Patuxent Research Refuge--Merganser Pond Trail

The Patuxent Research Refuge has a north entrance that we didn't know about. The refuge is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Refuge was created in 1936 by President Franklin Roosevelt's executive order in 1936. Its mission is to preserve wild lands and wild life along with providing an area for research. At 13,000 acres, it is the largest forested area between Baltimore and Washington. 

We visited during hunting season, so most of the trails were closed to non-hunters. One trail that was open was the Merganser Pond Trail. It loops around Merganser Pond (no surprise there!). The trail is about half a mile, but making the loop is more like a full mile since the trail ends at a road that comes back around to the parking lot. The pond looks tranquil. Approaching the water is impossible due to fences that preserve the flora.

No fishing at the pond

We saw a beaver lodge out in the pond but no beavers. Maybe they know about the hunting?

Well, no fishing for humans, anyway

The trailhead is clearly marked at the edge of the pond. The path leads to an observation area.

Go this way

The observation area

The view from the observation area was not particularly impressive to us. I am sure with binoculars and bird activity, there'd be more to see.

Another side of the pond

The trail then led us into the woods for a pleasantly shaded walk.

Into deeper cover

An easy trail to follow

At one point we found a bridge over a mostly dry stream bed. The kids were disappointed with the lack of water. Boy, did they show it!

Sad at the bridge

Further down the trail, I spotted a snake having a sunny nap. We did not disturb it even though it disturbed my kids. They walked a little faster and more gingerly after the sighting.

Can you find the snake?

The trail has the occasional bird houses set up, most with protective posts. 

No climbing up!

We were surprised to find a road as part of the trail. We should have looked closer at the map!

Even easier to follow this part of the trail

No traffic at all!

Back near the parking lot, a small bat refuge has been set up with housing for the flying rodents.

Info on a stick!

Houses on sticks

At the far end of the parking area is an observation tower that is open to the public. At least, I think it was open to the public. I asked the kids if they wanted to climb up and look around and they declined. Maybe next time I will come back by myself!

Observation tower

Sure looks open to me

The north end of the refuge has plenty of other trails to explore. We'll come back after hunting season!

Patuxent Research Refuge and Wildlife Visitor Center 2019--Agents of Discovery and More

We visited the Patuxent Research Refuge and Wildlife Visitor Center again since they are offering a special app-based Agents of Discovery program.

Visitor center

The program has visitors explore the grounds and answer questions on the local flora. We followed the trails to the first stop, tapped an icon on our smart phone, and answered a question about a nearby tree.

Question on the phone

Finding the holes

Evidence of something fantastic

The holes in the above tree were made by a yellow-bellied sapsucker, a type of woodpecker that eats the sap and any insects that come out of the tree after the holes are made. My son loved the name of the bird.

The trail continued on through the refuge.

View of Lake Reddington

At one point, the app had us look for a trail sign and then examine a nearby tree.

Clue on the app

Clue in real life

After deciphering that mystery, we followed a trail to a small stream and had to figure out which way the water flowed. The app suggested switching on the app's compass but my son pointed out a much easier solution to knowing which way was which.

A compass on the railing!

Another question had us identifying a tree by its leaves, another typical scientific practice.

Tree!

An ad on the trail for what we were already doing

When we got back to the visitor center, my son got a badge for finishing all six missions. We found a map that showed a bunch of other parks in the Washington area using the same app. If we complete six parks, we get an even fancier badge!

Brochure and badge

The visitor center also had some family activities based around colors, camouflage, and butterflies vs. moths. We learned a lot. One fun game had us matching caterpillars to moths or butterflies.

Matching game

Another fun activity was making our own butterfly. We didn't invent a caterpillar to go with it, but maybe next time.

Giving color to our butterfly

A new species

Another board challenged visitors to spot animals camouflaged in natural terrains. We had a tough time spotting them. We didn't feel bad though, because the docents showing us the activity had a tough time too!

Going back to the reserve was fun and we will definitely search out some of the other parks that are hosting Agents of Discovery.

Patuxent Research Refuge and National Wildlife Visitor Center 2018

We visited the National Wildlife Visitor Center in the Patuxent Research Refuge last month. The weather was a shade too hot (unless we were actually in the shade) but we enjoyed going for a hike and seeing the exhibits at the center.

National Wildlife Visitor Center

Inside the desk worker told us about the adventure packs we could borrow. Each backpack includes a scavenger hunt, a bug trap (they told us to release any bugs we trapped), a magnifying glass, a bird directory, and lots of other fun items for the kids. Our prescholar enjoyed using the binoculars but called them "miraculors."

Miracle of not-so-modern technology--making far away things look closer

We debated about which trail to take, finally opting for the 1.4 mile Cash Lake Trail. Our youngest took on the scavenger hunt, immediately looking for spider webs and insects and other items along the way.

Checking the fence for spider webs

"Did you find any?"

The trail includes an oxymoronic "viewing blind" where we could observe wildlife without them observing us. We didn't see much on a late morning with the heat was getting hotter. All the sensible animals were relaxing in the shade somewhere while we looked around for them.

Inside the blind

View of the blind over Cash Lake--wait, I can't see the lake!

The trail leads across the Cash Lake. From the bridge we saw some tadpoles swimming around in the shallow waters.

A massive amount of tadpoles

Tadpole close up

We saw some nice lily pads with yellow flowers but the camera wasn't able to get the bright yellow in the bright sunshine.

Blossoming lily pads

One item on the scavenger hunt we found again and again was the "reptile or amphibian" because the woods were hopping with adult frogs. Some of them were very well camouflaged and we only saw them when we were about to step on them! Moving definitely blew their invisibility.

A frog

Further along the trail we were able to see the waters of Cash Lake.

The lake

A bird house on the lake

We circled around the end of the lake and came upon a fishing pier. Our kids were not interested in fishing which was just fine with us since we have no gear and no license to fish. Also, we parents don't have any skills either.

Fishing pier

The trail also has an outdoor educational center that needs a bit of TLC, or at least a good weeding.

Unused bleachers in the middle of the woods?

By this point we were very hot and headed back to the nature center. After some long drinks at the water fountain, we visited the exhibits. The favorite was the "Be a Whooper!" interactive exhibit. An Xbox Kinect camera would spot visitors and then create Whooping Cranes on the screen that imitated the movements of the visitors. We had a lot of fun there.

Whooping it up!

My daughter tried to take a nap and my youngest son decided to photo bomb her. She took her revenge by photo bombing his nap.

I want to rest too!

Blurry bombing

My daughter finally found a peaceful spot in a simulated bear den. It's actually a well-decorated cardboard stand. I'd like to get one for home if we could find someplace that sells them. I didn't think to check the bookstore, but if you staffers are reading, be sure to stock this popular item!

Hibernating is the real way to nap