It’s hard to write about anything other than COVID-19 at this juncture, so I’m taking this opportunity to discuss what ASNV is doing...


** April 2020
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** In This Newsletter
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* Conservation Counts
* President's Corner April 2020
* Efforts to Protect South Island Birds Continue
* Audubon Afternoon Webinar  “The Humane Gardener”
* Audubon at Home Still Providing Information About How To Create Wildlife Habitat
* Native-only Plant Vendors Offer Curbside Pick-up 
* Bird-Window Collision Webinar
* Conservation Update: Virginia Legislature’s Actions
* Op/Ed by Tom Blackburn, President of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia
* Local Photographers Win National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest
* Bird Walks, Classes and Events – Update
* ASNV’s Hog Island Scholarship Winner
* 2020 Youth Education Mini-grant Recipients
* Take a Virtual Tour of the 2019 National Audubon Photography Awards
* WE NEED YOUR HELP!
* Other News

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**
Conservation Counts
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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, all of the general wildlife and butterfly/dragonfly surveys in this series are suspended until further notice. While chances of transmission may seem slight for outdoor programs like this, it is only prudent to avoid any undue risks until data indicate it is safe to proceed. I will be giving as much notice as possible regarding resumption of the survey schedule.

In the meantime, any findings you may have from your individual outings in the survey circle would be appreciated. Take very good care of yourselves. Looking forward to seeing you all in the not too distant future.

Jim Waggener

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**
Audubon at Home Sanctuary Map
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Audubon at Home ([link removed]) encourages you to check out our new interactive map ([link removed])
on our Certified Wildlife Sanctuaries ([link removed]) webpage.

Click the icons in the upper right of map to see additional layers of information that include Audubon Christmas Bird Count Circles and the U.S. Geological Service Protected Areas Database.

AAH heartily thanks volunteer Adam Jenkins for his work developing this page.

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**
E-Activist Network
Volunteers Needed
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The National Audubon Society invites all Auduboners to join its e-activist network ([link removed]) . 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.


** President's Corner April 2020
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**
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** By Tom Blackburn, ASNV President
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It’s hard to write about anything other than COVID-19 at this juncture, so I’m taking this opportunity to discuss what ASNV is doing as a result of the outbreak and what you can do while we are all at risk.

Basic ASNV Operations: ASNV Staff are working from home until further notice. Our Board of Directors and committees conduct meetings by telephone. We are answering voice mail, responding to emails and conducting routine business. Please feel free to contact us about ASNV business in the same way as you have done before.

Classes and activities: We have canceled upcoming classes, bird walks and surveys and postponed client visits by our Audubon at Home Ambassadors. Given the rate at which new infections are occurring, it’s quite possible that we won’t resume these activities until the fall. We are investigating whether we can offer classes and activities online and will let you know if we do.

What can you do while restrictions on activities are in effect?
* Start a list of the birds you see in your backyard. This is a perfect time to start a yard list just as spring migrants are heading our way. You can get help identifying birds using the free Merlin Bird ID app ([link removed]) and the free Audubon Bird Guide app ([link removed]) .

* Take the opportunity to watch the birds more closely. Put up a bird feeder to attract them to your yard, then watch them as they court, mate, incubate eggs, feed their young and teach them to survive on their own.

* Contribute to citizen science databases by sending your bird sightings to eBird ([link removed]) and your wildlife and plant sightings to iNaturalist ([link removed]) . iNaturalist will help identify what you see, just take a photo and submit it.

* Brush up on your birding skills. If you have a Cornell Lab of Ornithology account, eBird has fun quizzes ([link removed]) that allow you to practice identifying birds by sight and by sound. Purchase one of Cornell Lab’s 15 excellent on-line courses ([link removed]) ; you can use them with no time limit.

* Improve your yard’s attractiveness to wildlife by planting more native plants. You can get information on what to plant on ASNV’s Audubon at Home pages ([link removed]) and the Plant NoVa Natives ([link removed]) website.

* Get involved in our advocacy efforts. We’ll continue to monitor and take action on issues that affect birds, other wildlife and our environment. Send us an email at [email protected] (mailto:mailto:[email protected]) if you have a concern you’d like us to look into or you would like to help out.

Above all, stay healthy! Please follow the latest guidelines on how to minimize your chance of catching the virus.


