Nanticoke Watershed Alliance

Nanticoke Watershed Alliance Dialogue, partnerships and progress in conserving the Nanticoke River watershed.
(1)

: Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a mostly evergreen shrub with dark, glossy leaves that grows 5-10 ft. tall...
06/04/2026

: Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) is a mostly evergreen shrub with dark, glossy leaves that grows 5-10 ft. tall and wide. It prefers full sun to part shade and thrives in a wide range of soil types (including salty), as long as they are well-drained. Most bayberry shrubs are dioecious, meaning that each plant has only male or female flowers. If a male bayberry is present, females produce waxy greyish berries that are often used to make soaps and candles. They spread into thick hedges by root suckering which helps with erosion control, also attracting birds by providing not only berries to eat, but a dense coverage for protection. Bayberry is also the larval host for the Columbia silkmoth.

📷: Photo 1: Gardenia, Photo 2: Ivo Novak

: Lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) is a 2-4 ft tall aquatic plant found in ditches, marshes, and lowlands, growing in m...
06/03/2026

: Lizard’s tail (Saururus cernuus) is a 2-4 ft tall aquatic plant found in ditches, marshes, and lowlands, growing in mud or up to 4 in of freshwater. Its drooping lances of tiny white flowers are a summertime feast for many pollinators, including wasps and bees. In fall, the flowers yield to grey-green warty fruit that give its look of a lizard’s tail. The flowers, leaves, and fruit are fragrant with notes of citrus and sassafras. Its spade-shaped leaves are a favorite food of turtles. Lizard’s tail colonizes quickly by rhizomes, providing cover and food for a variety of aquatic wildlife, from wood ducks to tiny underwater insects.

📷: Photo 2: Sally and Andy Wasowski

There are lots of exciting birding opportunities coming up! 🦆☀️• June 12–14: Songbirds of the Swamp – Snow Hill, MD• Jun...
06/01/2026

There are lots of exciting birding opportunities coming up! 🦆☀️

• June 12–14: Songbirds of the Swamp – Snow Hill, MD
• June 21: Broad Creek Kayak Excursion – Laurel, DE
• 2026 Smith Island Pelican Tours – Chesapeake Bay
• Sept. 25–27: 78th Annual MOS Convention – Salisbury, MD

Visit https://delmarvabirding.com/ to learn more!

: Wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) is a low-growing (less than 12 in. tall) spring groundcover that you might find a...
05/27/2026

: Wood anemone (Anemone quinquefolia) is a low-growing (less than 12 in. tall) spring groundcover that you might find along woodland borders in moist to mucky soils. The leaves look similar to flat-leafed parsley, with its thin stalks and dusky green, jagged leaflets. Early spring brings delicate star-shaped blossoms of white, green brown, pink, or purple that provide nectar for early pollinators like mining bees, sweat bees, and bee flies. In late spring, fluffy seeds form, attached to elaiosomes, or “food bodies,” a special treat for insects such as ants. The insects feed on the elaiosomes to get essential nutrients, lipids, and amino acids and in the process, they spread the seeds in the surrounding soil. Wood anemone is a spring ephemeral, falling dormant in the hotter months to focus energy on preserving its roots.

📷: Photo 1: Phil Patrie, Photo 2: Stephanie Brundage, Photo 3: Joshua Mayer

: Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is a low, graceful deciduous shrub that grows in wet pine woods and swamps. Alth...
05/26/2026

: Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is a low, graceful deciduous shrub that grows in wet pine woods and swamps. Although found naturally in part shade, it blooms best and shows its best fall color if it gets 4 hours of sun a day. Tiny white flowers blossom in spires at the ends of its slender arching branches, feeding pollinators with its nectar in mid-spring. Branches are tinged with red year-round, and leaves turn a vibrant burgundy in late autumn. Dusky red fruit capsules bear pointed seeds that birds enjoy in fall. Virginia sweetspire shrubs spread quickly by root suckering, forming thick colonies that provide cover for wildlife year-round. It might also be a gorgeous erosion control option for the wooded garden.

📷: Photo 1: Famartin, Photo 2: Wouter Hagens< Photo 3: Salicyna, Photo 4: James Reveal

: Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) shrubs grow 5-12 ft. tall in full sun to part shade and moist, rich soils. They form...
05/21/2026

: Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) shrubs grow 5-12 ft. tall in full sun to part shade and moist, rich soils. They form colonies easily from root suckers, sprawling along the edges of streambanks, woodlands, pondsides, and ditches. The compound leaves can reach up to 12 in. long, with 4-10 large, oval leaflets each. Early summer brings large clusters of tiny, white, lemony flowers that contain no nectar. Elderberry pollen is a rich source of protein for several bees and other palynivores (creatures that eat pollen.) Purplish-black fruit forms in late summer that is toxic to humans if eaten uncooked, but a feast for birds and wildlife! Elderberry shrubs are also the sole larval host to the Elderberry Longhorn beetle (Desmocerus palliatus): the female lays her eggs near the base of the shrub, then the hatchlings bore into the roots to feed. Adult beetles eat the leaves and pollen, repelling their predators with elderberry’s toxic chemicals.

📷: Photo 1: Wynn Anderson, Photo 2: R.W. Smith, Photo 3: Beth Wasden

: Haircap moss (Polytrichum commune) grows about 6 in. tall in moist, humid sandy woods and pine stands. Its bright eve...
05/20/2026

: Haircap moss (Polytrichum commune) grows about 6 in. tall in moist, humid sandy woods and pine stands. Its bright evergreen, needle-like leaves stick straight out from the stem like a green bottle-brush, when moisture conditions are just right. If the weather is dry, haircap moss might go dormant, and the leaves will turn a bit brown and fold inward. Haircap moss is dioecious, meaning that male and female plants are separate. In spring, rain washes the male s***m onto the female egg, forming a hairy-capped sporophyte (spore capsule), which sprouts on a tall stem above the plant to release spores into the wind. Haircap moss forms thick colonies that provide shelter for some of our tiniest wildlife: insects, microscopic fungi, and tiny animals that help decompose matter on the forest floor called “rotifers.”

📷: Photo 1: Claire Haplin, Photo 2: Tedi Kohinke, Photo 3: Kristina Peters

What a night! ✨🍷Thank you to everyone who came out for Toast the Nanticoke on Friday, May 15! Between the wine, deliciou...
05/18/2026

What a night! ✨🍷

Thank you to everyone who came out for Toast the Nanticoke on Friday, May 15! Between the wine, delicious local food, community art, auction fun, and the dreamiest sunset hayride through the vineyard, we truly couldn’t have asked for a better evening. 🌅

A huge thank you to our sponsors, donors, volunteers, and all of you who helped make the night so special. Your support means the world to us and helps continue our mission to protect and celebrate the Nanticoke. 💙

We’re so grateful for this amazing community and already looking forward to next year!

Address

121 S. Conwell Street
Seaford, DE
19973

Opening Hours

Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+14439441175

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Nanticoke Watershed Alliance posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Nanticoke Watershed Alliance:

Shortcuts

Share

Category