Land Stewardship

28 10, 2025

Nature’s Halloween

2025-10-28T12:43:59-04:00October 28, 2025|Field Notes, Uncategorized|

Spooky Fungi & Forest Oddities Fall brings crunchy leaves, cool nights, and some of nature’s spookiest sightings, fungi that look straight out of a Halloween story. These strange, colorful decomposers are not just spooky; they play a vital role in forest health. Eastern ...

31 07, 2025

Mapping Biodiversity: Vegetative Surveying

2025-08-04T08:56:49-04:00July 31, 2025|Field Notes|

This summer, our land management team was joined by an intern, Hailey Tritten, who spent weeks exploring Willowsford’s meadows and grasslands, collecting valuable data through vegetative surveys. These surveys play a critical role in tracking the health of our ecosystems, identifying native and invasive plant species, and informing future restoration ...

9 07, 2025

Too Hot to Handle: How Wildlife Copes with Heat Waves

2025-07-09T12:30:58-04:00July 9, 2025|Field Notes|

As temperatures soar into the 90s and beyond, most of us head indoors, take a dip in a pool, or reach for an iced drink. But what about the animals? Wildlife doesn’t have air conditioning, but they’ve evolved clever strategies to survive, and understanding those can help us protect them. ...

10 06, 2025

The Magic of Fireflies

2025-06-10T10:13:27-04:00June 10, 2025|Field Notes, Uncategorized|

Summer evenings in Willowsford often come alive with a quiet kind of magic, the gentle flicker of fireflies lighting up the dark. Despite their name, fireflies are actually beetles, not flies. Their glow, called bioluminescence, is used mainly to attract mates and to warn predators. Many predators know that bright ...

28 05, 2025

Protecting our Aquatic Ecosystems

2025-05-28T15:18:59-04:00May 28, 2025|Field Notes|

Last week, Ranger Emily and our Land Stewardship team conducted a stream monitoring survey on Lenah Run, a tributary that flows through Willowsford into Broad Run, which eventually feeds into the Potomac River. Emily, who is certified as a stream monitor through Loudoun Wildlife, guided the team through the process ...

23 01, 2025

Identifying Wildlife Tracks in the Snow

2025-01-23T13:52:23-05:00January 23, 2025|Field Notes|

When it snows, we are given a wonderful glimpse into the paths and activities of the animals that visit our backyards, trails, and Open Space. Animal tracks are perfectly captured in the fresh snow cover. Most animals tend to stay put during blizzards and many hibernate (learn more in our ...

10 12, 2024

Getting Ready for Winter Hiking

2024-12-10T13:17:01-05:00December 10, 2024|Field Notes|

As long as you prepare, hiking in the winter can be an excellent opportunity for fun! The outdoors in the winter months offers unique and beautiful scenery that you can only experience while cold hiking. When cooler temperatures begin, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy nature – we'll show you how ...

19 09, 2024

2024 Bluebird Monitoring Update

2024-09-19T14:01:07-04:00September 19, 2024|Field Notes|

Bird populations have been decreasing across the globe for the past 50 years. Bluebird populations in particular experienced a dramatic decrease in population size in the early 20th century, reaching a 90% population decrease at one point. Largely due to habitat loss and introduction of aggressive species that outcompeted bluebirds ...

5 08, 2024

Invasive Species 101

2024-08-05T14:27:29-04:00August 5, 2024|Field Notes|

Invasive species are defined as any non native organisms that are introduced to an area and begin to spread beyond the original site of introduction. This could include animals, plants, parasites, or even diseases. Invasive plant species typically share many of the ...

Go to Top