Monthly Archives: May 2014

The Problem of Erosion

Soil faces a number of threats, both natural and manmade, which can compromise its physical structure and chemical composition. And since soil is the vital foundation of most life, it is important to understand the processes that affect it. If the soil is not healthy and stable plants, animals, and microbes will not be able to survive. One of these primary forces of change in the realm of soil is erosion.

Soil is formed in place by the erosion of bed rock and the introduction of organic matter. The horizons of soil previously mentioned in the other posts will develop in undisturbed soil. Often though the soil is transported by wind or water and deposited elsewhere as sediment; this constitutes the process of erosion. Small scale erosion is normal and can even be beneficial for the dispersal of nutrients. However, large drastic events of erosion can cause damage to the soil structure and other aspects of the environment.

Erosion may seem like a simple, inconsequential process. After all, it is just the movement of dirt from one location to another. But the process takes on a new significance when you consider the fact that it takes millennia for an inch of soil to form and only decades for that inch to erode. Soil is a valuable resource that is not replaceable on a human time scale, meaning that we must take better care to preserve it.

Erosion is a process that not only impacts the well-being of soil; it also has a great effect on the human environment. We need to work with soil to maximize our interactions with the natural world and avoid unnecessary difficulties. This may involve the integration of new soil management practices. One such technique for improving soil quality is the use of agroecology. This practice emphasizes a shift away from viewing soil as a chemical system toward perceiving it as a biological network. It describes soil as intricate web of plant, animal, microbes, soil, and water interactions. By having a more specialized, in-depth understanding of the soil in a specific area, productivity can be increased. This improves the growth of plants, which helps prevent erosion, and it maintains better soil quality by not draining the soil of vital nutrients.

The importance of preventing erosion and maintaining soil quality is especially important here at the University of Virginia since there is so much opportunity for soil disruption. Many vegetated areas are heavily trafficked by students and other pedestrians, which can kill groundcover in those places, leaving the soil vulnerable to erosion. (Fig. 1) There are around 14,000 undergraduate students attending UVA, most of who walk to class, and in some areas the sidewalks simply cannot accommodate that many pedestrians. Grass along these paths is worn away and the topsoil erodes quickly, leaving hard, compacted ground that is not conducive to life. In addition, UVA has many buildings and landscape areas that are under construction. The grass is often removed and sometimes the top layer of soil is stripped away. This leaves the soil unprotected for long periods of time. Barriers are put it place in an attempt to help control erosion, but precipitation and wind still carry away a lot of the exposed soil. Rain water seeping into the soil leeches away more mineral s and nutrients than normal, slowly degrading the soil quality because it lacks the insulation of topsoil and grass. Once the structure and quality of the soil has been damaged it can take a very long time to restore it. Depending on the extent of the damage, it could take years or decades to return the soil to its original state, which further demonstrates our need to protect the soil.

Figure 1: Vegetation is unable to grow in paths worn by pedestrians of overcrowded sidewalks.  Top soil has eroded leaving compacted ground unable to support grass.
Figure 1: Vegetation is unable to grow in paths worn by pedestrians of overcrowded sidewalks. Top soil has eroded leaving compacted ground unable to support grass.

Bibliography

Montgomery, David R. Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 2012. Print.

Post by Jessica Hawkins, Second-Year, Environmental Science

Observatory Hill Area

There is actually a remarkable biophilic scene in the Observatory Hill area that mostly consists of taller, newer dining halls and dorms. The area can be viewed as a miniature city given that it is made up of 10 buildings, some five or six stories high. Given this mini-city of New Dorms (Alderman) and Ohill, there is still nature seen between each building. There consists a large open field of grass lined with small trees directly next to Ohill where students can be seen throwing the football or Frisbee, tanning, or even just studying. It is a great spot to get your daily dose of nature and fresh air. In addition to the field, there are smaller lawn areas between sidewalks interconnecting the dorms. Even the simple sight of greenery can add such a powerful effect on viewing nature when looking at these big, prominent buildings. You can see flowers and bushes in bloom on the sides of each of the dorms, not to mention a few trees.

