Walker Nature Center
A LOOK INSIDE • Calendar of events 4 • Kids’ Corner 6 • Bird Count Results 7
BRANCHING OUT
Nature Notes Pups in the Woods MARCH By Sharon Gurtz
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Snow Drops and Crocuses bloom. Wood Frogs lay eggs in local ponds and ephemeral pools. Eastern Phoebes and Tree Swallows return. Red-shouldered Hawks begin nesting.
APRIL • • • •
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Reston’s Red Fox population is alive and well, providing exciting wildlife encounters and comic relief for residents. Learn what’s in store for these adaptable small dogs and what challenges they face for the coming summer.
Our fox—a brief history
Bloodroot and Trillium are blooming. Eastern Bluebirds are building nests. Serviceberry, Dogwood, and Red Bud trees bloom. Box Turtles emerge from their winter homes.
MAY •
By Idalina Walker
Columbine and Wild Blue Phlox bloom. Garter Snakes, Black Rat Snakes and Copperheads emerge from winter dens. Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron shrubs are in bloom. Spring Azure and Tiger Swallowtail butterflies are in flight.
Of the 5 fox species in the world, the one with the red hair, Vulpes vulpes, is by far the most plentiful and wide-ranging. It is the sly adversary of Aesopian fables, the trickster Reynard of French-Canadian folklore, and the fox you can easily encounter right here in Reston. Despite the introduction of European Red Foxes for sport during Virginia’s colonial period, DNA research has shown that most of the matrilineal ancestry of eastern Red Foxes originated in North America.
The latest from your neighborhood fox den
In dens throughout our natural areas and possibly even in your backyard, fox pups (sometimes called kits or cubs) are taking their first breaths of air. Born deaf and blind in early March, they will spend the next two weeks in the leaf-lined nesting chamber snuggling with their mother. She will rarely leave their sides as her pups are unable to thermoregulate at this point. During this time, their father is the sole bread winner for the little family, bringing mice and small rodents for the mother as she nurses the young. Typical litter size is six although there may be as few as two or as many as 12. After a month, the pups begin to emerge from the den. Their black newborn hair has begun to fade to a sandy grey color, which better matches the soil around the den where they will romp and play for the coming weeks.
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Photo by: Arthur Hass Reston, VA
Spring 16 Volume Eighteen