brown and the feet are green.  They live in forested wetlands throughout the eastern half of North America and the Pacific Northwest. They are the only ducks that specialize in eating fish and have a third 'eyelid' that acts like a goggle to help them see prey under the water.

One more sighting of movement high up in a tree.  This was actually taken at the beginning just as we reached the boardwalk. A Red-bellied woodpecker about to bodge an acorn into the tree, perhaps having pecked a hole out first, unless he has an old nesting cavity that he stuffs them into. Do they do that? Gregg took this photo. You can read more about him here.

Our last birds of the day were a total surprise.  We were making our way through the wood back to the car.  My eagle-eye husband spotted movement on the right of the path.

Three Wild Turkeys were the last gift of the day.

This is the first time we have seen them at the park in the 30 plus years we have been visiting, and our first sighting up close ever.  They were taken with my cell phone. I zoomed in a bit as we didn't want to get too close. We treat them as we do all wild things, with a whole lot of caution. It’s a common myth that turkeys can’t fly (most likely because they feed on the ground), but wild turkeys have been known to fly up to 55 mph in short bursts. One very interesting fact is that the bird really is named after the country of Turkey. Early European visitors to the Americas saw the bird and it reminded them of one they were familiar with back home, known as a “Turkey bird.”  It seems that the African guinea fowl made it to Europe in the Middle Ages via Turkey, and the similarity to the American bird gave it the name.  We thought it was lovely seeing them as our walk was ending.

If you click on this link it will take you to the park’s website.  It is where I found the map.

That's all for today's post.  I have more as you can guess.  I always seem to be late visiting you back lately, but thank you for the comments you leave.  Always very much appreciated.  I will be stopping by in the next day or so. 

I ROLLED MY EYES TO THE SKIES…

I was trying to get photos of Hooded Mergansers, so excited to see them. I had taken a few with my iPhone but when I tried the larger camera, as I sometimes do, I was having great difficulty focusing, even more than usual. I handed it over to Gregg and he discovered why, the battery was dead. The spare was at home but at least I remembered to bring an extra memory card. Couldn’t use it of course.

That’s when I rolled my eyes to the skies.  

Why? Because the Hooded Mergansers were swimming closer and closer and closer, and there lies the rub, or at least the dead battery!

That's the way it goes at times. This is a photo of a female merganser found on Pixabay. It's like looking in the mirror. I felt we had the same expression and immediately felt a kinship. “I understand!” I told her. Projecting?  No doubt! 

Ah well, lesson learned  Don’t forget an extra battery to go along with that extra memory card. 

I'll have another post from our walk soon. We were at Huntley Meadows a couple of days ago and we did get several photos.  It was not the sunniest of days, but it was a fabulous walk. If you would like to browse through our last trip in September for a refresher on what the park is like, you can click on this link.

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your day.