However, this blog post focuses on some of the spectacular long-distance views you may be lucky enough to see if you are in the area.

This first photo was taken during sunrise (around 7am) from the top floor of the Lile-Maupin staircase overlooking Ohill Dining Hall with Gilmer Hall being the building in the bottom right. The truly amazing sight, as you can tell, is the sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. If you manage to get that view, you’re off to a great start of the day! Also, during the day, you can usually see the top of the Rotunda.

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The next two photos were taken during sunset (around 6:30pm) between the dorms Tuttle-Dunnington and Lile-Maupin. It’s as easy as walking in between them towards Watson-Webb and Balz-Dobie. You have to get lucky with the sun and clouds, though!

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Map of the Ohill/New Dorm Area with sunrise/sunset views marked in black, the area in which the photos were taken in red, and the grass field in green:

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You may be thinking to yourself, “Well you can see pretty sunrises and sunsets almost anywhere.” However, it’s the idea of the combination of the completely natural sight of the sky overtop one of the most city-like areas on Grounds at UVa that makes this area stand out. The Ohill/New Dorm area is truly a miniature biophilic city of it’s own. Sky views play a major role in feeling nature, and the company, Sky Factory, reveals the importance of sky views by creating virtual views for inside city buildings.  They play a role in making a city a biophilic city.

Post by Cole Oldenburg, First-Year, Engineering-Undeclared

The Giving Trees

As a student at the University of Virginia, I find myself spending significant amounts of time outside walking from class to class, jogging through grounds, or just taking a stroll on the Downtown Mall. I pass countless numbers of trees scattered throughout grounds and the Charlottesville community, often failing to take notice of their presence. It seems that, particularly as students, we frequently fail to acknowledge the nature around us and the benefits that it can provide. Specifically, the presence of trees in a public space can provide economic, energy, environmental, and social benefits to those who reap its rewards. The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards, a local group dedicated to supporting “rural and urban forests by increasing public awareness of the intrinsic value and beauty of trees, educating the community about trees and tree care, and partnering with local government agencies and civic groups to improve and restore the tree canopy in the area” are extremely knowledgeable about the external benefits of the presence of trees in the Charlottesville area, specifically.

Economically, the presence of trees can increase property values, reduce the need for investing in erosion control strategies, reduce incidences of illness reporting, and even encourage people to pay more for goods and services in tree-filled areas. Energy-wise, trees have the ability to provide cooling shade, reducing the need to expend energy on air conditioning. Furthermore, they can reduce heating costs in buildings if situated in the proper location, and they can reduce harmful wind speed detriment by acting as windbreaks.

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Photo from: http://guffguelph.ca/tag/benefits-of-trees/.

Environmentally, trees reduce noise pollution by absorbing sound, reduce the Heat Island Effect, collect and retain rainwater, reduce and ameliorate the presence of CO2 in the community, and even lessen the effects of storms by reducing runoff and erosion. Finally, trees possess many social benefits as well, as even the sight of nature has been shown to reduce stress in people. Additionally, areas with copious amounts of trees have a lesser frequency of crime than those with low levels of nature, hospital patients exposed to nature demonstrate faster recovery rates than those who are not, and even hyperactive disorder symptoms in children are lessened after contact with nature.

While this merely demonstrates a brief synopsis of the benefits of the presence of trees in our lives, expert organizations like The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards seek to spread awareness in the greatest detail of the positive externalities of trees in the community and welcome any interested community members to join their meetings and discussions of the welfare that trees can provide. Furthermore, the Charlottesville Tree Stewards encourage those with all levels of knowledge to participate and facilitate an interest in the importance of trees, prompting interest through the YouTube video “Why Trees?” found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74063UKSmXw. Those who are interested can attend one of their monthly meetings, on the third Monday of each month at 9 am at the Department of Forestry in Charlottesville. For more information on the societal, environmental, and economic benefits of trees, or to contact the Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards for more information about their upcoming events and activities, visit http://charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org/.

