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New Brinkley Stewards
We have five new stewards at Brinkley! We met last week for orientation and introductions and a walk around the preserve. They all Knew each other as they are Class of 2025 graduates. Lots of Cananda Geese on the pond along with a few buffleheads, hooded mergansers, and a black duck or two. Sparrows…
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Magothy Bay and Savage Neck Dunes Natural Area Preserves Maintenance and Clean-up
Each spring, chapter members work alongside DCR Natural Heritage Stewardship staff to trim back vegetation encroaching on the trail through an area of the preserve that was restored by planting thousands of native shrubs in 2009 and 2010. This year, on Thursday May 22nd, four DNH staff and seven volunteers were able to ensure safe traverse of the…
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Minimizing Springtime Reptile Encounters
As the weather becomes more temperate you may encounter more free-roaming turtles or snakes. As a retired veterinarian from South Hampton Roads, Virginia, I treated a variety of wildlife. May and June tended to be our busiest time for reptiles including Woodland Box Turtles, freshwater turtles such as Red-Eared Sliders and Painted Turtles, and the…
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Brinkley Stewards At Work
Stewards at Ned Brinkley preserve have had several workdays over the last four months to get some invasive plant species there under control. We all realize that this is going to be a long-term project and will require more workdays and repeated attempts at removal. A number of us met in November and walked the…
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CCNAP Stewardship Report
March 22, 2025 Master naturalists perform stewardship duties at the Eastern Shore Natural Area Preserves that are open to the public. Volunteer Bob Suppa reports on his recent spring stewardship walk at the Cape Charles Natural Area Preserve. It was Saturday and a perfect third day of spring as the sun was shining, a few…
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Trees are Tree-mendous
I used to live next to a little patch of woodland. Recently, the land was sold and the underbrush and old trees were cleared. Here on Chincoteague Island, most undeveloped lots are getting cleared these days, even the lots that flood during heavy rains and king tides, demand for holiday and retirement homes is so…
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ESMN: 2024 In Review, By the Numbers
Eastern Shore Master Naturalists were busy in 2024. Motivated by a desire to protect our natural resources via stewardship, support scientific inquiry, and educate our community, it is a privilege to be a part of this select group, and to have the knowledge and opportunity to serve as we do. Because our efforts require specialized…
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Chincoteague Bird Walk Gets Them Asking for More!
“My ambition is to see a kingfisher. That would really make my day,” a beginner bird watcher said. And as if on cue, there was the distinctive rattle of a belted kingfisher. It flashed white and blue in the early morning sun, darted high above us and zigzagged over the top of some loblolly pines. We followed its…
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Managing Invasive Species at Mutton Hunk Fen NAP
With funds from the Virginia Department of Forestry and support from DCR procurement staff, the Coastal Region was able to establish a contract with a qualified company to conduct invasive species management activities at Mutton Hunk Fen Natural Area Preserve. On May 28th and 29th, DNH staff met the contractor staff on site to begin the efforts. Much of their…
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Magothy Bay NAP Annual Trail Maintenance Day
Each spring, ESMN volunteers from the Eastern Shore Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists work alongside DCR Natural Heritage Stewardship staff to trim back vegetation encroaching on the trail through an area of the preserve that was restored by planting thousands of native shrubs in 2009 and 2010. On June 4, four DCR DNH staff…
Eastern Shore Master Naturalists
Managing and preserving the Eastern Shore of Virginia’s natural resources and natural areas through education, outreach, citizen science, and stewardship.