by Marjorie Rachlin photos by Larry Meade, North Virginia Bird Club Have you noticed the dragonflies lately? Swooping over your front yard? Dodging the cars in the Politics and Prose parking lot? Patrolling in a loop-the-loop over your garden? But where’s the water? Dragonflies always live near water, right? Actually, they will use any large […]
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Backyard Nature: Turkeys on the trail
Before the Soapstone trail’s March closure for the sewer rehabilitation project, it was a popular place to take a stroll. And apparently, it still is. Minsuh Son, who can see the trail from her backyard, spotted two wild turkeys on the main trail last Friday. This fellow’s female companion was just out of frame. Son […]
Spotted in Rock Creek Park: Bald eagles
by Marlene Berlin On Sunday, a friend and I were walking up Broad Branch Road, close to the Soapstone trailhead, when we saw a large bird flying across the sky and swooping down onto a tree. My first thought? That it could be an owl, but my friend exclaimed that it was a bald eagle. […]
Where are the multitudes of cicadas? They’re on the way.
by Marlene Berlin Depending on where you are in the neighborhood, you might have to take a long walk to see large numbers of Brood X cicadas. Or simply wait. Not many have come out in Forest Hills, or at least, not in numbers large enough to sate the many birds and other creatures who […]
Backyard Nature: Our bullfrog neighbors are quiet now. But just wait.
by Marlene Berlin One day in late April I stopped by the lily pond at the Tregaron Conservancy to see how the bullfrogs are doing. I found the frogs – each guarding a water plant, and one out of the water that appeared to be guarding the whole pond. It did not budge as I […]
Rock Creek is where life goes with the flow
Text and photos by David Jonathan Cohen © 2021 Rock Creek is an enthralling local example of a global truth: Water is life. Creeks, streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans draw and host plants, insects, animals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish. Creatures swim in the water, walk its surface, and fly above it. Even the human species […]
Backyard Nature: When the plants think it’s spring
by Marlene Berlin The weather in November in many ways mimicked springtime temperature and rain patterns. According to The Washington Post’s Weather Gang, the average temperature last month was 4.7 degrees higher than normal. For six days in a row, the highs topped 70 degrees, and the temperature hit 65 on ten straight days. And […]
Backyard Nature: A owlet’s odyssey
A young barred owl went on quite a journey early last month. And as luck would have it, photographer and neighbor David Cohen was there to capture it all with his camera. He posted the story of this plucky little owl on Instagram (@davidcohenphotodc) and gave us permission to share with you. Click the arrow […]
Get to know your (wilder) Forest Hills neighbors
Text and photos by David Jonathan Cohen Two parks – one compact and the other sprawling – offer havens to wildlife in Forest Hills. Astonishing diversity is dense in Linnean Park. Pieces of four streets mark its perimeter: Broad Branch Terrace, 33rd Street, Linnean Avenue, and Fessenden Street. The park owes its resurgence to daylighting […]
Backyard Nature: Frogs in Broad Branch Stream
by Marlene Berlin Signs of spring are popping out everywhere, so a few days ago I headed over to Broad Branch and Linnean Streams to look for two of my favorite springtime creatures – tadpoles and frogs. I found both, and both were very difficult to catch with my camera. The frogs were gone in […]