On October 2, 2016, 125 friends and supporters of the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve (photo by Ned Stone) celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Friends of Dyke Marsh, the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service and the start of marsh restoration. FODM thanks the many generous members, friends, volunteers, sponsors and donors who made the celebration possible. See the lists below.
On Saturday morning, September 3, 2016, as Hurricane Hermine pounded Virginia’s coast, 25 FODMers studied the plants of Dyke Marsh on a windy, “rainless,” three-hour walk. “At least there’ll be fewer mosquitoes,” quipped walk leader Dr. Elizabeth Wells, Associate Professor Emerita of Botany at the George Washington University. Her commentary was engaging and wide ranging, covering plant taxonomy, reproduction, structure, pollination, predation, host plants and more.
On July 14, 2016, FODM hosted 25 George Washington Middle School students participating in the Alexandria Public Schools’ summer STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program and two of their teachers. The students learned about the natural resources of Dyke Marsh and conducted some water testing using seine nets.
During the May 20 and 21, 2016, national BioBlitz, FODMers, National Park Service (NPS) staff and friends identified 13 new spider species in the Dyke Marsh-Belle Haven Park area. Other records for Dyke Marsh: the first spring record for a Philadelphia vireo (Vireo philadelphicus); the second record for the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus); one new earthworm (Bimastos palustris), a native species; and two new terrestrial isopods (Porcellio laevis, Trichoniscus pusillus). At our “sister” park, Theodore Roosevelt Island, people found 17 new lichens.
Two species of snake are often seen in Dyke Marsh in the summer.
On July 1, 2016, during a canoe trip in the southern part of Dyke Marsh, FODMers saw an encounter between a common water snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon) and a catfish. Also called the northern water snake, it is probably the most abundant snake in Dyke Marsh.
These photos (by Ed Eder) indicate how the prey was snared in deeper water and dragged to the shore by a very determined snake.
Spring is breeding time in Dyke Marsh for many species of wildlife, including skinks. The American five-lined skink, (Plestiodon fasciatus), is one of the most commonly seen lizards in eastern North America and is frequently observed around logs along the Haul Road Trail (photo, skinks mating May 2016 by Ed Eder).
