Grayson County & BRDC: A Relationship Worth Investing In

On the sunny Sunday of March 1, 2020, over 50 members of the Grayson County community joined Blue Ridge Discovery Center staff and board members at the New River Wildlife and Conservation Club in Fries, Virginia, to “make new friends, build relationships, and strengthen our community.”

PROGRAMS

BRDC member, volunteer, and camp parent Jenny Brown shares newspaper clippings of her family participating in BRDC programming in 2008 & 2010.

During this special event, guests learned about the myriad hands-on, place-based programs BRDC offers within Grayson County from Program Director Lisa Benish, with inspirational anecdotes from long-time participants Jenny and Savannah Brown. Jenny and her family have been involved with BRDC since 2008 as members, volunteers, community program participants, Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally attendees, day campers, and adventure campers.

Some of the Browns’ most memorable experiences with us have taken place during the Mount Rogers Naturalist Rally, now in its 46th year! Each May and August, we arrange a full weekend of expert-guided programs and field trips across the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The Spring MRNR on May 8-10, 2020, will kick off with field trip selections, a lasagna dinner, and featured speaker on Friday evening, and continues through a pancake breakfast and field trips on Sunday. Programs take place morning, afternoon, and night, with camping available nearby at Grindstone Campground.

Opportunities continue through the summer with the Galax Discovery Day Camps for ages 6-10. These immersive day camps sold out so quickly last year, we elected to offer three sessions this year from June 8-26. Similarly, we are offering three additional sessions of Discovery Day Camps on BRDC’s campus from July 13-31. Our day camps are all about hands-on discovery, including games, crafts, scientific inquiry, and free exploration.

Youth aged 11-17 will enjoy our overnight adventure camps. With the acquisition of the new BRDC field station, we are able to offer an exciting new adventure camp this year: Science in Nature. This multi-session camp will grant youth an opportunity to become biologists in one of the most biologically-diverse places in the world for one, two, or three weeks while conducting their own research. Campers may be introduced to first-hand experiences in botany, mammalogy, entomology, ornithology, herpetology, aquatic systems, and more before digging deeper into a topic of their choosing. Sessions run weekly from June 8-26. We will also be offering three of our most popular adventure camps: New River Expedition, Fly Fishing Camp, and a fall Birding Expedition.

During the school year, you can find us in the schools unfolding curiosities of the natural world through our K-2 Reading program, helping youth to raise brook trout from eggs as part of our Trout in the Classroom program, and seeing science in action across Matthews State Forest on Natural Heritage Program field trips. During intersession weeks, middle schoolers participate in fly fishing, ornithology, camping, and highland games activities. And for four years now, students have put into practice the scientific process by developing their own projects for the BRDC Grayson County Middle School Science Fair.

BRDC CAMPUS PROJECT

Grayson County Supervisor John Fant emphasizes the value of investing in Blue Ridge Discovery Center.

Surrounded by maps and colorful landscape designs, attendees of this special Grayson County event gathered to hear from BRDC Executive Director Aaron Floyd about developments across the BRDC campus. The schoolhouse property and cottage, and adjacent gas station, field station, and campground comprise the 9 acres that are well on their way to becoming a grand southwest Virginia destination. The future property will boast a residential education facility, interpretive center, biological fiend station, visitor center, researcher housing, a nature trail, and amphitheater, all with a mission to “inspire curiosity, discovery, and stewardship through the wonders of the Blue Ridge.”

John Fant of the Grayson County Board of Supervisors also shared his enthusiasm for the project by noting the impact Blue Ridge Discovery Center will have on Grayson County and Southwest Virginia. Not only will the Center boost the region economically by increasing ecotourism, it is also a unique educational resource worth investing in for generations to come.

Landscape design drawings by Devin Floyd of the Center for Urban Habitats illustrate that this property will embrace the diverse habitats and plant communities that make this region so special while contributing to wildlife diversity and ecological health. This combination of natural history living in conjunction with the human history of these structures contributes to the authenticity visitors will experience when they arrive to this mountain gateway, whether stopping by the visitor’s center for a day visit or settling in for a week-long residential education program.

A drone video playing alongside the crowd captured the essence of the Center’s location at the base of Mount Rogers and Whitetop Mountain, along Laurel Creek, and at the intersection of three major connection points to Grayson, Smyth, and Washington Counties. Drone imaging was arranged by BRDC Board Member Brenda Bonk and was created by Twin County Drone Services.

A drone image shows the field station, campground, and future visitor center (left) with schoolhouse, cottage, and loop drive (right) which comprise BRDC’s 9-acre campus.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN PROGRESS

Board Vice President and Capital Campaign Chair Keith Andrews inspires all to help BRDC reach the final 7% of our restoration fundraising goal.

