Trip Report

A Walk in the Woods at Widewater /  by Todd Henson

On the last Saturday of May, 2023, my father and I decided to hike the trails of Widewater State Park in Virginia. This is a somewhat new park to us though we’ve now hiked it several times. It’s a fairly small park with a small number of trails, but what they have is enjoyable, fairly level, and always changing with the seasons. It offers a mix of forested trails, a small pond, some marshy areas, a wide portion of Aquia Creek, and a very wide part of the Potomac River.

This time we began at the main parking area and chose to hike Long Pond Trail towards the road. There were few clouds in the sky this morning and we got a bit of a late start, so the sun was really shining through the clearing as we approached Long Pond.

Long Pond Trail

When we reached the pond we turned right onto Holly Marsh Trail and hiked over the road to the other side of the park. Not too far into the woods I spotted movement amongst the ferns and when I slowly got down and looked closer I found an Eastern (or Northern) cricket frog, one of the smallest vertebrates in North America. To make it easier to see I framed it almost at the center of the photo. It has a nice light green stipe down its back.

An Eastern cricket frog among the ferns

We also found an Eastern grey squirrel foraging through the underbrush. It didn’t appear at all concerned about us and went about eating the small snack it had found in the leaves.

Snacking with a squirrel

When hiking in the woods I absolutely love looking up into the tree canopy. It’s beautiful the way the light shines through, backlighting the leaves. And I love the patterns of the branches and bark and leaves. In this case I chose a white oak to photograph.

White oak canopy

After looking up doesn’t it make sense to also look down? In this case I chose to focus on a small field of ferns.

Among the ferns

We were still hiking Holly Marsh Trail, which strangely enough parallels Holly Marsh. In the distance we could just begin to hear the sounds of boats on the Potomac River, almost 3 miles wide at this point.

Holly Marsh Trail

Pausing to allow a family to walk past us I noticed this small, young leaf growing directly out of the bark of a tree. I’m always fascinated when leaves grown on their own instead of from branches. I’m not certain, but this may be an example of an American sweet gum tree.

Perhaps a little sweet gum

Instead of hiking back the way we came we decided to walk along the road back to the other half of the park. Along the entrance to this section we saw a small clearing in the trees and within that clearing was a field of ferns and a single lichen-covered tree. The sun was fairly bright at this point so it did shine through and highlight some areas.

Small fern clearing

Along the side of the main road there are several sections of old rusted barbed wire that’s been there so long many trees have grown right around it. Along one stretch I watched as a pale damselfly landed on the wire. It proved very patient and allowed me to approach close enough for a photo.

Barbed wire damselfly

Last time we hiked this park we noticed some poison ivy growing on a tree right near a bench that faces Aquia Creek. As with last time I chose to photograph it, and in one of the photos I later found a harvestman resting on a leaf. It would appear harvestmen don’t have quite the same reaction to poison ivy as most of us might.

Harvestman on poison ivy

At this point we were very near the main parking lot and it was approaching noon, so after a short rest on the bench we took a last look out at Aquia Creek before leaving the park.

Approaching noon along Aquia Creek

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk along with us as we hiked Widewater State Park.

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First Visit to Seven Bends State Park, Virginia /  by Todd Henson

The Lupton Road entrance to Seven Bend State Park, Virginia

In mid-March my father and I drove out to Seven Bends State Park for the first time. This is an interesting park near Woodstock, Virginia, that’s split into two sections along the Seven Bends area of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River. In both cases you first have to navigate a very narrow one-lane windy road and then cross a one-lane bridge that’s very low to the river. We were told by a park ranger that it’s fairly common for the bridges to flood, so if you visit be sure to watch the weather and plan accordingly. Also, please be patient and drive safely, making way if you can for oncoming vehicles.

The one-lane bridge on Lupton Road

A view of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River

A view of the North Fork of the Shenandoah River in the other direction

Seven Bends is a reasonably recent addition to the network of state parks. It was created when Dr. James R. Myers donated almost 700 acres of land in memory of the Fravel and Myers families. It’s always nice to see donated lands turned into park land.

Seven Bends State Park was created from donated land

Though we drove to both sections of the park we spent most of our time on the Hollingsworth Road section, hiking the Bass Bight Trail. The park appears to have a range of trails of varying difficulty. The easier trails parallel the river and the more difficult ones head up into the hilly mountains. This time around we stuck to the river trails.

The trail map for Seven Bends State Park

The first thing we noticed on the Hollingsworth Road section was a large corn field just beyond the parking areas. It wasn’t in season so everything had been cut down and was brown, but it might be interesting to return and see what it looks like with corn growing. I wonder if it might be a good location to photograph certain species of birds that might gather in corn fields?

