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Calendar of Natural Events
January
- Deer start losing antlers
- Great blue herons check out nests
- Great horned owls and bald eagles start nesting
- Waterfowl feed in Aikens swamp and the tidal wetlands
February
- Bluebirds check out nesting cavities
- Buds on red maples start to swell
- Herons sit on nests
- Song sparrows and cardinals start their spring songs
- Spotted salamanders return to vernal pools
- Spring peepers and chorus frogs start calling
- Waterfowl still active in the swamp and wetlands
- Wood ducks check out nesting cavities
March
- Alders bear catkins
- Azure and cabbage moths start flight
- First wildflowers bloom such as bluets, mustards, Whitlow grass, chickweed, violets
- Green sprigs of cattails and arrow arum appear in the wetlands
- Osprey return to nests
- Pickerel frogs start calling
- Redbuds, spicebush and serviceberry bloom
- Some early neotropical migrants return (such as the yellow-throated warbler and green tree swallows)
- Swarms of midges appear
- Turtles start to bask on logs on warm days
- Waterfowl start migration north
- Zebra swallowtails, falcate orangetips and mourning cloaks flutter along the trails
April
- Big push of neotropical birds head south. Prothonotaries, gnatcatchers, yellow warblers arrive.
- Bullfrogs and green frogs calling
- Dogwood blooms
- More flowers bloom such as black locust, cross vine, garlic mustard, spring beauties, etc.
- Ruby-throated hummingbirds return
- Shad start migrating
- Turkeys begin nesting
May
- Beaver kits are born
- Blackberries and may apples bloom
- First bluebird brood are fledged
- Turtles move out of wetlands to lay eggs
- Vireos, tanagers, kingbirds and orioles return
June
- Fawns are born
- Lizard tail starts to bloom in wetlands
- Turkeys hatch
July
- American lotus bloom in the wetlands
- Black rat snake lay eggs
- Butterflies and dragonflies are abundant
August
- Dogwoods and sumacs are fruiting
- Monarch butterflies migrate
- Purple martins start migration south
- Squirrels start cutting nuts
- Winged sumac and black gum show first fall colors
September
- Blue-winged teal migrations start
- Bucks start to rub off velvet
- Fall mushrooms appear
- Hummingbirds migrate south
- Night migration of songbirds
- White-throated sparrow and juncos start arriving
October
- Beavers rebuild lodges and food caches
- Fall colors peak
November
- Blackbirds start to flock
- Waterfowl return to wetlands
December
- Waterfowl still arriving in wetlands
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Parks & Recreation
Physical Address
12140 Harrowgate Road
Chester, VA 23831
Phone: 804-748-1623Fax: 804-751-4131
Helpful Phone Numbers
Parks Maintenance:
804-748-1624
Closing Hotline: 804-748-1001
Hours
Office Hours
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.