Scarce rainfall in recent summers left little seepage along Berma Road to decorate the rocky cliffs with ice formation as in some past years. Only in one place was an ice curtain starting toform from overhanging cliffs. Reluctantly leaving the robins, the group headed back to the Tavern, watching a kingfisher fly down the canal as they descended from Berma Road to the towpath. Overlooking Catfish Hole, turkey vultures sailed on the wind, tilting and twisting as sharp breezes tossed them high or carried them down near the cliff's edge. Few signs of spring can be found in early February, but this is a good time to see club mosses and winter ferns as well as lichens covering rocky outcrops.
Lichens are especially conspicuous as one walks to the falls overlook.
Their growth from year to year is almost imperceptible. A flock of 50 or more blackbirds noisily settled in the tops of tall trees near the Tavern parking lot. For a few minutes they quieted, then noisily conferred again before taking off toward Potomac Village. In early February, an adult eagle sat on the branch of a tree near the eagle's nest that has seen many years of use.