Looking back towards the parking lot over a cleared corn field

Bass Bight Trail parallels the river with the corn field to the right

It was early enough in the year that most trees were still bare of leaves. But we did see the first signs of leaf growth, both lighter shades of green and in some cases shades of red. I was drawn several times to different sections as the sun lit up the leaves. I don’t know that any of these photos are anything special but I think they show some potential for this area.

Some of the lit up trees that caught my eye on the slopes on the mountain

A touch of red on otherwise bare trees

I loved how the sun highlighted the new leaves on the trees

We noticed several flowers while there, though it’s still early in the season. The first we noticed were small groups of grape hyacinth in the grassy areas. Later, at the end of the trail, I stumbled across some unknown flowers that I later learned were young Virginia bluebells, an absolutely lovely flower sometimes found along rivers or creeks. It’s good to know another location where we might find these flowers if we arrive at the right time. In the same area we found lots of rough horsetail growing.

Grape hyacinth were scattered around in the grass

The buds of Virginia bluebells were just beginning to emerge

I loved the look of several sections of rough horsetail, especially this one with a vine running through it

Near the end of trail I noticed something moving in the river. It was bright white but also orange. All I had with me was a wide angle lens and a macro so I couldn’t get any closeups, but with the macro I was able to create a few photos that revealed the creatures to be a pair of Greylag geese. I very strongly suspect these are domesticated. One of them appeared to have some kind of problem with its feathers, or perhaps it was molting.

A massively cropped image showing the two Greylag geese in the river

Eventually the pair of Greylag geese went on shore

Before we left we spoke with a ranger who recommended we get lunch at the local Woodstock Cafe, and I’m glad she did. My father and I each had a great sandwich and I sampled some of the local coffee. Stop by if you ever find yourself in Woodstock, Virginia. 

Have you ever heard of, or visited, Seven Bends State Park in Virginia? It’s certainly a location I’d like to visit again.

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Photographing Birds on an Overcast Morning /  by Todd Henson

An overcast sunrise over the Potomac River as seen from Leesylvania State Park

In late January my father and I picked Leesylvania State Park as our destination for a morning nature hike. We’d not been to that location in a while and there was the chance we might see some of the wintering over tundra swans closer to shore. We struck out as far as that goes. We didn’t see or hear a single tundra swan. But we did see a number of interesting birds.

None of these are stellar examples of bird photography. It was a grey overcast morning and the light was sometimes very uninteresting. In many cases I didn’t nail the focus. In most there is noticeable noise if you look closely enough. But none of this stopped us from enjoying a sunrise hike and taking advantage of the opportunity to observe and photograph some birds. Not every outing will result in stunning photography, but every outing can be an opportunity to practice photography, to practice identifying bird species, and to enjoy the simple act of getting together and going for a walk in nature.

Bufflehead Ducks

The first bird we noticed was a male bufflehead duck swimming in the waters just inside some rocks nearest to shore. Before long we realized there were two buffleheads, a male and female.

A male bufflehead duck swimming in the calm morning water

The male bufflehead has now joined a female

Great Blue Heron

When we began walking along the sandy river shore we spooked a great blue heron that had been standing in the waters near shore. I managed to capture an image of the heron as it flew away.

A great blue heron flying close to the surface of the water

Many Different Ducks

There were many groups of ducks in the distance, some at a very great distance. When I got home I was able to identify some. I believe there were ruddy ducks, which are fairly small and often swim with their tail sticking up. There were the buffleheads we saw above. The largest of the ducks were, I believe, canvasbacks. And I think there might have been some scaup. I suspect they were greater scaup but I they might have been lesser. Let me know if you’re good at identifying duck species and know for certain what some of these are.

I think the larger of these ducks are canvasbacks. The medium sized ones may be scaup, possibly greater scaup. And the smallest may be a couple of ruddy ducks.

The two smallest ducks on the left are ruddy ducks. The male bufflehead is on the right and the female just left of center. I believe the larger ducks are scaup, possibly greater scaup.

A group of what I believe are canvasback ducks taking flight.

I’m always entertained by how close some birds fly to the surface of the water.

Here we see five of the ducks, which I think are canvasback, flying over the surface of the river.

Downy Woodpecker

When we’d left the shore and followed the trail inland we noticed a flash of red while on a boardwalk over a marshy area. It turned out to be a single male downy woodpecker.

A male downy woodpecker in the dried grass and reeds on the ground

A slower shutter speed shows the motion of the downy woodpecker while pecking

Brown Creeper

Then I noticed movement on a tree, almost as if the bark were moving. Brown creepers can be easy to miss if they’re not moving, but thankfully they are often moving. They’re much easier to see when they turn to the side so you can see their profile. That white stomach stands out much better than their camouflaged brown back.

A brown creeper can be difficult to see if facing its back when it’s not moving. Thankfully, they’re usually moving.

A brown creeper in profile is much easier to see

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