I did a short bird walk this morning with NVBC. Nothing too special, a quick look at a Field Sparrow. The venue was Fort C.F. Smith Park in Arlington, which turns out to be a charming little pocket park overlooking the river to the north from a slip of land between North 24th Street and the George Washington Parkway. Acquired by the county in 1994 from the Hendry family, the park provides a mix of civilized amenities (it’s popular for weddings) and bird-friendly features (see the area managed for meadow in the right part of this image). We walked for a short time with David Farner, park manager, who pointed out activity to control invasive English Ivy.
The property is prized by historians, as ruins of the earthworks that comprised Ft. Smith are still visible. Built in 1863, he fort was part of the perimeter protecting Washington from Confederate attack from the south and west.