The entrance to the trail section of the park is located at 2001 Rokeby Ave., at Main St. located south of Military Highway. The park is part of the city-wide system operated by the Chesapeake Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.
History
The Chespian Indians originally used this land, once part of the north edge of Buck Trout Swamp, for hunting and
fishing before the arrival of the European colonists. The colonists then divided the area into land
grants during the 1600's. Their
descendants used the land for farming for the next two centuries. A county map from 1887 shows this land as
undeveloped woods. In 1904, a real
estate company gave these 90 acres to the City of Norfolk for a park. But the park continued to be mostly
untouched for the next 100 years. In
2001, the City of Chesapeake formally acquired the park. In 2013, the Friends of Indian River started
work on a nature trail so visitors could learn more about the interesting
natural areas of the park.
Wildlife
in the Park
A wide
variety of wildlife exists in Indian River Park. Mammals include raccoon, fox
and gray squirrel. Birds such as
Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, Chickadees and Wren live in these
forests. Snapping turtles and garter snakes
have been observed, as well as small minnows in the pools in this section of
the river. A wide variety of
butterflies, dragonflies, bees and other insects make this their home.
Many more
species of wildlife are present in the park than are usually seen. Some are
nocturnal, coming out only at night in search of food. These are less likely to
be encountered on your walk on this trail. Others are diurnal, feeding during
the daylight hours. You may be fortunate enough to observe some of these;
however, most will remain hidden.
The practice
of good observation skills increases your chances of sighting more wildlife.
·
Walk slowly, stopping often; Sit still and wait
for wildlife to show itself;
·
Look up, down and all around; look for
footprints, nests and burrows
·
Listen carefully for sounds, indicating the
presence of wildlife; Learn to identify birds by their songs;
·
Study the habitat, feeding and behavior
characteristics of specific wildlife species;
·
Learn the signs of the different species of
wildlife such as their scat (droppings), feathers, fur, and skin.
River
and Forest
This forest
forms an important buffer for the headwaters of the Indian River.The forest also has a “well connected” flood plain. After heavy rains, the river is able to spread across the forest floor and slowly soaking into the ground. This buffer provides many benefits including:
·
Slowing the water flow to reduce erosion of the
stream banks,
·
Letting the forest absorbs fertilizers and
pollutants washed in from the surrounding neighborhood,
· Having larger trees and plants shade and cool
the water; cooler water holds more oxygen needed by fish.
By providing
these services, the water flowing out of the park is much cleaner. This greatly helps us work to clean the
entire Indian River and Chesapeake Bay.
Nature Trail
What are the distances of the trails?
ReplyDeleteThe nature trail loop is less than 0.5 miles. There are several additional miles of trails winding along the length of the park.
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