About the Origin of the Dulles Wetlands:
A partnership was formed between Dulles Greenway and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy in 1996 when the private 149-acre wetlands preserve was established during the construction of the Dulles Greenway roadway to mitigate the loss of roughly 64 acres of federally protected wetlands. This wetlands mitigation provided a 2:1 replacement ratio for forested wetlands and 1.5:1 replacement ratio for emergent wetlands.
A huge aspect of the Dulles Greenway Wetlands partnership is educational value for the community. The chariatiable contributions of the Dulles Greenway over the past 25 years have fostered the use of the wetlands for local wildlife education among residents and local school districts. The funds have contributed to the initiatives Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy upholds, to support citizen science and habitat conservation. More than 90 educational programs and field trips are held at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands for over 2,400 local residents annually.
The Dulles Wetlands Ecosystem and Wildlife:
The Dulles Greenway Wetlands is a vibrant thriving ecosystem to a wide variety of plant and animal species. Many of the rare bird species recorded in the Birds of Loudoun: A Guide Based on the 2009-2014 Loudoun Country Bird Atlas were found almost exclusively at the Dulles Greenway Wetlands. In fact, 158 bird species were recorded on the Dulles Greenway Wetlands, including Great Blue Herons, American Egrets, Green Herons, Mallards, Black Ducks, Green-winged Teals, Red-tailed Hawks, Wilson's Snipe, Sandpipers and nesting Bald Eagles as seen in this live video feed. These diverse wetlands are home to other wildlife, including red foxes, deer, beavers, river otters, painted turtles, snapping turtles and box turtles.
About the Dulles Wetlands Eagle Nest:
This live cam setup includes two live webcams and audio for this Bald Eagle's nest about 40 feet up in an oak tree beside a creek. The two bald eagles have been nesting at this site since around 2005, their nest is estimated to weigh nearly a ton. The nesting seasons previous history has only up until this point been documented from the ground.