On April 20, 2019, 250 people of all ages, from babies in snugglies to seniors, were wowed by raptors at the annual Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM) Raptor Rapture event in Belle Haven Park by the Potomac River.
Liz Dennison from Secret Garden Birds and Bees brought a barred owl (Strix varia), two Eastern screech owls (Megascops asio), a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and a red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus), birds that had been injured and cannot survive on their own.
On a sunny April 16, 2019, for the third year, four FODMers helped conduct habitat quality testing in an unnamed stream flowing through Mount Vernon Park into west Dyke Marsh. This effort was led by Dan Schwartz, Ashley Palmer and Ben Rhoades of the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District (NVSWCD).
On April 13, 2019, 65 enthusiastic volunteers of all ages tackled trash in Dyke Marsh and along the Potomac River shoreline, as part of the annual Ferguson Foundation trash cleanup. The Friends of Dyke Marsh had check-in stations at Belle Haven Park and at the Haul Road trail entrance. Among the volunteers were Boy Scout Troop 1107 from St. John’s Lutheran Church, a group of boys from Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Loyola University alumni, Notre Dame alumni and many other eager trash collectors.
Many fans are stopping on the Haul Road trail to watch one of nature’s dramas – bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) raising their young. On April 17, 2019, FODM former president Ed Eder photographed this adult bald eagle bringing a catfish to the nest. He wrote, “After depositing the fish at the nest, two eaglets were visible. One has contour feathers and is considerably larger. The other occasionally flaps and its wings are visible. The smaller one's head is still down covered.”
The week of March 11, 2019, ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) returned to the Potomac River and Dyke Marsh. As documented by our excellent photographer and observer, Ed Eder, it did not take long for fights to break out over fish, with a second-year bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) causing an osprey to drop its catch. Later, the osprey sought revenge by dive-bombing the eagle.