Next, Keith Andrews, BRDC Board of Directors Vice President, shared a few inspirational BRDC program anecdotes before launching into the status of our Capital Campaign for the Center. Through the combined support of an Appalachian Regional Commission grant, tax credits, private foundation donations, private donations, and a Cabell Foundation match grant, we have raised 93% of the $2,250,000 needed to restore the historic Konnarock Training School into our future residential education facility and interpretive center. For those who are interested in leaving a lasting legacy at the next level, naming opportunities for the residential “species rooms” are available with gifts of $10,000 or more.

THANK YOU!

Thank you to all who attended to not only hear our story but to be a part of it while it is written. Grayson County and BRDC have been entwined for over a decade, and we are thrilled to continue building on this relationship. A special thanks go out to our event hosts and volunteers: Keith & Pat Andrews, Linda Dykstra-Hylander & Bill Hylander, Brenda Bonk, Deb & Steven Greif, Jennifer Shupe, and Blake Edwards. And thank you to the New River Wildlife and Conservation Club for providing the facility for this wonderful community event.

The Grayson Bald Eagles are Back!

One of the pair headed back to the nest across the New River.

The Bald Eagles are back! The Grayson county Bald Eagle nest is active again this year! BRDC staff are happy to report that a pair of Bald Eagles have two nestlings along the New River in Grayson county. The nest site was discovered in 2015 and has been active every year since. Its remote location along the river limits the amount of potential human disturbance and with several juvenile eagles seen around the location over the years it seems that it has been a successful location. Bald Eagles have made a wonderful comeback over the past couple of decades with over 1,000 active nests in Virginia alone.  As a large raptor which specializes in eating fish, most of the known nests are adjacent to the Virginia coast and along the Chesapeake Bay. The Grayson county nest is one of only a handful that are known to be active within the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

The United States national emblem since 1782, the bald eagle was listed as endangered in 1967. This iconic bird was finally delisted in 2007, however, the species is still under protection through the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. These acts prohibit the "take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, etc of eagles dead or alive."

The photographs with this blog were taken from a distance with a powerful telephoto lens to avoid disturbing the pair and their chicks.

Back on the nest with the two nestlings

Learning about Amphibians & Aquatic Insects

BRDC has been busy with education programs, working with Galax Middle School, Fries School, Fairview Elementary, Grayson Highlands, Independence Elementary.

Grayson County's fourth grade students participated in the Natural Heritage Program with an emphasis on salamanders, toads, and frogs. Students learned about salamanders commonly found in the Blue Ridge.  Using field guides, they researched different species of salamander and presented their discoveries to the class.  The Eastern hellbender was a favorite among the students, as they were shocked by its prehistoric features. Students enjoyed watching a video about the life history of hellbenders provided by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Fifth grade students in Grayson County schools learned about frogs and toads. Students illustrated the life cycle of amphibians, learned the difference between frogs and toads, and listened to the calls of some of Virginia's common species. Many students had heard the calls before, but often didn't know what animal made the calls. The Virginia Herpetological Society's website is a great resource for determining different frog and toad calls: https://goo.gl/v84gqS.

After learning the calls of the American bullfrog, spring peeper, and American toad, students played a Frog and Toad matching game. Using a Peterson Guidebook to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, students matched the species name, picture, and description together. 

Galax Middle School After School program has been learning all about aquatic species. BRDC brought aquatic insects from a local stream to the classroom where students got a first-hand look at the life found in our creeks. Students learned about the life cycle of the insects, and enjoyed fly tying with Executive Director Aaron Floyd. 

In-school programming keeps BRDC's staff busy, but it is great to work with such a variety grade levels and see the enjoyment and wonder on the children's faces. To stay connected with BRDC follow us on Instagram @blueridgediscoverycenter.

Blue Ridge Discovery Center’s Fall Mushroom Walk

Twelve curious hikers joined Ken Crouse for his second annual BRDC mushroom walk on Saturday, September 19th. We met at Cox’s Chapel Low Water Bridge at 10am for a brief introductory show-and- tell prior to carpooling to a location across the river and into the woods.

It was a ‘beautiful’ morning, crisp and clear, but also very dry following a week of bright, sunny days and low humidity...not the best of conditions for a mushroom foray. However, cool nights and mornings also trigger the fruiting of many fungi, so we had at least one thing in our favor.
Ken took us into damp areas, which proved to be productive enough to keep us busy identifying and comparing a wide variety of mushroom species. It is the purpose of most mushroom hunters to harvest for the kitchen table. Ken focused on offering descriptions of what to look for in great detail, how to sort through similar looking species from safe to deadly. The general morphology of a mushroom is an indicator, but the base of the stem and ‘root’ structure, careful inspection of the underside of the cap, and spore prints all add up to the level of confirmation needed to be certain of identification. Other clues include gill structure and attachment, smell, bruising color, and habitat. In fact, Ken said he usually employs seven systematic taxonomic features to assure a firm ID, and has not once in his long mushroom hunting life experienced any gastronomical discomfort from eating fungi. There are several spore dispersal systems besides gills, and serve to link specimens to family...such as the boletes which have fleshy tubes or pores, or the tooth fungi in the Hydnaceae family, puffballs which form spores inside, and club and coral fungi, which disperse spores from a fertile outer surface.

