One Acre at a Time: The Dragon Run Challenge
In 2026, Friends of Dragon Run has another opportunity to purchase additional acres within the Dragon Run watershed. Click to Find Out More!
Swamp Sightings
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Green Heron by Aves Gill
July 2026 Long-legged waterbirds of the Ardeidae (herons, bitterns, and egrets) are a common sight in Virginia’s wetlands. Dragon Run now welcomes a new member of this family into its waters: the green heron (Butorides virescens). The green heron is on the smaller side, with an adult body length of 17 inches and an adult […]
Resurrection Fern by Kevin Howe
July 2026 Ferns are among the most widespread plants on Earth, occurring on nearly every continent and thriving in habitats ranging from freshwater wetlands to arid deserts. Scientists have identified between 10,000 and 12,000 fern species worldwide, with approximately 380 species found in North America. Virginia is home to about 80 native fern species, and […]
Eastern Fence Lizard by V. Ross Johnson
June 2026 The Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus) is also known as the Pine Tree Lizard for their love of pine trees. In pines, they can climb to escape predators. These absolutely adorable creatures hang-out in open dry forests of all sorts, in fields, old barns and rocks. Often found sitting on rocks and fence posts […]
Eastern Bobcat (Lynx rufus) by Anne Parker
June 2026 Many of us love to document the natural world all around us. We use our phones and our cameras to capture everything we can see, but there are some species that we are not likely to ever see in person. Fortunately, with the help of trail cameras in use on FODR properties, we […]
American Bullfrog by Carol Kauffman
May 2026 The American bullfrog , Lithobates catesbeianus, is the largest species of true frog (Ranidae) in North America. Their average length is 3.6 to 6 inches, and a mature individual can weigh more than a pound. Males are larger than females and have a larger tympanum (external, circular eardrum located behind a frog's eye […]
Orchids in Dragon Run By Kevin Howe
May 2026 Virginia has over 60 species of orchids making it the state with the second most orchid species. You can see an Orchid bloom in every month of the year, somewhere in the state. About 45% of Virginia’s orchids are state-identified as Species of Special Concern, meaning they are rare or threatened in some […]
Forest Terrestrial Salamanders by Kevin Howe
April 2026 In two earlier FODR editions of “Swamp Sightings”, I wrote about two groups of salamanders we have on in and around Dragon Run - Seasonal Wetland species and Stream and Seep species. A third group of salamanders in Virginia are the Forest Terrestrial species. As you might guess from the name, these are […]
Mourning Cloak by Jeff Wright
March 2026 It’s a sign of good things to come when you see your first butterfly of the season. My first this year is February. I’m walking on FODR’s newest property (the 641 acre Farley Park Tract) as a property monitor. There are remnants of snow; but, the winter sunshine provides a tiny hint of […]
Promoting preservation and protection of the Dragon Run watershed