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Works Cited

“G U F F.” G U F F. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Trees Are Good – Tree Care Information.” Trees Are Good – Tree Care Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

“Treesteward.” Treesteward. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

Post by Elizabeth Brown, Second-Year, Urban and Environmental Planning

Green Rooftops Tour

The BioGrounds Green Rooftops team had an exciting start to field work with a tour of all the possible green rooftops around UVa which we could use to conduct our analysis on. With the help of Facilities Management at UVa, we had a chance to actually visit rooftops and explore all the different options we had for our BioGrounds research.

Our tour started on rainy morning at the UVa Hospital lobby where Mr. John Rainey, the director of the Health System Physical Plant for Facilities Management led us on a tour of the UVa Hospital rooftop, one of the only non-green roofs in our projects. Before our tour, our team learned that Facilities Management plans to turn the Hospital roof into a green roof in around a year, opening up the perfect opportunity for our team to conduct a “before-and-after” analysis of effects of biodiversity on regular vs. revamped green rooftops. During our tour we learned about Facilities Management’s plans to plant Sedum and install insulated glass skylight pyramids along the currently gravel lined rooftop. This would help with water drainage issues, as we could see by the rain collecting on the roof, and add greenery to the view for patients at the hospital.

Our tour on the non-green Hospital rooftop. Photo by Radhika Pavgi.
Our tour on the non-green Hospital rooftop.
Photo by Radhika Pavgi.

Following this, our team, led by Helen Wilson and Rich Hopkins from UVa Facilities Management, visited the MR5 green rooftop, which is a ground level rooftop that lies over a basement of the Biomedical Engineering Research building. Despite being ground level, this area is considered a green rooftop, and is installed with a LiveRoof brand modular green roof which includes trays of vegetation planted into the ground, which provide an easier to install and lower maintenance form of vegetation. Many of the plants in these trays were reddish/brown due to harsh winter conditions, and showed some invasive species of plants intermixed in the trays. In the same area, we visited the MR5/MR6 courtyard which was a very large intensive green roof made of grass and brick pathways, again, over a below-ground portion of the building. We were informed that it was one of the larger green rooftops, and even had to be mowed!

Continuing on this tour, we visited the Nau/Gibson Hall rooftop which proved to be an adventure to access. Nau/Gibson has four identical green roofs which are all accessed through upper floor public restrooms in the buildings. Our team had the opportunity to climb up a ladder in a restroom, and through a hatch and peek out on to the intensive, tray-less green roof. This roof contained many more species of plants and also seemed to have better water drainage than the other roofs. Due to safety reasons, we weren’t allowed on the roof without a harness, but we were informed that when we started data collection we would be allowed to walk up onto the roof and conduct our research.

A team member climbing up to the Nau/Gibson green rooftop. Photo by Amanda Askew.
A team member climbing up to the Nau/Gibson green rooftop.
Photo by Amanda Askew.

The next green roof we visited was on top of the recently renovated Commerce School building, Rouss/Robertson Hall. This roof again needed harnesses to access; however, our team had the chance to go up to a terrace on the building and look across a courtyard at the green roof. Similar to the other green roofs around Grounds, this was made up of trays, and again, many of the plants were suffering from colder conditions. The roof though, contained a lot of green space, and enough room to conduct research.

Looking out on to the tray-lined green rooftop of Rouss/Robertson Hall. Photo by Radhika Pavgi.
Looking out on to the tray-lined green rooftop of Rouss/Robertson Hall.
Photo by Radhika Pavgi.

Our tour ended on the patio level green roof of Garrett Hall which is accessible to the public, where Sedum trays are embedded into the patio. This roof is also close to ground level like that of MR5, and showed invasive moss species growing alongside the Sedum.

After this exciting tour, the Green Rooftops team narrowed down the options for data collection to the Hospital rooftop, in order to conduct a before and after analysis, the Nau/Gibson rooftop, and the Commerce School Rouss/Robertson roof. These roofs, which are all located at higher elevations, would allow our team to explore and analyze biodiversity that exists up on rooftops that aren’t in contact with the ground.

More to come in our next post about field work on the rooftops!

*A special thanks to John Rainey, Helen Wilson and Rich Hopkins from UVa Facilities Management for their help in taking us on the tour of the rooftops.

