Nature Photography Contest

The Ivy Creek Foundation invites all photographers to enter ‘Celebrating the Nature of Virginia’ photography competition to benefit the preservation of the Ivy Creek and Ragged Mountain Natural Areas in Charlottesville, VA. Winners will have images exhibited at the October ‘First Friday’ artist walk at the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville October 2nd, 2009. First place in each category will receive tickets to see Nick Nichols speak at the Paramount the following Friday October 9th, 2009.

To find out more about entries, deadlines and rules download this document.

The Orange Trail

At Ivy Creek Natural Area the Orange Trail travels through the northwest corner. It begins to the east of the old field just beyond the 220 year old oak at the intersection of red, brown, peninsula and orange trails. It heads north and out above the reservoir through yellow poplars, red and white oaks, cedars and Virginia Pines. In the winter the primary wildlife seems to be squirrels and woodpeckers. In short order the orange trail loops back to cross the peninsula trail and head uphill into the forest with big views overlooking Ivy Creek and the wooded islands from the silting process. Leaves are quite deep in many places along the trail. The trail heads to the western edge of the Natural Area before sweeping south and then back east. There is a short loop trail which connects to the red trail. However, staying on the orange trail brings you downhill to the western edge of the old field and the red trail and a short skip from the brown trail which is the shortest way back to the parking area.

The Green Trail

On a slightly warmer day I resolved to walk the green trail, one of the longer loop trails at Ivy Creek Natural Area. It loops off the red trail in the southernmost corner of Ivy Creek. It starts by continuing to follow Martin’s Branch upstream after leaving the red trail behind. The remains of an old fence line can be seen along the stream. Very few people use this trail as evidenced by the thick, very lightly flattened leaves covering the trail. Thank goodness for trail markers!

Eventually turning away from Martin’s Branch the trail travels through extensive oak/hickory/poplar forest. Most of trees have very few low branches so the feeling is very open especially so in the winter. Nearby  houses on private property are quite visible. However, after you turn north and cross over a tributary streambed (dry in the winter) much of the feel is that you are far out in the wilderness. This meditative feeling continues until you come across the power line cutting through fairly low overhead. Virginia pines start to become more and more common. Then suddenly the green trail is finished where it meets the red trail at the top of the hill of cut through for the gas pipeline. During the entire hour long walk I met only one other person on the green trail. Next up the orange trail.

Winter at Ivy Creek

The trails look a lot different now that the last of the leaves have been blown down or soaked off. Trails that seemed secluded and closed in are wide open. Vistas are open in the woods that were unknown in the warmth. On the red trail heading down to Martin’s Branch and the white trail, there are open views of the stream feeders to Martin’s. You can almost see the yellow trail on your left. This is where the first Louisiana Waterthrush will return. I continue down the red and I step off onto the green trail. The green trail is almost invisible because of the wet dense mat of leaves. So few people walk the green that it is hard to tell where the trail goes and where it doesn’t. The cold wind makes me change my mind about a nice long walk and turn back instead for only an hour’s walk.

Bird bits – Winter Wren by John Zimmerman

In spite of the still glorious autumnal color, winter has arrived at Ivy Creek. Last week there was a winter wren hanging out with the song and swamp sparrows in the sycamore/willow growth on the silt bars off the peninsula trail. Actually the name, “winter wren”, has a lower-48 bias since the species is a “summer” wren in the northern boreal forest of North America. Indeed, its distribution is circumpolar. While there are numerous species of wrens in the western hemisphere, in the eastern hemisphere the winter wren is the only wren species. It is the “Jenny Wren” of English literature, and it is a permanent resident father south than the boreal forest, occurring throughout the year south to North Africa and Asia Minor.

Bird bits – Winter Birds by John Zimmerman

There was a yellow-bellied sapsucker down from the north woods at Ivy Creek last Monday, a harbinger of changing seasons. Although a few scarlet tanagers still linger in their olive drab autumnal plumage, most of the neotropical migrants have passed through. During October the sapsucker will be joined by other winter residents – yellow-rumped warblers, hermit thrushes, dark-eyed juncos, and white-throated sparrows. The fruit crop of cherries, grape, and cedar cones is abundant so we can expect large flocks of cedar waxwings and robins on and off during the winter as they rove the local area in search of food.

Bird bits – Molting by John Zimmerman

I was recently asked where the indigo buntings had gone. For the most part, they’re still here. But in late summer they have molted, changing the brilliant blue of the males for insignificant drab. Almost all our birds have a complete molt in the fall, loosing and replacing both their body feathers and their flight feathers. The flight feathers are lost symmetrically; when the outer primary of the right wing is lost, the outer primary on the left wing is lost. Thus, flight is maintained. In waterfowl, however, all the flight feathers are molted at the same time, and they are flightless. That’s why you don’t see geese at Ivy Creek at this time of year. They have moved to larger bodies of water to be safe from predators doing molt. The energetic cost of molt is budgeted to occur before the energetic cost of fat deposition prior to migration. Barn swallows, that migrate during the day and can feed on insects during their flight, however, molt during migration. In the spring, the birds molt again. This time, usually only the body feathers are lost and replaced. Goldfinches are an exception in that they molt and replace all their feathers again prior to the breeding season. Perhaps they can afford to do this because they are permanent residents and need not suffer the huge energetic demand of migration.

Bird bits – Nighthawks by John Zimmerman

Next week Tuesday, August 26 and Thursday, August 28 are the dates when folks will gather at Ivy Creek around 6:30 p.m. in hopes of seeing migrating flocks of nighthawks on their way to South America. Although nighthawks breed throughout North America, nesting on bare ground and often on the graveled roof-tops of buildings, they don’t seem to be too common around here. Their relatives, the whip-poor-will and chuck-will’s-widow, are more frequently found, although usually heard rather than seen. Unlike chucks and whip-poor-wills that flush insects off forest vegetation, nighthawks feed on aerial insects which they pluck out of the sky. Indeed, they feed while migrating. As an added attraction while you’re looking up for nighthawks, look across the north grassland. The big bluestem is dense and seven or even eight feet tall this year.

Bird Bits – Redstarts by John Zimmerman

On the First Saturday Bird Walk at Ivy Creek a week ago we all saw a female American redstart (or was it a first year male redstart which has the same plumage?). Redstarts do not nest at Ivy Creek, but they breed not too far away in the foothills of the Blue Ridge (e.g. Mint Springs Valley Park). But this observation heralds the beginning of fall. After breeding, the young of the year disperse away from their nesting area. We know from banding studies of European flycatchers, that it is during this post-nuptial wandering of the young that they learn where they are and to where they will return in the following year from their wintering area. What cues they use to determine this, however, are unknown. During August at Ivy Creek we can expect to see more of these wandering warblers from near-by nesting areas like worm-eating, chestnut-sided, and hooded.

Dragonfly Walk by Jim Childress

On Saturday, July 12th, Jim Childress led us through field, marsh, and wood in a course on dragonflies and damselflies. Jim pointed out that they are the carnivores of the insect world cruising about searching for anything they can catch, even other dragonflies. The males set up “shop” over territories which can be as small as twelve feet. Females live elsewhere until they are ready to mate. Then they lay eggs one at a time as they fly above the water dipping their tails and ovipositors into the water. Fish take advantage of this to grab a free meal or two. On Saturday we saw: Common Whitetail, Widow Skimmer, Slaty Skimmer, Spangled Skimmer, Common Pondhawk, Cyrano Darner, Blue Dasher, Variable Dancer, Common Sanddragon, Slender Bluet, Prince Baskettail, Eastern Amberwing, and Ebony Jewelwing.