Service Project Update: Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail Adoption

 Project Update - Virginia Bird and Wildlife Trail Adoption 

By Ed Coleman, 29-Jul-2021

As a trail coordinator, I posted a volunteer opportunity invite

for my fellow Master Naturalists to select a VBWT site

to observe nature on the Sweet Mountain Laurel Loop

but no one signed up, so what’s the scoop 

Seems I must go this one alone

I finally decided with a slight groan

Thirty seconds on the trail, I was immersed in nature’s total bliss

so I decided to write this poem to share what was missed 

There were fawns frolicking in an open field 

just across the Blue Ridge Parkway at Mabry Mill

High up on Buffalo Mountain, unsure what I would be confronting

but there in plain sight were two beautiful Indigo Buntings 

The first Monarchs of the season that I met 

were feeding on milkweed at Chateau Morrisette 

Appalachian or Eastern not sure which cotton tail

but trust me they were all along the VBWT trail

A water snake in the bog at DeHart Memorial park

and lots of Eastern Blue Birds but not a single Meadowlark

At Rocky Knob I recorded my very first sighting ever 

of the rare and brilliantly colored Red Headed Woodpecker 

On lower Rock Castle creek, I encountered four Eastern Newts

with that bright orange color, wow, they were so cute

Transversing the landscape on the upper Rock Castle Gorge 

I spotted a white tail doe head deep in a banquet of forage 

Swallowtails and wildflowers were abundant on Belcher Mountain road

but when I looked in the ditch, there was no sign of a toad

Bumble bees were attracted to Black Cohosh at Saddle Overlook

snapped so many photos that I lost track of how many I took

After two miles of hiking at Smart View I was in search of a bench 

but there in the meadow feeding were five American Goldfinch 

At my next stop I saw a Scarlet Tanager in a tall poplar tree

well, haven’t I shared enough to make someone want to join me 

Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) Photo by Ed Coleman

 

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) Photo by Ed Coleman

 

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Photo by Ed Coleman

 

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) Photo by Ed Coleman

 

Confusing Furrow Bee (Halictus confusus) Photo by Ed Coleman

 

Eastern Eyed Click Beetle (Alaus oculatus) Photo by Ed Coleman

Ed Coleman is a Virginia Master Naturalist with the Southwestern Piedmont Chapter, and obviously not a poet.  If you want to see more of his photos taken in July 2021 along the Sweet Mountain Laurel Trail Loop, visit iNaturalist.org, click Explore, and filter by Person “edcoleman3084” and Project “Virginia Wildlife Mapping”

Find the Sweet Mountain Laurel loop at https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/mountain-trail/msl/  or perhaps a VBWT trail closer to home at https://dwr.virginia.gov/vbwt/