Monticello Birders,
Louis J. Halle wrote in his classic book, SPRING IN WASHINGTON, "Man's
sanity and his deepest satisfaction come from the occurrence of the
expected....When the first wood thrush does arrive, as predicted, and I
hear it singing across the street as I wake up in the morning, I am
filled with unutterable astonishment and delight. Bravo the wood
thrush! O immutable world, that goes on and on in spite of all the
disorder that man engenders within the sphere of his own confinement!"
The Wood Thrush and all the other spring migrants, along with so many
familiar human faces, are predicable at Monticello Park every May. How
do we communicate to the uninitiated that this place is a treasure?
The value of the park to migrants as it exists right now is
indisputable. Yet, I suspect there are far more invasive plants than
native plants in the park in the spring of 2003. These exotic plants
were all introduced by well-meaning people at some point in time. Oh,
but that we had had the wisdom and foresight to recognize the threat of
invasive plants when they were making their first inroads. Now, English
ivy has spread down from many backyards on either side of the park and
in many places blankets the forest floor and is racing to the canopies
of many trees. Multiflora rose has established itself in many areas in
large impenetrable masses, and of course there is honeysuckle and more.
The reality is that birds have made accommodations to the changing
landscape. A week or so ago, I watched 4 Hermit Thrushes at one time
eating the berries of English ivy. The hips of the multiflora rose are
eaten by birds and the honeysuckle provides the necessary cover for the
birds that bathe in the stream. Sad, but true, rose is currently
protecting portions of the banks from erosion.
We need to ask what will replace the multiflora rose and honeysuckle
along the banks? What are the plans for the ivy which is now far more
pervasive at Monticello than the bush honeysuckle? The seeds for all of
these invasive plants are present in the park right now, and will arise
again unless replaced with something else. As long as our local
nurseries sell English ivy, honeysuckle, and many other exotic plants,
people will plant them, they will continue to escape from yards, and
penetrate our parks.
I hear only about removal of invasives and nothing about replacement.
Is it expected that native plants will quickly fill the vacuum? What
would it take in labor and money to actually "replace the natural
ecology of Monticello," as suggested by Marianne Mooney? Is this truly
feasible at this late date?
Any plan to remove invasive plants in the first week of May strikes me
as a plan which incorporates no understanding of, or sensitivity to,
bird migration. This work was not just "disturbing the birders," but
the birds as well.
Paula Sullivan
Alexandria
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