This pair of Canada geese and their goslings were spotted in the pond that leads up to the Pawpaw Trail. The bright rump of a white-tailed deer, the snow white chinstrap of a Canada goose: both are common sites in Piscataway Park, present here year-round. Even when the animals themselves are elusive, the tracks of a deer’s graceful step or a goose’s awkward-on-land waddle can be found in our muddy fields. But as deer over-graze forests and landscaped lawns, as geese damage ag

The jack-in-the-pulpit, left, is just one of the spring ephemera that blooms in Piscataway Park. Right, a redbud and pawpaw tree are in bloom. After a short winter, April has brought with it an early welcome to wild signs of spring. The once dull Pawpaw Trail is now alive with soft greens and pinks, as new growth shoots forth from the forest floor and tall trees begin to leaf out. Spring ephemera are the first signs that warmer weather is here, although these signs do not las

by Wilton Corkern On the way to work this morning I saw a single Osprey perched atop a dead tree trunk in the Accokeek Creek wetland. It occurred to me that this may be the last Osprey I’ll see in Piscataway Park this year. They begin heading south around Labor Day and have usually cleared out by the first day of fall. The realization prompted me to use my walk to enjoy the late summer wildflowers in the “back 40” between Tobacco Road and the Potomac River. The rewards were g

by Wilton Corkern, President On any given day this time of year a traveler along Bryan Point Road will almost surely see a Great Blue Heron stalking the aquatic creatures in the Accokeek Creek swamp. Everything about this bird is big: its head and body are four feet long; erect, it stands five feet tall; its wingspan is six feet. Even its bill is over five inches long. Yet it is a graceful flier, able to lift its five pound frame straight into the air with a single flap

by Wilton C. Corkern, President I always enjoy visiting my family in Louisiana. There are also a few bonuses that come with the trip: a shoe shine in Louis Armstrong International Airport, the drive across the Bonnet Carre Spillway and the Atchafalaya Basin, oyster po-boys from Chris’s diner and crawfish at Prejean’s in Lafayette, and visiting some great wildlife habitat. One regular spot we visit is Lake Martin, in the edge of St. Martin Parish. It’s a great place to see bir

Last week’s revelation that a fresh egg had appeared in one of the nesting boxes along the Ken Otis Bluebird Trail was a surprise. March is early for Eastern Bluebirds to begin nesting here, but the blue egg is incontrovertible evidence that the season is upon us. In fact, creatures all over the park have begun to display their courtship and nesting behaviors. My morning drive to work often includes detours to Farmington Landing or Marshall Hall, as well as the usual stop on

by Wilton C. Corkern, President The Accokeek Creek wetland is a great place to see (and hear) Belted Kingfishers. Perched on a bare branch above the water, a Kingfisher looks a bit like a bigger, stockier Blue Jay. Its back is solid blue-gray; its head large and double-crested; its neck ringed with a broad white collar. Its distinctive “metallic rattle” of a call often precedes a sighting. A solitary bird except during the nesting season, the Kingfisher is fiercely territoria