Since 2007, Frederick County’s Watershed Management Section (WMS) has been building an Urban Wetlands Program in a pilot watershed, Bennett Creek.  The Bennett Creek watershed is located in the southern part of the county, near Urbana, MD, with its headwaters in Montgomery County.  The long-term goal of the pilot project is to develop a program that maintains data on current wetland locations and conditions in the County.  The pilot project is funded through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed through the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE).  One of the objectives under the grant includes conducting habitat assessments for amphibians, birds, and vegetation.  A more in depth discussion of the project and its objectives can be found here.

ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

10 species of amphibians and 5 species of reptiles (list), 78 species of birds (list), and 172 species of vegetation (list) have been identified during the past three assessment seasons (2007, 2008, and 2009).  WMS currently has funding to continue assessments during the 2010 assessment season and has applied for additional grant funding to continue assessments through 2012.

Click here for a list of amphibian species by site by year. 
Click here for a list of bird species by site by year.

FROGS

There are 19 species of frogs found in Maryland but not all are found in Frederick County, as mentioned in the “Sounds of Spring” article. Over the past three years, 8 species of frogs have been identified in the pilot watershed, but none of the sites had all 8 kinds of frogs.  Six species of frogs was the highest number found at a site and 2 was the lowest number found at a site.  Three species (American Toad, Northern Green Frog, and Northern Spring Peeper) were found at all or most of the assessment sites, while two species (Pickerel Frog and Cricket Frog) were found at only one or two sites.

The grey treefrog is my favorite because it is actually green when it first turns from a tadpole into a juvenile frog:

Juvenile Grey Tree Frog (Photo taken by Jessica Hunicke)

Adult Tree Frog (Photo taken by John White)

BIRDS

Over 400 species of birds have been identified in Maryland.  78 different species have been identified since 2007 during assessments performed for the Urban Wetlands Program.  As with the frogs, there were no sites that had all 78 species of birds.  The site with the greatest number of species had 53 different kinds of birds while the site with the fewest species had 29.  Five species of birds (American Crow, American Goldfinch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Northern Cardinal, and Song Sparrow) were found at all of the sites.  These birds are very common especially in urban areas.  The presence and/or absence of different species of birds is very dependent on the surrounding landscape.  Some birds like field habitats while others you can only find in the forest and there are many, such as those listed above that you can find almost anywhere.

The male American Goldfinch and the male Northern Cardinal are very easy to identify by site because of their color.  The American Goldfinch is bright yellow with black wings and the Northern Cardinal is bright red with a top notch on its head.  The Brown-headed Cowbird is actually considered to be a parasitic species meaning its survival is at the expense of another species.  Brown-headed Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests.  When the eggs hatch, the Brown-headed Cowbird juvenile is more aggressive during feeding times, grows faster than the other young, and often pushes the other young out of the nest.

American Goldfinch (Photo taken by G. Bailey)

  Photo taken by Terry Sohl

My favorite bird is the Indigo Bunting.  Its bright blue color reminds me of a flying Easter egg and I know that summer has arrived in Maryland when I see my first one of the season.

Indigo Bunting (Photo taken by Lang Elliot)
 

VEGETATION

As mentioned above, 172 species of vegetation have been identified during the assessments performed for the Urban Wetlands Program.  We have made an effort to identify both native and non-native plant species as well as wetland and upland plant species.  You might be wondering what makes a plant a wetland species.  It has to do with the amount of water the plant can tolerate during the growing season.  Because plants can’t move like animals, they develop certain adaptations that allow them to survive. Some of these adaptations provide more stability and support while others help them take up the oxygen they need to make food.

“Knees” (Photo by Steve Nix)

Floating/buoyant leaves

Shallow roots (Link to original image)
 Flutes trunks (Link to original image)