Observation platform ready for use at Innovation Pond

The long awaited observation platform is now “open for business” at Innovation Pond at the end of Discovery Boulevard (in Bristow/Manassas), according to a news release from Prince William Conservation Alliance.

While most of the surrounding acreage has been built out (the 2 Silos brewery and a data center), people can enjoy wildlife visitors year round due to the hard work of local residents in completing this restoration project.

Historically this has been a great place for birds with many ducks and geese during the winter months. Dave Larsen reports many remarkable sightings there:  American Avocet, Sora, Dickcissel, Nelson’s Sparrow.

There was a great flurry of shorebird activity the summer the pond was partiallly drained and replanted, with Least, Semipalmated, Spotted, Solitary, and Pectoral sandpipers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plovers, Killdeer, and even a Short-billed Dowitcher.