Fairfax County has introduced block number signs at signalized intersections of the busy U.S. Route 1 (named Richmond Highway in this stretch) in the Hybla Valley neighborhood, between Alexandria and Ft. Belvoir.

posted: 10:37:15 AM  

As I approached nest box 5, the area around it much overgrown with Lizard's Tail (Saururus cernuus), I noticed some splashing about in the water weeds, and then an adult Wood Duck flew away, hoo-eeking. I opened the box, expecting to see a litter of cracked shells and membranes—the residue of a successful hatching. (Wood Ducks spend only one day in the nest, and then it's out to the water, green cover, and safety.) Instead, I found a few shells, a few more eggs still intact, and a duckling recently hatched. This bird was barely moving, its head nestled into the remaining pile of eggs. Another bird was in the process of hatching: see the black feathers at about 5 o'clock in the photograph.

It's likely that I had inadvertently disturbed a nest that was still in use, and had flushed the female. (The disturbance I noticed in the weeds could have been ducklings.) I took one photograph, closed the box, and moved away promptly. The monitoring team will check the box again next week, when we'll be able to determine whether the nest-bound duckling was left behind, or whether it was gathering its strength before leaving the box and joining its mother on the wetland.

posted: 10:27:41 AM