The latest news and events from Audubon Society of Northern Virginia

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** April 2023
ASNV HOME ([link removed]) DONATE ([link removed]) JOIN ([link removed])
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** Board Notes
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** Blackburnian Warbler, Kat Bradley-Bennett/Audubon Photography Awards
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Birding is like finding buried treasure – except that the treasure keeps moving, and you have to focus on everything you see and hear.
Read more > ([link removed])


** Deer Management
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Grazing Deer, MarkRay66 via Pixabay

Deer are eating our understory, presenting another threat to woodlands already endangered by invasive plants, climate change, and development.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Landscapers' Conference in Spanish
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February 2023 Landscapers' Conference, Wendy Cohen

One hundred and thirty-five landscape professionals attended a conference on sustainable landscaping on February 15 on the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Birdathon 2023
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Birders, Laura McDonald

It's time to get ready for Birdathon! Find out how to register your team to participate in ASNV's biggest fundraising event of the year.

Read more > ([link removed])


** New Barn Owl Box Installed in Northern VA
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** Barn Owl, Michael Phillips/Audubon Photography Awards
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The ASNV Conservation Committee is excited to announce the successful installation of a new barn owl nesting box in an unused silo in a park near Leesburg.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Want Birds and Butterflies? Plant Native Shrubs!
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** Shrubby Saint John's Wort, Margaret Fisher
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When it comes to the curb appeal of our houses and other buildings, the difference between starkly naked and softly clothed is the shrubs. What is a shrub, anyway?

Read more > ([link removed])


** ASNV Citizen Science Needs You!
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** Birders, Camilla Cerea
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As an important part of our citizen science work, we’re looking to establish some baseline bird abundance data for a pair of parks.

Read more > ([link removed])


** ASNV Awards Hog Island Scholarship
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** Hog Island Coastline, Kirk Treakle
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ASNV’s Youth Education Committee has awarded Matthew Davidson of Lynbrook Elementary School in Springfield the Hog Island Scholarship.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Welcome Spring Migration!
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** Tree Swallow, Dave Boltz/Audubon Photography Awards
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Every spring, warblers and other neotropical songbirds journey north from South and Central America and fly through Virginia via the Atlantic Flyway.

Read more > ([link removed])


** If You Build It, They Will Come, Maybe
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** Eastern Screech Owl, Jen St. Louis/Audubon Photography Awards
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Eastern Screech Owls love nest boxes, suburban areas, and mixed woods, so creating an environment for them is doable.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Northern VA's Winning Photographer, Amiel Hopkins
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** Greater Prairie Chickens, Amiel Hopkins/Audubon Photography Awards
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Dawn had not yet broken, but in his freezing cold bird blind Amiel Hopkins was awoken by the “booming” of Greater Prairie Chickens all around him.

Read more > ([link removed])

Monthly Features


** Observations from Meadowood
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** American Bumble Bee, Judy Gallagher
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Judy Gallagher is a long-time participant in the Meadowood Recreation Area survey. Here are some of her findings.

Read more > ([link removed])


** Plant This, Not That: Replacing Butterfly Bush
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Butterfly Bush, Alyssa Morel

This series by Alyssa Ford Morel offers suggestions on replacing invasive non-native plants with northern Virginia natives.

Read more > ([link removed])

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** Upcoming Classes and Events
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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 ([link removed]) for our full schedule of events.


** Spring Ornithology Course with Dr. Chris Haney
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** Bird Behaviors, Various
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This 12-part online course is designed and presented at an introductory, university level, with two one-hour sessions per week over 6 weeks.

When: Begins Monday, March 27, and Wednesday, March 29, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM; with subsequent classes April 3, 5, 17, 19, 24, and 26; and May 1, 3, 8 and 10, 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM.
Where: Virtual
Members: $150
Non-Members: $175
MORE INFO ([link removed])


** Ornitherapy: A Practice of Mindful Birding
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** Red-winged Blackbird, Charlotte Lorrick/Oak Spring Garden Foundation
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Oak Spring Garden Foundation and the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia are pleased to offer a two-part therapeutic workshop on mindful birding. The morning workshop will dive deep in the practice of Ornitherapy (mindful birding) and the afternoon session will focus on Forest Bathing with Birds ([link removed]) .

When: Friday, April 14, 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM, and/or 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Where: Rokeby Farm - The Granary, 8622 Mill Reef Road, Middleburg, VA 20117
Members: $40
Non-members: $60
MORE INFO ([link removed])


** Birds as Symbols with Bill Young
Bill Young
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Birds have been important symbols for as long as humans have been on the Earth. This 3-part course will examine the use of bird symbolism in art, literature, religion, politics, advertising, and other aspects of human life, from ancient times to the present day.

When: Tuesday, April 25, Thursday, April 27 and Tuesday, May 2, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Virtual
Members: $25
Non-Members: $35
MORE INFO ([link removed])


** Beginning Birder Workshop with Larry Meade
Huntley Meadows Boardwalk, Ser Amantio di Nicolao
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Early May is prime time for birding! Birds of all kinds are moving into our region to start nesting. Others are stopping over as a respite before they continue their journey north. In this experiential workshop at Huntley Meadows Park, the pace will be leisurely as we learn how to spot and identify birds. We also will discuss the natural history of the birds that we see. As we explore the park, we can practice using our optics and apps such as eBird and Merlin. The emphasis of this workshop will be more on learning about birding than on compiling a big list for the morning, although we will see plenty of birds.

When: Sunday, May 7, 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Where: Huntley Meadows Park, 3701 Lockheed Blvd., Alexandria, ,VA 22306
Members: $10
Non-members: $20
MORE INFO ([link removed])


** Bird Walks
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Birding, Camila Cerea


Check this page ([link removed]) for upcoming walks! Registration is no longer required for ASNV-sponsored walks.


** Monday Nature Mystery
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** Yellow Lady's Slipper, Doug McGrady
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**
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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**
Read more > ([link removed])
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** Conservation Counts
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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.

Read more > ([link removed])

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. [link removed]
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** Maximize Your Impact
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Green Heron, Jay Stout/Audubon Photography Awards

Help ASNV build its nest egg through planned giving. Learn how here ([link removed]) .
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