Episode 129 (September 24, 2012): Trains and Rivers

Click to listen to episode (2:03).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of September 24, 2012.

This week we feature a series of mystery sounds.  Actually, the sounds will be easily recognizable, but the mystery is—what’s their connection to water?  Have a listen for about 20 seconds.

SOUNDS.

You’ve been listening to railroad clatter and a warning horn from trains recorded along the New River in Montgomery County, Virginia; along the Roanoke River in Roanoke County, Virginia; and along the Potomac River near Pawpaw, West Virginia.  Many railroad lines developed along river courses that provided passageways through mountain ridges, or where cities and other commercial centers had originally located to take advantage of river-based transportation and commerce.  Other Virginia examples include active rail lines along parts of the Clinch, James, and Shenandoah rivers, as well as former lines now converted to recreational trails, such as the Chessie Nature Trail along the Maury River in Rockbridge County, the Guest River Gorge Trail in Wise County, and the New River Trail State Park from Galax to Pulaski.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES

Photos

(Above) Swinging pedestrian bridge view toward railroad cars across the James River from downtown Buchanan, Virginia (Botetourt County), September 19, 2010.

This February 11, 2009, view from Scottsville, Virginia (Albemarle County), shows the town’s James River flood gate in foreground, the railroad line in middle ground, and trees along the river bank in the background.

Acknowledgments:   The connection between railroad lines and rivers was previously featured as part of Episode 25 (week of July 19, 2010).

Sources and more information: For one example of the development of different transportation means along a river course, see “Scottsville Transportation” at the Web site of The Scottsville Museum, http://scottsvillemuseum.com/transportation/home.html.  Information about the history of transportation along the Potomac River is available at the National Park Service’s Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Web site, at http://www.nps.gov/choh/index.htm.  The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDFIG) provides information about the Chessie Nature Trail online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/vbwt/site.asp?trail=2&loop=MRR&site=MRR02, and about the Guest River Gorge Trail online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/vbwt/site.asp?trail=2&loop=MAW&site=MAW03 (both are featured in the VDFIG’s Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail Guide).  Information about New River Trail State Park is available from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, online at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/new.shtml.

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Episode 128 (September 17, 2012): Northern Neck Chantey Singers

This episode has been replaced by Episode 635, 8-29-22.

Episode 127 (September 10, 2012): Green Heron

Click to listen to episode (2:13).

Please see below (after the transcript and show notes) for links to news and upcoming events.

TRANSCRIPT

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of September 10, 2012.

This week we feature another mystery sound.  Have a listen for about 20 seconds, and see if you can guess what’s making these squawks, squeaks, and cackles.  And here’s a hint: The landscape is probably green if you’re hear-on these sounds in Virginia.

SOUND.

If you guessed a Green Heron, you’re right!  Green Herons are common summer residents in all kinds of freshwater and marine habitats throughout Virginia and much of the United States.  They’re rarely seen in Virginia during the winter, which they spend along the southern U.S. coasts and in Central and South America.  Green Herons are one of the smallest herons found in North America; they’re only about one-third as tall as the continent’s largest heron, the Great Blue.  They can make a variety of sounds for different situations, including  raising an alarm, advertising for a mate, or defending a nest.  The birds are predators on fish, frogs, and other aquatic animals, and they’re remarkable for their practice of dropping leaves, live insects, or other materials onto the water surface as lures for their prey.  Thanks to Lang Elliott for permission to use this week’s sound.

For other water sounds and music, and for more Virginia water information, visit our Web site at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463.  From the Virginia Water Resources Research Center in Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

SHOW NOTES 

Green Heron photo by Gary Kramer, made available for public use the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library, online at http://digitalmedia.fws.gov, accessed 9-10-12.

Immature Green Heron at Claytor Lake State Park near Dublin, Va., September 23, 2012.  Photo by Alan Raflo.


Acknowledgments:  The sounds of the Green Heron were taken from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott, whose work is available online at http://www.langelliott.com/ and the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/ (as of 9/10/12).  Sounds of Green Herons were used previously as part of a longer Virginia Water Radio episode (#48, week of January 10, 2011).

Sources and More Information: The scientific name of Green Heron is Butorides virescens.  Information on Green Herons was taken from the Wildlife Information Database maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, online at http://vafwis.org/fwis/?Title=VaFWIS+Species+Information (as of 7/9/12); A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America, by Chandler S. Robbins et al. (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001); and the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology’s “Bird Guide” Web site at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search, and the Cornell lab’s “Birds of North America Online” at http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna.  Both Cornell sites include photos, distribution maps, recordings of calls, and ecological information on birds throughout the Western Hemisphere; a subscription is required to use the “Birds of North America Online” site.
 

For more information about birds or bird-watching in Virginia, visit the Web site of the Virginia Society of Ornithology at www.virginiabirds.net; or the “Wildlife Information” Web page of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/, which includes the March 2010 “Official List of Native and Naturalized Fauna of Virginia” (as of 9/10/12).

Recent Virginia Water News

            For news relevant to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Virginia Water Central News Grouper, available online at http://vawatercentralnewsgrouper.wordpress.com/.

Water Meetings and Other Events

            For events related to Virginia's water resources, please visit the Quick Guide to Virginia Water–related Conferences, Workshops, and Other Events, online at http://virginiawaterevents.wordpress.com/.  The site includes a list of Virginia government policy and regulatory meetings occurring in the coming week.

Episode 126 (September 3, 2012): "Cumberland Gap" by Dwight Diller and Timothy Seaman

This episode has been replaced by Episode 544, 9-28-20.