Post by Radhika Pavgi, Second-Year, Civil Engineering

Aquatic Life Update

Hello, I am Dominique Willis, and I have been researching the Dell Pond’s aquatic life with Emily Paul. After talking with Jeffrey Sitler, hydrogeologist and environmental compliance manager at UVA, Emily and I learned more about the aquatic life and general function of the Dell Pond.

First, the Dell Pond was designed as a stormwater management system. The Dell filters the water, traps sediment, and lowers the amount of runoff that flows into the Rivanna River system. The Dell accommodates 2-year storm events being able to detain up to 1,451,220 gallons of stormwater. If there is any extra runoff, there is another facility to accommodate it.  The Dell also retains stormwater runoff, allows the water to rise to its natural slope, and then slowly releases the water once it has reached a certain level. This is helpful in reducing rapid runoff, and allows sediment to settle as well.

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The Dell, before and after.

Interestingly, the Dell was designed to be a native botanical garden, so 99% of the plants are native to Virginia. This leads to native species returning to this area and thriving. Additionally, the native plants are an important food source for the returning native species. Due to this project, a significant portion of the wetland forest has been restored. Also, UVA students studied the water quality before and after the Dell was built. Their findings show that the water quality is significantly better with reduced levels of phosphates and sediment and low levels of nitrate. There are three zones of the Dell: the upland Mountain zone, the intermediate Piedmont zone, and the lower Coastal Plain zone.

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Although the initial purpose was to slow stormwater flows, the Dell has become a habitat for aquatic life. Jeffrey Sitler comments on the aquatic life of the Dell, “It has been stocked with fish on at least three occasions, none of which were sanctioned or directed by UVa.  In the first year of operation, some unknown group put goldfish in the pond.  A few years later, someone put in a mix of native fishes and last year someone put in a couple of Koi.  In addition to these, native minnows, snakes and turtles have been spotted.  Of course we see frogs, crayfish and other natives.”

While I preliminarily took a count of the different aquatic species of the Dell, I witnessed a turtle, ducks fighting each other, and birds roaming next to the pond. Others have said they have sighted a blue heron, geese, and a pair of mallards.

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We just received the green low cost water monitoring kit and are using it to test the water of our various sites now. This will be a great opportunity to understand the implications of certain pH levels, temperature, nitrate levels, phosphate, and coliform bacteria in relation to the quantity and quality of the aquatic life in all of the bodies of water we picked as mentioned before. Stay tuned for the results we found from these samples.

Post by Dominique Willis, First-Year, Pre-Commerce

Closer Than They Seem

With spring’s arrival, students and faculty of UVA are migrating from the indoors to out. For the runners, warm temperatures mean taking the exercise outside and getting back on the trails. The Rivanna Trail, in particular, is great for first years. It’s nearby (especially if you live in new dorms) and beautiful. With a ton of trees and different networks of streams trickling under bridges, the Rivanna Trail is a perfect place to run or take a walk.

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My first time through the trail, a couple friends and I decided to take advantage of a warm, though cloudy, day. After exploring for about 20 minutes, we came across a giant fallen tree—its splintered roots lay taller than each of us.

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I approached the trunk, and that’s when I noticed: shelf fungus.

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Shelf fungus wasn’t just on the trunk; polypore mushrooms were in spots all around the tree, too.

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As we made our way down the trail, we found fungi everywhere in the woods.

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Fungi can be found on campus and, like we discovered, also at a short distance off campus. With finals approaching, I hope everyone can find some time to de-stress and enjoy the spring weather before summer starts—maybe even go on a fungi hunt in the woods.

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Quiet Time

After learning how to set up the program on the Song Meter SM3, I started recording for 2 hours on the night of April 9th. The recordings stopped and re-started every half hour until around 2:30 am. I placed it on the top floor balcony of my 6th floor apartment here in Charlottesville. The recordings I collected sadly didn’t render any sounds from birds, but there was a lot of other nightlife recorded.

