Photo by Michael Pollack, courtesy of MPNature
Black-Throated Blue Warbler
One of the many images of birds found on the MPNature website.
Naturalist and photographer Ashley Bradford and writer Bill Young have created MPNature, devoted to Alexandria's Monticello Park, which is internationally known for attracting a large number of migrating songbirds each spring. We discovered this information courtesy of One Good Tern, an Alexandria store at 1710 Fern St., that offers birding gear. Young kindly answered questions from Alexandria Living Magazine about the birds and the park:
Q: Monticello Park is a haven for migrating songbirds in April and May — what is it about the park that makes it so attractive to them?
A: There are two main factors. 1. Monticello Park is on a tree-covered ridge, and migrating birds see this small oasis of trees as a place to land and feed. 2. The park has a stream running through it, and many birds who usually stay high in the trees come down to drink and bathe.
Q: What type of birds should people look for?
A: Monticello Park is best known for its spring migrating songbirds, many of whom are very colorful. Birders can see warblers, as well as tanagers, vireos, orioles, grosbeaks, buntings, thrushes, flycatchers, kinglets, hummingbirds, and a lot more.
Q: Which birds are the most rare to see?
A: You can never count on seeing a rare bird. The rarity of birds is not as important as being able to get good looks at birds who are difficult to see at other birding locales. The park is only 6.25 acres, and if birds are in the park, people have a reasonable chance to see them. Many larger parks have more birds, but seeing them is much more difficult, because they are spread out across a larger area. Species such as the Gray-cheeked Thrush can be very difficult to find in other places, but during the second and third weeks in May, they are commonly seen at Monticello. The Magnolia Warbler, who is on the masthead of the MPNature.com website, can be difficult to find in a lot of places, but it is relatively common at Monticello during some parts of the spring.
Q: Is there a particular songbird whose "song" is most popular that flocks to the park?
A: The park in the spring contains a lot of different birdsong. Year-round residents such as cardinals and robins are commonly heard. Among the migrants, Wood Thrushes sometimes nest in the park, and their beautiful, haunting song can be heard. The song of the Hooded Warbler is a favorite of many birders. Some people develop mnemonics for remembering birdsong, and the mnemonic for the Hooded Warbler is "I wanna rent a video."
Q: Is there a time of day that's best to see birds at the park?
A: Monticello Park does not follow the rules for the time of day when people are most likely to see birds. At most other birding locations, people try to arrive early in the morning, because migrating birds who have been flying all night tend to actively feed during the first four hours of daylight. After that, the birds often rest, and there is little activity. At Monticello, almost any time of day can be active. People can see birds early in the morning, in the middle of the day, or in the late afternoon. The park can be quiet during one hour and then very active the next.
Q: What do the birds eat when they're at the park?
A: What birds eat depends upon the species. Most migrating songbirds need a lot of energy, so they have a diet high in protein. They eat insects, cankerworms, caterpillars, spiders and other arthropods. The park has a lot of dead trees, so sometimes if there is a termite hatch, a lot of songbirds come down to Hoover up the bonanza. Other species eat seeds and berries from the plants.
Q: How long do the songbirds stay?
A: How long the songbirds stay depends on a number of conditions. If flying conditions are favorable, they might stay for only a day. If conditions are unfavorable, they might hang around for a few days. The length of the stay also depends on how much they were able to fatten up on their wintering grounds before they started. If they had a lot of food on their wintering grounds, they might not stay long. If they did not fatten up enough during the winter, they might have to stop and feed for longer periods during their migration. In addition to how long individual birds stay, you also need to look at the date range when a particular species is most likely to be seen. We have compiled lists for the website based on the dates when each species is most likely to be seen. You can download a list for each date in April and May showing which migrant species have been seen more than twice on that date, how many have been seen one-to-two times, resident birds, and which migrants you should also look for.
Q: Where are the birds coming from and where do they go when they leave?
A: The migrant birds come from many different places – the Caribbean islands, Central America, South America, the southern United States. Some of the migrants stay to nest in or near the Washington area. Some leave and head to states up north. Some go to Canada.
Q: Do "birders" come from all over to see the birds? Where do they come from?
A: Monticello Park is now well known to the birding community throughout the country and internationally. Because of the internet, birders visiting the Washington area from the West Coast or from Europe have easy access to information about Monticello. We even sometimes get visitors from Maryland. That might sound like a joke, but a lot of birders from Virginia do not like to go to Maryland, and a lot of birders from Maryland do not like to come to Virginia. But in recent years, I have seen more and more Maryland birders coming to Monticello, which shows what a special place it is.
Q: Is there an etiquette to bird-watching? Any "do's" or "don'ts"?
A: The most important rule is do not disturb or harass the birds. Monticello Park is small, and the paths are narrow. You should be considerate toward other birders, both when passing other people on the paths and in not blocking the paths. You should also try to be as "invisible" as possible. What frightens birds the most is rapid movements, so when you are in the field, try to move in a slow and deliberate manner.
Q: Is there anything someone can do to attract songbirds to their own backyard?
A: Probably the best way to attract the greatest variety of birds to your yard is to put out a source of water. Not all birds eat birdseed from feeders, but all birds need water for drinking and bathing. A water source can be especially good during the spring migration.
Q: Does the park have set hours?
A: Monticello Park belongs to the City of Alexandria, and park hours are from sunrise to sunset, except by permitted use.
Q: How long has the park been attracting songbirds?
A: The community surrounding the park is known as Beverley Hills, and it has been around since the 1930s. I first heard about the songbirds migrating through Monticello Park in the 1970s, but I don't know how much people knew about it as a birding locale before that.
Q: Any tips for photographing birds?
A: Monticello Park is a great place for photographing birds. Many species who spend much of their time in the canopy occasionally come down to bathe in the stream, giving photographers a great opportunity to take photos at close range. From an etiquette standpoint, we ask that people not use flash. We don't know whether it disturbs the birds, but we do know that it disturbs other birders and especially other photographers who are shooting video. You should be able to take good photos without using a flash.
Q: Anything else we need to know?
The MPNature website went online in February 2018. It is still a work in progress. The bird section features more than 120 species who visit the park. The plant section, which is still not complete, has more than 130 species. Next year, we hope to add a section on insects and spiders. The website that Ashley Bradford and I have created is devoted to the principle that people are not likely to want to protect the environment until they love it, and they are not likely to love it unless they understand it. Monticello Park is a wonderful resource in Northern Virginia, and we hope that what we are doing will encourage more people to understand and love it as much as we do.
Also, this school year, the students at Alexandria Country Day School are studying the nature at Monticello Park. They have received a grant from the city of Alexandria to provide improvements to the park, including a new bench and a new picnic table. They deserve a lot of credit for the initiative they are taking to make Monticello Park a more enjoyable place to visit.
Read more about Monticello Park, including directions on how to find it, here.
