After spending yesterday morning at Dyke Marsh, Alexandria, I stopped by the
Hunting Gardens apartments to check out the mudflats. This has been a
somewhat depressing chore as they have been mostly barren of shorebirds -
possibly due to the destruction activity nearby. I was able to talk to one
of the destruction guys as I was curious about the filling and grading that
was going on away from the road widening project.
Apparently, right next to the road, there will be a planted berm, similar to
the one in front of Porto Vecchio. Down the slope and close to the creek, I
was told is a "mitigation" project. This was a little confusing since they
seem to be changing some viable wetlands. On the plus side, they did rip out
a lot of the invansives - it'll be interesting to see how long it takes them
to come back. The plan, as I was told, is to create a pond which I'm guessing
will filter runoff from the parking lot and roadway. I was also told, that
the landscaper will be planting "13,000" plants in and around the pond. The
list follows...no, just kidding... All this work is supposed to be done by
the end of June. (I asked if they could build us an observation platform and
was looked at askew.) This work is being done by VDOT or their contractors.
This may be a small light at the end of the "Alexandria Gateway" project.
Seems like we'll know pretty soon what it will look like when it's done. On
an even brighter note...I did see 3 Killdeer and my first L. Sandpipers (6)
on the flats later in the afternoon.
Rich Rieger
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