In late September 2026, we moved from our home in Broadway, VA to a retirement community in Winchester, VA. After we moved, we saw another resident’s photos taken at the Abrams Creek Wetland Preserve and decided to visit it on a nice October morning.
The Abrams Creek Wetland Preserve consists of about 25 acres of wetland with a nicely paved trail about 1.3 miles long. It is home to over 300 plant species, some of which are rare, and 180 kinds of birds. Please see the Additional Information section below the photo gallery for more information about the preserve.
We only walked about ⅓ mile but in that short distance I was able to photograph eight different fall flowering plant species plus two more seed heads. Links to information about each of these plants are in the Additional Information section below the photo gallery. The featured image (above) is a New England aster. The Technical Information about each image is below the Additional Information section.
Additional Information
Winchester, VA: Abrams Creek Wetland Preserve
Google Maps: Abrams Creek Wetland Preserve
Wikipedia: Smooth Blue aster
Wikipedia: New England aster
Wikipedia: Canada goldenrod
Wikipedia: Spotted Joe-Pye weed
Wikipedia: Tall goldenrod
Wikipedia: Orange sulphur butterfly
Wikipedia: Common sneezeweed
Wikipedia: Cattail
wikipedia: Swamp thistle
Wikipedia: New York aster
Wikipedia: New York ironweed
Technical Information
Smooth Blue Aster
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 80 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/640 sec
- Cropped image is 3093 x 4640 px
Canada Goldenrod
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 80 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/640 sec
- Uncropped image is 4640 x 6960 px
Spotted Joe-Pye Weed Seed Head
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 80 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1250 sec
- Cropped image is 4099 x 6149 px
Tall Goldenrod
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1250 sec
- Cropped image is 3969 x 5953 px
New York Aster with Orange Sulphur Butterfly
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1600 sec
- Cropped image is 2910 x 4366 px
Orange Sulphur Butterfly on New York Aster
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1600 sec
- Cropped image is 2857 x 1905 px
New England Aster
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/800 sec
- Uncropped image is 6960 x 4640 px
Common Sneezeweed
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/2000 sec
- Uncropped image is 6960 x 4640 px
Cattail (also called Bulrush)
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 74 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1250 sec
- Uncropped image is 4640 x 6960 px
Swamp Thistle
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/400 sec
- Cropped image is 3093 x 4640 px
New York Aster Flowers
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/2000 sec
- Uncropped image is 6960 x 4640 px
New York Aster Plant
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 28 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/1600 sec
- Cropped image is 3295 x 4943 px
New York Ironweed Seed Head
- Date: 10/9/26
- Camera: Canon EOS R7
- Lens: Sigma 24-105 mm f/4 EX DG OS HSM
- Settings:
- Lens: 105 mm, f/11
- ISO: 1600
- Shutter: 1/500 sec
- Uncropped image is 6960 x 4640 px