After collecting a number of specimens, we drove to a local picnic area where, and while taking lunch, Ken spread out field guides and our collection for a more thorough discussion on identification.

Following is a full species list from our day in the woods:
BRDC 9/19/15 Mushroom Walk, River Ridge Farm

Austroboletus gracilis – Graceful Bolete

1. Tylopilus plumboviolaceous – Lilac-brown Bolete

2. Suillus granulatus – Granular-stalked Bolete

3. Polyporus badius – Black-footed Polypore

4. Stereum ostrya – False Turkey Tail

5. Stereum complicatum – Bracket Mushroom

6. Trametes versicolor – Turkey Tail

7. Oxyporous populinus – White Polypore

8. Tyromeces chioneus – Cheese Polypore

9. Phellinus rimosus – Cracked Cap Polypore

10. Daldinia concentrica – Carbon Ball

11. Chlorocibora aeruginescens – Green-wood Stain

12. Lycoperdon perlatum – Gem-studded Puffball

13. Lycoperdon pyriforme – Pear-shaped Puffball

14. Schleroderma citrinum – Poison Pigskin Puffball

15. Scuttelaria scuttelina – Eyelash Cup

16. Hygrophorous praetensis – Waxy Cap

17. Clitocybe dilitata – White Clitocybe

18. Russula variata – Variable Russula

19. Marasmius sicca – Orange Pinwheel

20. Marasmius rotula – White Pinwheel

21. Crepidotus mollis – Jelly Crepe

22. Mycena pura –yellow Mycena

23. Mycena luteopallens – Walnut Mycena

24. Panellus stipticus – Luminescent Panellus

25. Collybia confluens – Tufted Collybia

26. Ramaria conjunctipes – Violet Coral

27. Usnea sp. – Tree Beard Lichen (Medicinal)

For a brief review of fungi see: http://eol.org/pages/5559/overview
Scott Jackson-Ricketts
Ken Crouse

Nesting Bald Eagles Discovered along the New River in Grayson County, VA!

You’re out weeding your garden, perhaps hiking the New River Trail, or just driving along any of our country roads when suddenly you spy a raptor overhead, stretched out like a board, a nine and a half pound bird with a wing span of 80 inches, its white head and tail sealing the identification, a graceful marriage of bird and sky. Take another look if you can, and savor the moment. Fortunately for residents of Grayson County, Virginia, this moment is becoming less rare. Many of us have been increasingly rewarded with sightings of these majestic eagles in southwest Virginia as their population continues to rebound from a low in 1971*. But not everyone, or more accurately, almost no one expects to see a bald eagle nest around here.  Yet that is exactly what happened to Ellie and Roald Kirby of Blue Ridge Discovery Center as they paddled down a quiet section of the New River one recent lazy afternoon.

Here is an account from Ellie Kirby: “On May 3rd my husband Roald and I were floating down the New River in a canoe. Roald had brought his fishing rod but he wasn’t doing any serious fishing as we drifted along. It was a still morning, and we had the river to ourselves. As we were enjoying the peaceful serenity of the water and admiring the lush greens of early spring, we saw a bird soaring above the river. At first we thought it might be a vulture, which are so common here, but then we saw its white head and knew it was a bald eagle.  Another eagle came gliding near the first. The pair didn’t fly very high, and soon one of them perched in a hillside tree. As we wondered why they didn’t fly away, we happened to glance at an island on the other side of the river and saw a big nest in the top of a large sycamore tree. Roald said, “I think there’s a bird in the nest…I can see a head!” We floated on down below the tree to get a better view and to our delight, standing there in the nest was a large, all-dark bird that had to be a baby eagle! We back-paddled a little and spent a few moments taking photos, then moved on down the river. We didn’t linger because the parents seemed perturbed at our presence, and we didn’t want to cause any more distress to this eagle family.”

From Virginia Society of Ornithology records research and conversation with wildlife officers, we have concluded that this is the first documented active bald eagle nest in Grayson County for 100 years. We have heard that bald eagles have been nesting below Byllesby and Buck Dams, and though adjacent to Grayson, that section of the New is in Carroll County. In general, the increase in bald eagle sightings in Grayson has concentrated along the New, from Fries to Mouth of Wilson. This resurgence points directly to a renewal of healthy populations and the success of conservation efforts. “The newly-discovered eagle nest in Grayson County is a welcome sign of the recovery of our Bald Eagle population, nearly lost from the widespread use of DDT decades over 50 years ago.” (Allen Boynton, formerly with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, is now employed by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.)

