You’ve heard of wild goose chases, but have you ever been on a wild quail chase?
...No? Well, you’re in luck! This week I joined the NPS Natural Resource Management division as they begin their Bobwhite Quail and grassland bird surveys. Within the Manassas National Battlefield Park, there are about two dozen survey points that are visited throughout the year in order for researchers to record the species density of grassland birds at each site. The birds that we are specifically looking for include Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Brown Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-breasted Chat, Henslow's Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite Quail. Since most of these birds are active immediately before and after sunrise, we have to tailor our schedules to the birds!
...No? Well, you’re in luck! This week I joined the NPS Natural Resource Management division as they begin their Bobwhite Quail and grassland bird surveys. Within the Manassas National Battlefield Park, there are about two dozen survey points that are visited throughout the year in order for researchers to record the species density of grassland birds at each site. The birds that we are specifically looking for include Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Prairie Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, Brown Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-breasted Chat, Henslow's Sparrow, and Northern Bobwhite Quail. Since most of these birds are active immediately before and after sunrise, we have to tailor our schedules to the birds!
A typical surveying morning begins at 5:30am. We guzzle a couple cups of coffee and drive out to a survey point in the open grassy fields of the park. For fifteen minutes we sit quietly at each survey point and record any of the species if they are seen or heard within a 125 meter radius of the central point. While the main purpose of the study is to record grassland birds, we also take note of any other birds that we see at the survey points including: Bald Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, Eastern Phoebes, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Eastern Bluebirds, and Scarlet Tanagers (among many others). There is a great deal of biodiversity on the property and it is beneficial to document our findings so that we gain a better understanding of the environmental changes taking place over time. Though we have not yet seen or heard any Bobwhites, it is such an amazing experience to watch the sun rise over the tranquil dew-covered fields and start my day with all of the other animals that live at the park.
Another project we started this week is an extensive pond clean-up effort. Filamentous algae has taken over a small drainage pond in the Brownsville region of the park and, if left untreated, will be detrimental to all of its aquatic inhabitants. Algal blooms occur when excess nutrients enter a body of water with very low levels of turbidity and very high levels of sun exposure. As algae grows and covers the water’s surface, other aquatic plants are shaded out and eventually die off. These dead aquatic plants are broken down by bacteria that deplete oxygen from the water, making it impossible for the ecosystem to support other forms of aquatic life.
We started the clean-up effort by attempting to physically remove the algae mats that cover the water’s surface. After that, we added solar-powered aerators that pump oxygen into the deeper parts of the pond and we also poured in small quantities of a non-toxic blue dye that blocks just enough sunlight to prevent the filamentous algae from over-producing. We will be monitoring the condition of the pond in the coming weeks with the hope that these measures will prevent future algal blooms from taking over.