Considering that my apartment is in a pretty urban area in Charlottesville, sounds that the SM3 picked up from people and cars most likely drowned out any potential bird night calls I might have heard from nocturnal birds during the time I was recording. This made me realize how easily we overlook bird night calls in more urban areas. I also learned the hard way that birds are most active at around dusk and dawn, so recording closer to those times would have been ideal.

Although I didn’t get to hear any myself, I did some research to find out about what birds are migrating through Charlottesville right now. Looking at observations from different parks around the Rivanna trails right around central Charlottesville, I found that the Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Redstart, Orchard and Baltimore Orioles, White-eyed Vireo, and Yellow-breasted Chat are the most common birds seen in parks around my area in the spring.

Here is a map of the parks around Charlottesville where these birdes frequent in the Spring:

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The parks I paid most attention to because they are closest to where I was recording are McIntire and Riverview Parks.

Post by Niki Goncalves, Second-Year

Observatory Hill and New Dorms Area

The next spot our BioGrounds team visited is the New Dorms and Ohill surrounding area. Much to our surprise, some of the nature views in this location were spectacular. As you can see, following a beautiful snowy day, the views from New Dorms such as Lile-Maupin, Kellogg and Woody, provide students with a place to observe nature from amazing vantage points. All of these pictures were taken from the Common Rooms in these dorms suggesting that when architects were designing these dorms, they kept nature and nature views in mind, giving students a beautiful view of surrounding areas as a way to reduce the stresses and anxiety associated with school work and college life.

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View from Lile-Maupin Dorm.
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View from Woody Dorm.
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View from Kellogg Dorm.
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View from Lile-Maupin Dorm.

 

Furthermore, the layout of New Dorms as exemplified by these pictures below from Shannon dorm, is one with an expansive green quad that creates a place where students can come together, fostering an environment that promotes connectivity, community, and fun. All in all, the Observatory Hill and New Dorms area is a great example of how UVa has successfully integrated nature within urban form. Despite the presence of large dorms and numerous walkways, nature finds its way into the space creating an enhanced connection with the environment and exhibiting great Biophilic design.

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Overall, as our BioGrounds project comes to a close, I can speak for the whole team saying that this project has given us a newfound understanding for the importance and benefits of integrating nature within building design. By going around the university and photographing the best nature views on grounds, we were surprised at the outstanding number of places where one could simply be doing homework or relaxing and be totally immersed in nature. It is Biophilic design strategies such as these that cities around the world need to begin to implement as a means to address our culture’s nature deficit disorder and bridge the urban-nature divide.

Post by Braden Casady

Observatory Hill Forest

Located just west of University of Virginia’s central campus, Observatory Hill is the largest green space on campus. Observatory Hill offers the University many unique opportunities including environmental, recreational and educational uses. Having an area as large as OHill dedicated to forest has many environmental benefits. First, trees improve both the macro and micro-climate of an area. Trees have a cooling effect and help to combat the “heat island effect” caused by paved areas. Trees are also a key component of mitigating the greenhouse effect by sequestering carbon. Second, improve air quality by serving as natural air filters; they remove dust and pollutants such as CO2 from the air and release O2 back into the air. Lastly, trees improve water quality by reducing storm water runoff. In terms of recreational advantages, Observatory Hill contains many trails that are frequented for hiking, dog walking and biking. These recreational activities allow students and individuals in the Charlottesville community convenient opportunities to enjoy nature. Furthermore, Observatory Hill allows ample options for classes and students to study and learn from the forest, gaining valuable knowledge of ecology, hydrology and much more!

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The Ecology Department at the University has conducted several studies over the years to identify and document the biodiversity of the forest. 2920 trees were identified, covering a range of 31 different species (see chart for species and specie counts). The four dominant species of trees included: Nyssa sylvatica, Quercus prinus, Acer rubrum, and Kalmia latifolia. The largest trees in the forest though were the Quercus prinus and the Liriodendron tulipfera, with basal areas ranging from 24661-5178 cm^2.  The smallest trees were Kalmia latifolia and Nyssa sylvatica, with basal areas ranging from 2-7 cm^2. The biodiversity of the forest supports a rich ecosystem, providing habitats for a plethora of other organisms and ensuring a more sustainable forest.

