The brilliantly crimson cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) brightens the marsh in late summer and early fall. A perennial, it typically stands erect, rising from a tangle of green foliage and commands attention because of its scarlet hues. It can be from one to six feet tall.
In late summer and early fall, Dyke Marsh’s wild rice (Zizania aquatica) is a shimmering panorama of green in the breeze. It is a native, annual, emergent, light green grass with flower clusters on broom-like branches. Wild rice thrives in soft, muddy areas and can grow to eight to 10 feet tall.
On August 10, 2019, Dr. Elizabeth Wells, botanist, led a plant walk in Dyke Marsh. The 20 attendees learned about many native insects and plants during the three-hour walk along the Haul Road trail and out to the end of the boardwalk.
On July 17, 2019, during an early evening storm, the beautiful Eastern cottonwood tree on Dyke Island, came down. “This tree was one of the most loved bald eagle perches in the George Washington Memorial Parkway park,” said Brent Steury, National Park Service Natural Resources Program manager for the Parkway. FODMers have also seen peregrine falcons, Baltimore orioles and other birds using the tree to rest and nest.
In June 2019, FODMers observed pileated woodpeckers in Dyke Marsh feeding young, corroboration of successful nesting, and observers saw a male pileated feeding grubs to a fledgling male that appeared larger than his parent. After that, the young pileated moved and surveyed a branch in a cottonwood tree that had an abundance of carpenter ants. He feasted on his prey, using his long sticky tongue to access them.
