A Place to Rest — or Nest (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this trailside historical marker:

A Place to Rest—or Nest
George Washington Memorial Parkway

Nearly 300 different kinds of birds find food, shelter, or a rest stop in Dyke Marsh. Birds that migrate thousands of miles along the Atlantic Flyway rest here on their way to winter homes in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

Heavy herons and kingfishers fish these waters daily. Nearby trees offer insects for warblers, soft wood for cavity nesters like woodpeckers, and hunting perches for birds of prey. Wood ducks hide among the cattails, where blackbirds and wrens often build their nests.

Dyke Marsh gives birds — and people — something of value with every visit.

(captions)
Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Year-round resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Osprey
Pandio Haliaetus
Breeding resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Melanerpes carolinus
Year-round resident
Photo by

Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Summertime only
Photo by Ed Eder

Great Egret
Ardea alba
Year-round resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Marsh Wren
Cistothorus palustris
Breeding resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Wood duck
Aix sponsa
Year-round resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Northern Parula
Parula americana
Migrant
Photo by Grehard Hofmann

Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Year-round resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Red-winged blackbird
Agelaius phoeniceus
Year-round resident
Photo by Ed Eder

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.