News

Audubon at Home Continues to offer Wildlife Sanctuary Advice Despite Covid-19

Audubon at Home Continues to offer Wildlife Sanctuary Advice Despite Covid-19

Many Audubon education and advocacy programs have been canceled or paused due to Covid-19. Fortunately, the Audubon at Home (AAH) program continues. Applicant numbers are down, but people who are proactive, enthusiastic and committed about attracting native wildlife to their yards continue to apply.

Social Distancing Advice for Birders

Social Distancing Advice for Birders

Our birding friends tell us how glad they are to have birding during this time of social distancing. Even though they might not be visiting their favorite parks and hot spots, they can walk outside and experience the songs and displays of our region’s spectacular spring migration. When ASNV decided in March to cancel all of our in-person activities because of Covid-19, we received many questions about what was safe to do.

Teach Your Children to Become Avid Birders During Coronavirus Lockdown

Teach Your Children to Become Avid Birders During Coronavirus Lockdown

When schools closed due to the Coronavirus, my husband and I decided to homeschool our 10-year-old daughter. We wanted to come up with some interesting science projects to keep her engaged during these challenging times. We started off raising tadpoles, where our daughter would gather data to calculate their survival and growth rates. We thought about designing a vegetation habitat survey or an invertebrate creek survey. Can you tell we’re biologists?

Barred Owls in Reston

Barred Owls in Reston

Barred Owls are some of our most intriguing local birds. Most people will recognize their hoot-sequence call that sounds like, “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” Unlike many other owls, they are semi-nocturnal. Their name comes from their striped plumage, or “bars.” They are the only eastern owls with deep brown eyes, which can appear blue-black in certain light. Females are larger than males, and only females incubate chicks, or owlets.

Hog Island Audubon Camp News

Hog Island Audubon Camp News

Last month we announced the winner of our Hog Island Scholarship for teachers, Phoebe Riegle, a fifth-grade teacher at William Ramsey Elementary School in Alexandria, VA. Unfortunately, she will not have the opportunity to attend “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” this year. Hog Island Audubon Camp cancelled their summer programs out of concern for the health and safety of campers, volunteers and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Local Photographers Win National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest

Local Photographers Win National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest

ASNV member Randy Streufert has won the Grand Prize in the National Wildlife Federation’s “Garden for Wildlife” photo contest. Randy’s photo of a Prothonotary Warbler cooling off in water was the top photo out of nearly 5000 submissions from all over the world.