Nearby wilderness:  a field day trip at Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve in Stafford Nov. 8

A field day at Crow’s Nest Natural Area Preserve in Stafford County will be held Nov. 8, starting at 9 a.m. Participants will see various plants and wildlife while on a guided hike through the preserve’s wooded landscape. The guided hikes offer views of the freshwater tidal marsh and open water surrounding the preserve.

The field day is free, but reservations are required. Call 804-786-7951 to reserve a spot. The event is limited to 80, and reservations are first-come, first-served. Driving directions will be provided to those who register.

Participants should wear casual clothes and comfortable shoes, and be prepared to walk up to four miles. The event will take place rain or shine.

Crow’s Nest is a peninsula between Accokeek and Potomac creeks. The 2,872-acre preserve contains mature hardwood forest and some of the best examples of diverse, intact wetlands in the Potomac River drainage basin. It supports habitat for a variety of species, including bald eagles, migratory birds, the federally endangered short-nosed sturgeon and 22 plant species important to Virginia’s Coastal Plain.

Crow’s Nest was designated a natural area preserve in 2009 and is co-owned by Stafford County and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. DCR manages the property as part of the state’s natural area preserve system, which was established in the 1980s to protect significant natural areas and rare-species habitat. Today, the system comprises 61 preserves totaling 55,352 acres.