Driving along Pole Road on the outskirts of Alexandria, Virginia one might easily miss this obscure suburban wetland, named for the only person ever to be awarded both first and second place in the Federal Duck Stamp contest in the same year. Jackson Miles Abbott was a lieutenant colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers, and also an avid birdwatcher and wildlife painter. His orinthological interests blossomed at the age of six, and he learned to paint from his father, noted wildlife artist Jacob Bates Abbott. After studying zoology at…