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Identifying and documenting tree species in an area as large as Observatory Hill can prove to be challenging, but there are many tactics one may use to conduct this task. The method used to study Observatory Hill included plotting out areas and documenting the species located in each plot. First, plots were established using a GPS and marked with rebar and tag. Within the plot,  trees were identified using a tree ID handbook, the distance of the tree from the center of the plot and the angle from North was measured, each tree was marked with tags, and height measurements for a few trees were recorded using a clinometer. Lastly, a 2m transect though the center of the plot was established and all seedlings and trees were counted and measured.

Tree identification has become easier than ever with the rise of computer and telephone applications. Virginia Tech created the Virginia Tech Tree Identification application that allows users to identify trees with just a click of their phone! The application contains information on over 900 North American plants, including pictures and map ranges for each species. The application lays out a series of questions that allows for quick identification of species.

(Source: UVA Ecology Department, Atticus Finch)

Post by Taylor O’Leary

The Bachman Sparrow

When my BioGrounds team first decided to blog on different species of birds, I had no idea where I would find birds to observe on Grounds. I thought Grounds would be difficult due to the lack of large, open green spaces, but this project has opened my eyes to how nature exists in even the most urban areas.

One afternoon, around 12 P.M., I was walking to class from the AFC and heard what seemed like a squabble taking place between a cluster of birds. I stopped and realized how easily I could have missed out on this great bird sighting. I have become so accustomed to birds in my daily life that bird calls no longer spark my attention. My immediate reaction was, “How are there so many birds in this area full of buildings?” Looking again, I realized the large amount of trees, brush, and overall green space located in the alley between the AFC and Gilmer Hall that no one ever gives the time of day. I quickly walked down off the sidewalk until I was completely submerged by trees. I felt as if I was no longer on Grounds going about my busy day, but relocated to a natural ecosystem full of loud bird chirping. I sat down and just listened in hopes of understanding more about the many birds surrounding me.

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Photo by Julia Johnson.

 

Photo by Julia Johnson.
Photo by Julia Johnson.

As I listened, I observed what seemed like a quarrel going on between the birds on one side of the brush and the birds on the other, but the birds perch in the tops of the trees made it almost impossible to identify them. Luckily, minutes later, a swarm of birds flew out of the trees as one side of the brush passed overhead moving towards Gooch/Dillard Housing. From a few that flew lower and stopped on branches within eyesight, I could classify the small but ferocious chirping bird as a Bachman Sparrow. As I continued to sit, listen, and watch for birds, I noted an American Cardinal sitting in the top of one of the largest trees, and a Red Crossbill that landed extremely close to me. Within thirty minutes I had seen three different species of birds! I felt as if I had hit the treasure chest without even realizing this natural space existed. As I left to walk towards my next class, I also noted a large bird’s nest high in one of the overarching trees. This brush located in the midst of the UVa campus had become home to many types of birds.

Photo by Julia Johnson.
Photo by Julia Johnson.
Photo by Julia Johnson.
Photo by Julia Johnson.

Although the Red Crossbill and the American Cardinal were exciting to spot, I wanted to share more about the Bachman Sparrow. The large number of Bachman Sparrows I was able to observe was astounding! Learning more about them through research, I understand how lucky I was to have been in the presence of so many as early as March because they are usually only this far north in the summer. The Bachman Sparrow is a southeastern bird that usually lives in pine woods or oak-palmetto scrub hidden away from humans except for when the breeding males sing from low, exposed branches. Bachman Sparrows are one of the larger sparrows about half a foot long with a long, rounded tail. The coat of a Bachman Sparrow is made up of streaks of gray and brown with a light gray chest and face.1

Although some people might find the Bachman Sparrow less interesting than the Red Crossbill or the American Cardinal, I really enjoyed perceiving how the Bachman Sparrows interacted with each other and learning more about the bird that I see the most frequently while in Virginia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrE6QJySss4 (The Bachman Sparrow song)

Referenced Material:

  1. http://birds.audubon.org/species/bacspa

Post by Julia Johnson