Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 19:34:21 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Rick Sussman Subject: Re: Blue Mash trail, 3/18 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 3/18/2004 5:55:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, dhmbowen@YAHOO.COM writes: > I like the fact that the ponds in this area are fenced off, so that > wintering and breeding water birds have some measure of protection > from the walking public. (The chain-link fences are clearly not a > barrier to deer or Red Fox, both of which species I saw inside them > today!) > > There's a large field on the west side that looks like it would be > attractive to Meadowlarks - if it's not mowed until later in the > summer. Does anyone know what the grass cutting plans for this area > are? I also noted that the swath cut for the trails on the west side > is much, much wider than really needed for a foot trail, even one used > also by horses. The habitat in this area would be enhanced by just > letting things grow on either side of a mown trail. > > Mike Bowen > Hi Mike, Glad you enjoyed your trip to this "newly discovered" park. It really has a great diversity of habitats, as shown by your list; not a bad tally for a mid-day trip in March! The wide trails are probably because of the size of the mowers the county crews use; it seems to be a normal width for grassy areas in most county parks. Anything smaller would require someone with a "walk-behind" mower rather than a riding (read quicker) mower. I doubt anything will change in this regard. The mown path on the west side is the nature trail, and is supposed to be for hikers only, though I see horseshoe prints there regularly. The rest of the trail (through the woods and along Riggs Rd.) is a mixed use trail for horses, bicycles, and hikers. The trail system is slated to join the Rock Creek Regional park along Fieldcrest Rd. (my guess is through the Ag. Farm Park) and in the other direction will eventually join Rachel Carson Park. I asked Rob Gibbs about the mowing palns for the shrubby areas of the park, and he wasn't sure what they would do. If they mowed the fields every few years to keep it shrubby, it will be ideal sparrow habitat. Woodcocks have been displaying over the swampy area near the Zion Rd. lot recently, starting about 6:30PM. The fencing around the pond really seems to give the waterfowl a sense of security, and the berm around the small pond makes it easy to sneak up without scaring off anything on the water. There is also a smaller pond in the front along Rt. 108, along with the large one inside the fence of the landfill. Rick Sussman Ashton,MD warblerick@aol.com ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================