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Winter may make the outdoors look lifeless, but wildlife across Northern Virginia is already preparing for spring. Eagles are tending eggs, owls are courting, mammals are entering breeding season and migratory birds are getting ready to move.
Bald eagle pairs have mated and are incubating their eggs. Before long, the adults will be raising eaglets in their nests.
Courtship is also underway among barred owls. Pairs may perch close together, bow, bob their heads, lift their wings and call to one another. Great horned owls are mating as well.
At Mason Neck, northern pintail ducks and tundra swans will soon begin their northward journeys to breeding grounds.
Mammals Become More Active
Coyotes and foxes are in their prime breeding season locally. The piercing nighttime mating call of a male fox can be loud enough to wake nearby residents.
White-tailed deer, which breed from late September through February, are now shedding their antlers. Does usually give birth to twins between May and July.
Eastern gray squirrels remain active throughout the year. With branches still bare, their nests—bundles of leaves and twigs known as dreys—are easy to spot about 30 feet above the ground. Males chasing females may be displaying mating behavior, with young typically arriving from March through April.
Chipmunks occasionally leave their burrows to forage during warm winter days. Beavers are also venturing out from their wetland lodges more often, while muskrats become increasingly visible during daylight hours late in the season.
River otters have been seen catching fish and running through Huntley Meadows Park. Natural Resource Manager Chris King said wildlife has faced a difficult winter because of a poor mast crop. Low supplies of acorns and hickory nuts, combined with persistent snow and cold, have made foraging harder.
Fish, frogs and turtles survive winter by slowing their metabolism and burrowing into the ground. Insects use several strategies: some remain dormant, while others overwinter as eggs, larvae, nymphs or pupae. Bees and certain other insects shelter inside hollow plant stems.
Plants and Birds Show Early Signs of Change
American robins and cedar waxwings gather around berry-producing plants such as American holly. Eastern red cedar and poison ivy berries also provide food for many birds.
Leafless poison ivy remains hazardous. Its hairy vines can still cause the same type of rash as the plant’s summer foliage.
Some early buds are beginning to open, and melting February snow exposed blooming snowdrops. Beech and red oak trees still holding last summer’s leaves will soon shed them, while sap will begin rising in maple trees.
What March Will Bring
Spring officially arrives March 20, although March weather can be unpredictable. As temperatures climb, swollen buds will open and overwintering insects and amphibians will emerge.
Male groundhogs will leave hibernation and seek mates. Females give birth about four weeks after mating. Their emergence depends on rising ground and air temperatures, and a prolonged winter can delay both plant growth and mating. Access to food is critical because groundhogs may lose more than half their body weight during hibernation. Despite the familiar folklore, their shadows cannot forecast spring’s arrival.
Ospreys will return from southern wintering areas, mate and repair old nests or construct new ones near waterways. Their bulky nests may appear on platforms, light poles, channel markers, stumps or trees. Also known as fish hawks, ospreys use sharp eyesight, powerful talons and curved beaks to catch fish for their young. A platform at Belle Haven Marina has supported an osprey nest for many years.
Tree swallows, Northern rough-winged swallows and wood ducks will return as well. Bald eagles will begin delivering fish and other prey to their eaglets.
Spring’s plant life will bring contrasting scents and colors. Pungent skunk cabbage will push above the ground, while Virginia bluebells brighten wooded areas.