President's Corner
Common Loons, Howard Arndt/Audubon Photography Awards
As 2024 begins, I look ahead and I am thankful for birds. I appreciate their role in actions such as pollination, dispersal of seeds, production of guano fertilizer, and provision of food. But it is their intangible services that truly earn my gratitude.
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Help Trees Thrive: Tear Up Some Turf
Tree with native shade plants, Plant NOVA Natives
It’s fairly common in residential neighborhoods to see trees surrounded by grass or by small mulch beds, but did you know that your trees would be healthier and grow faster if you replaced that turf and those mulch volcanos?
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Help ASNV Advocate for Conservation
Virginia State Capitol Building, Wikimedia user Skip Plitt via CC BY-SA 3.0
Would you be interested in joining with members of ASNV’s Advocacy Committee to advocate for legislation that will help protect our environment?
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Resolve to Help Birds in 2024!
Tufted Titmouse, Jocelyn Anderson/Audubon Photography Awards
New year’s resolutions about more exercise and a better diet are traditional for this time of year, because those actions can help us live better, happier lives. But another way to improve your quality of life is by helping the birds.
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Observations from Meadowood
Dilemma Orchid Bee, Judy Gallagher
Judy Gallagher is a long-time participant in the Meadowood Recreation Area survey. Here are some of her findings.
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Upcoming Classes and Events
We have some exciting classes and events coming up, both virtually and in-person! Click any event to learn more and register. You can also check our calendar for our full schedule of events.
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The How and Who of Urban Wildlife Conservation with Dr. Charles Nilon
Dr. Charles Nilon
Join us Sunday afternoon, January 7, for a virtual Audubon Afternoon that features the first of our Stretch Our Parks Lectures featuring Dr. Charles Nilon, an ecologist and professor from the University of Missouri.
Dr. Nilon’s decades of research and service have combined two of his lifelong passions – understanding how to safeguard urban biodiversity and making conservation biology more inclusive. He has been a lead researcher on projects combining data from more than 150 of the world’s cities to assess how ecological and socioeconomic factors influence birds in urban environments. He will share his ideas about what actions cities and towns might take to protect biodiversity as human density increases, and why making conservation efforts more diverse, inclusive, and just is paramount to their success.
When: Sunday, January 7, 2023, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Where: Online
Fee: FREE, but registration is required
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Preventing Avian Extinctions: What Works with Dr. David Luther
Cerulean Warbler, Matt Felperin
Join Dr. David Luther for a program on preventing avian extinctions. More species in the world are threatened with extinction today than at any other time in recent history. However, at the same time, a number of programs have made great strides in successfully conserving threatened species and preventing their extinctions. Dr. Luther will explore the state of birds globally, the threats they face, and what is working in the field of conservation biology to prevent the extinction of endangered bird species. The talk will focus on global and local examples of successful conservation efforts, his research on conserving endangered species in the United States and around the world, and future conservation opportunities.
When: Thursday, January 11, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Members: $10
Non-members: $15
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Winter Waterfowl Count
Birders, Judy Gallagher
The Winter Waterfowl Count is a citizen science effort organized by ASNV to track data about winter waterfowl. This survey complements the Christmas Bird Count, and the data is shared openly with the public. When it started in 2008, ASNV volunteers covered the Potomac River from Algonkian Regional Park in Loudoun County to Quantico Marine Base in Prince William County, as well as many inland bodies of water. In 2020 ASNV expanded the survey to include areas along the Potomac River in King George and Westmoreland Counties down to the mouth of the Potomac River where it empties into Chesapeake Bay.
When: Saturday, February 3, 7:00 AM – Sunday, February 4 – 2:00 PM
Where: Various
Fee: FREE, but registration is required
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Bird Friendly Certified Coffee: Conserving Birds One Cup at a Time
Coffee plant, courtesy of Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification
Did you know that the coffee you drink can affect the birds in your backyard? The Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification does more than any other certification program to conserve habitat for birds and other wildlife on coffee farms. Bird Friendly Program Manager Kirstin Hill will describe the link between coffee and conservation, discuss what makes Bird Friendly certification the gold standard in biodiversity protection, and share ways to get involved in the movement to “Drink Bird Friendly.” Your coffee is stronger than you think!
When: Thursday, January 18, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Fee: FREE, but registration is required
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Ducks and Waterfowl Identification with Greg Butcher
Green-winged Teals, James Fatemi/Audubon Photography Awards
Join Greg Butcher, ASNV board member and retired migratory species coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, for an introduction to waterfowl identification. Get to know many of the species that winter in the open waters of our region. You’ll learn how to tell a Bufflehead from a Hooded Merganser, and, you’ll learn the features (and hear the call) of the beautiful Tundra Swans that winter in Northern Virginia. Strategies will include identification by shape and color pattern.
When: Thursday, January 25, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: Virtual
Fee: FREE, but registration is required
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Behavior, Society and Sex in Adolescent Birds with Liam Taylor
Burrowing Owls, Jean Zuo/Audubon Photography Awards
Most birds have some growing up to do before they start to breed. Despite reaching full size within weeks or months of hatching, some species will not raise offspring for years, or even decades. Liam Taylor explores the strange things that some birds need to do before they reproduce—from meeting a fishing buddy on a rocky island to finding a dance partner on a rainforest floor. Looking back through millions of years of evolution, Taylor uncovers how behavioral, social, and sexual development continues to create new challenges and opportunities for adolescent birds.
When: Thursday, February 8, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Member ticket: $15
Non-member ticket: $20
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Mushrooms and Fungi with Matt Cohen
Fungi diversity, Matt Cohen
Join us for Matt Cohen’s talk about wild mushrooms. In this introduction to the world of mushrooms, you'll learn about their ecological roles and major groups, what traits to look for to identify a mushroom. Matt also will identify some local deadly poisonous mushrooms and some local edible mushrooms.
When: Tuesday, February 27, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Member ticket: $10
Non-member ticket: $15
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Birding and Wildlife Safari in South Africa with ASNV
Gray-crowned Cranes, Lou Newman
Immerse yourself in the natural wonders of South Africa, home to amazing scenery, iconic African wildlife, and more than 800 bird species. World-renowned habitats and biological diversity are the focus as you journey from the Highveld grasslands of Mpumalanga province to the cliffs and gorges of the Blyde River Canyon, and through transitional habitats before leveling out in the bush plains of Kruger National Park. For birders, this translates to a superb range of species to be seen, including many regional and country-specific endemics.
Click here to visit the Holbrook Travel site for trip details. Contact Gerry Abbott with questions.
When: Tuesday, October 29, 2024 8:00 AM through Sunday, November 10, 2024 8:00 AM
Where: Kruger National Park, South Africa
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Bird Walks
Birding, Camila Cerea
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Check this page for upcoming walks! Registration is no longer required for ASNV-sponsored walks.
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Monday Nature Mystery
American Wigeon, Judy Gallagher
Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery and see what this week's mystery holds.
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Conservation Counts
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Rusty Moran
Join Jim Waggener in his ongoing natural resource surveys at two of Northern Virginia's best birding spots. Surveys alternate between Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Meadowood Special Recreation Management Area on Mason Neck.
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E-Activist Network: Volunteers Needed
The National Audubon Society invites all Auduboners to join its e-activist network. When you subscribe to the Society’s newsletter, you'll receive alerts about important congressional actions and information about how you can affect legislation by contacting your members of Congress. https://www.audubon.org/
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