Hola,
I spent a few minutes at the North Beach Marsh Monday evening. Notable
birds were a Least Sandpiper and an immature Little Blue Heron. The eBird
list is linked below.
I haven't seen any mention here or previously on MDOsprey about the new
Town of North Beach park that has been opened on the west side of the marsh
(though certainly might have missed it, so I apologize is this is redundant)
. It is called Wetlands Overlook Park, and it offers good access to a
previously impossible-to-see part of the marsh. It also offers afternoon
viewing without having to fight the sun, nor do you have to stand in poison ivy
while keeping an eye on traffic when viewing from Route 261. Those are big
improvements to me.
The park has two gazebos, which offer some shade, and one of them is
situated nicely. The park also has a short boardwalk into the marsh. While
there still remains no single location from where the entire marsh can be
viewed, more of it can be seen from this new park than any point along Route
261. There are still a couple areas that viewing from the road will be
necessary. What is nice is when the water level is low, much of the exposed mud
is on the west side of the marsh, and thus right at your feet. Not
flushing the birds will be the new challenge. You can also more easily look up
the gut of the marsh, and maybe find those things that have been hiding back
there.
The park is located at the northern end of Dayton Ave in North Beach, and
is pretty obvious when you get there. It is open from dawn to dusk. It
has a visitor center, but I am yet to see it opened. From the Route 261 side
of the marsh, turn west on 9th Street, and right on Dayton (the second
right). Mind the four-way stops, as they are easy to miss.
Cheers,
Todd
_http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11086319_
(http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11086319)
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Todd Michael Day
Jeffersonton, Virginia
Culpeper County
<blkvulture...>
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