The nest was discovered in a somewhat remote section of the New, with a cattle farm on one side and a steep forested slope on the other. Grayson contains a considerable amount of wilderness areas, private, state and national. Combine that with extensive cattle grazing lands, and a picture of viable habitat for the bald eagles emerges.

"Every trip outdoors holds an opportunity for discovery, but a trip down the New River always seems to be teeming with wildlife. On this particular trip, Ellie and Roald discovered a successful nesting pair of Bald Eagles! This is a landmark discovery many of us have been looking forward to for years." - Aaron Floyd, Executive Director of Blue Ridge Discovery Center

Without the parents flying around, hardly a soul would think to wonder about the presence of a nest. We are in debt to the Kirbys for their sharp observational skills. Through the hard work of birders and other outdoor enthusiasts, it was only a matter of time for this, the first definitive documentation of an active eagle nest, to come to our attention. 

The nest will be documented through the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Center for Conservation Biology. The Virginia Society of Ornithology has also been contacted.

Life history in brief: bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Most people know about the use, and subsequent ban in 1972, of the pesticide DDT in the United States, defined by the EPA as a persistent bioaccumulative. Attention was drawn to this toxin by Rachel Carson in her seminal work, Silent Spring. One dramatic outcome of the buildup of DDT in the food chain is the thinning of bird shells, especially those of fish consumers. The thin shells cannot support the weight of incubating parents. From 1950 until 1971, the bald eagle’s population plummeted along with other bird species such as the osprey and peregrine falcon. Only after DDT was banned, and slowly over the course of 30 years, were populations returning to viable numbers and showing signs of stabilization. 
In Virginia, from 1972 to 1977 the count on breeding bald eagle pairs came to 33, with 32 restricted to the coastal area. In 1986, records show 66 breeding pairs, and by 2001, 330 pairs. There are now over 11,000 nesting pairs in the continental US and the Bald Eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007. They still have protection thanks to the Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. "Amercian Eagle Day" celebrates this iconic bird on June 20th the day America added the Bald Eagle as the main image in its national emblem in 1782.
“For all the years (1986-2014 - minus 2011 when the Parkway was closed) in which the hawk count has been carried out at Mahogany Rock for the Hawk Migration Association of North America, an average of 14 Bald Eagles a year have passed along or over the Blue Ridge at the Mahogany Rock Overlook at Milepost 235 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. What is particularly significant is the change in yearly count numbers of Bald Eagles over this 28-year count period. For the first ten years of the count the average number of Bald Eagles was only 2.3 with only 0 or 1 eagles passing each year for the first six years. The yearly average for the second ten year period was 8.4. And for the latest 8 years of the count the yearly average was 18. The change in this yearly average demonstrates the dramatic recovery of Bald Eagles from the persecution of pesticides, shooting and habitat loss eagles experienced for most of the 20th century.” - Jim Keighton
(Compiler of the Mahogany Rock Hawk Count for Blue Ridge Birders and the Hawk Migration Association of North America)

In the mountains of Virginia, the bald eagle is labeled as an uncommon transient, winter visitor, rare in summer, more often seen in the fall migration event. According to the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s 4th edition of Virginia Birdlife (S Rottenborn and E Brinkley), recent breeding records have been documented at Lake Moomaw, and Rockbridge and Shenandoah counties. The Center for Conservation Biology has documented Virginia nesting pairs below Claytor Lake, along the New River in Narrows, in Burkes Garden and on the banks of Watagua Lake.
Preferred bald eagle nesting sites are situated near water, especially coastal, marshes, rivers, large lakes and spillways. They build substantial stick nests, lined with finer materials, in a tall tree with a major fork, often in an open area. Bald eagles hold the world record for the largest bird nest, with one in Florida measuring 6.1 meters deep, 2.9 meters wide, and weighing in at 2,722 kg (almost 3 tons)! A single nest can be used for 35 years. They show nest fidelity, adding to it over the course of many years. Adult pairs show similar fidelity, with well recognized long term bonding. 
At one brood/year they lay from 1 to 3 eggs, with 2 being the expected average. Partly because of the asynchronal hatch, the smaller hatchling usually perishes. It takes a full four years for the young to mature into the white head and tail molt. The bald eagle diet mainly consists of fish, but other birds and small mammals will do in a pinch. They are also known to indulge in scavenging carrion and stealing food from other birds, especially the osprey. 

- Scott Jackson-Ricketts

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Sources:
Virginia Birdlife (mentioned above)
Bird Watcher’s Companion, C Leahy
Essential Field Guide Companion, P Dunne
The Birder’s Handbook, P Ehrlich, D Dobkin and D Wheye
http://www.ccbbirds.org/maps/#eagles