To protect the birds, park staff sometimes restrict access to parts of the cliff during breeding season.Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 05:01:34 Associated-names Berenstain, Jan, 1923-2012, author Boxid IA40026207 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier They were absent from Harpers Ferry NHP for many years, but a pair began nesting on the Maryland Heights cliffs in 2015. Peregrine falcon populations plummeted due to DDT, but have rebounded in the past few decades. On very rare occasions, you may see peregrine falcons making spectacular dives from the Maryland Heights cliffs to catch other birds, including songbirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds.Red-shouldered hawks nest each spring on Virginius Island.Watch migrating sparrows and warblers from South Schoolhouse Ridge Battlefield in spring or fall.Witness fall hawk migration (mid- to late September) from the Bolivar Heights Battlefield.Look among flowering plants for bees and butterflies. In wet areas, look on reedy vegetation for dragonflies.You might be able to find tracks of deer, raccoons, birds, and other animals in the wet bare soil along a river or stream.

If you’re near a river or stream on a sunny day, you may see turtles sunning on logs or rocks.

In early spring, after a rain, listen for the calls of frogs, and look for salamanders under logs and wet leaves.

After the leaves have fallen in autumn, last summer’s nests are much easier to spot!

Look up to find nests of squirrels and birds.Look for squirrels chattering in the trees, eastern box turtles ambling through the leaves, and red foxes or coyotes out looking for a mouse to eat. To see and hear more wildlife, find a comfortable spot and sit quietly for a while.While hiking, you’re likely to see and hear birds, especially in the spring when the males are singing to attract mates and defend their territories.Shenandoah River / Virginius Island in warm months

Successional Red-cedar Forest at Murphy-Chambers Farm Open fields at Murphy-Chambers Farm, Bolivar HeightsĬommon in open fields in spring and summer Mid- to late September during fall migrationĬommon over the fields at Murphy-Chambers Farm Poecile atricapillus or Poecile carolinensisĬommon all year (difficult to tell these two species apart) When / Where / Likelihood of Seeing or HearingĬommonly heard during spring mating seasonĬommon late winter to early summer soaring overheadīlack-capped chickadee or Carolina chickadee

The berenstain bears the sitter