Walker Nature Center
A LOOK INSIDE • Calendar of Events 4 • Kids’ Corner 6 • Native Spotlight 7
Nature Notes DECEMBER By Sharon Gurtz
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Look for Bald Eagles over Lake Audubon and Lake Thoreau. • Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows have arrived for the winter. • Spotted Wintergreen and Partridgeberry are evergreen on the forest floor. • Hollies have bright orange/red berries.
JANUARY • • • •
Bald Eagles begin to nest. Sparrows forage in flocks. Gray and Southern Flying Squirrels begin breeding. Sweetgum trees are dropping seed pods.
FEBRUARY • • • •
First squirrel babies of the year are being born. Owls are nesting. Striped Skunks breed. Spring Peepers begin calling.
BRANCHING OUT Meet Reston’s Official Bird By Ken Rosenthal
The votes are in, and Friends of Reston has announced that out of five birds nominated to be Reston’s Official Bird, the Pileated Woodpecker has won with 632 votes. In an election conducted over several months online and by paper ballot at locations including the nature center, 2,748 votes were cast. Close behind in second place was the Eastern Bluebird followed by the American Goldfinch, the Barred Owl and the Great Blue Heron. The Pileated Woodpecker is our region’s largest woodpecker. They can be readily identified by their red crest, visible on both male and female birds, and a bright white stripe running from the base of the upper bill along the head and down the neck. Similar in size to crows, they are distinguished from crows in flight by their red crest, long neck, and the presence of white on their wings.
Winter 14-15 Volume Seventeen