** Efforts to Protect South Island Birds Continue
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** How Birders Can Help
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Governor Northam’s commitment to help the 25,000 migratory birds whose nesting area on the South Island was displaced by the expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel has resulted in significant action in the past few weeks. Creation of an alternate nesting area at Rip Raps Island (also known as Ft. Wool) is proceeding, as trees have been cut down, a contract to eradicate pests has been executed and the sand and gravel to build the new nesting area are on their way. Acquisition of barges to serve as supplemental nesting areas is underway, and the Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources is consulting with National Audubon Society and American Bird Conservancy on the best ways to attract birds to the new site. Long-term, a portion of the South Island will be returned to a nesting area after construction is complete, and the Northam Administration is committed to construction of a new artificial island.

Despite the efforts to protect the birds, it is inevitable that some of the birds will be displaced by the construction. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Virginia Tech banded about 5000 of the nesting birds in the last two breeding seasons. They have asked birders to be on the lookout for banded Royal Terns, Gull-Billed Terns, Common Terns, Laughing Gulls, Sandwich Terns, and Black Skimmers and to forward the information to a central data collection point. You can learn more about what information to collect and where to send it on the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s ([link removed]) Website.


** Audubon Afternoon Webinar “The Humane Gardener”
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Date: Sunday, April 26
Time: TBA
(Watch our website ([link removed]) for further details and instructions.)

Join us for a webinar as we welcome author and blogger, Nancy Lawson. We’ll learn why plants are the solution to everything. That’s the driving concept behind her Humane Gardener book, website and presentations. Whether you’re trying to resolve conflicts with wildlife or immersed in efforts to save local fauna, you’ll be more successful if you let plants lead the way. You’ll be able to buy copies of “The Humane Gardener” through ASNV.


Nancy Lawson is the author of “The Humane Gardener: Nurturing a Backyard Habitat for Wildlife.” A columnist for All Animals magazine, she founded Humane Gardener, an outreach initiative dedicated to animal-friendly, landscaping methods. Her book and garden have been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine and other media outlets.

To learn more about Nancy, Humane Gardener ([link removed])


** Audubon at Home Still Providing Information About How To Create Wildlife Habitat
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Although Audubon at Home (AAH) has discontinued client visits, we encourage you to consult with us about how to create wildlife habitat.

If you are already working with an AAH ambassador, please consult via phone or email. If you are not yet working with an ambassador, please send questions to us at [email protected] (mailto:mailto:[email protected]) .

You may still request a visit here ([link removed]) . We will schedule it when we are able to conduct visits again. Meanwhile, check out the Audubon at Home ([link removed]) pages on the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia website.


** Native-only Plant Vendors Offer Curbside Pick-up
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While in-person Audubon at Home Ambassador visits are paused you can still plan for spring planting with information on our website ([link removed]) . Native-only plant vendors in our area will be taking orders in advance and arranging for curbside pick-up. See a list here Plant NoVA Natives ([link removed]) .


** Bird-Window Collision Webinar
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If you missed the 19 March webinar on bird-window collisions, you may watch a recording of it here ([link removed]) .

Collisions with windows are the third greatest cause of death for birds in the United States, after habitat loss and predation by outdoor cats. Peer-reviewed conservative research estimates that about one million birds collide with windows every day—the annual estimate is 365 to 988 million.

To learn about this threat and how to help mitigate it at your home, the Reston Association and the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia invited Peter Saenger, President of Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, and Leigh Altadonna, President of the Wyncote Audubon Society, to speak on 19 March via webinar. They lead a Pennsylvania-based Bird-Window Collision Working Group that includes the Acopian Center at Muhlenberg College, Audubon Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley and Wyncote Audubon Societies. Their group has developed a “Bird-Window Collision Toolkit” which is being used by other Audubon groups.

Note that after introductions, the webinar describes how this toolkit can be used to educate others; then basic information on how and why birds collide with windows follows.

Also, this page ([link removed]) from Pennsylvania Audubon features "how to" videos on installing solutions to prevent collisions. If you do install materials, the Bird-Window Collision Working Group would welcome your completing a survey on what you did--the survey link is also on the Pennsylvania Audubon ([link removed]) page under “Record how you are protecting birds at your own home or place of work.”


** Conservation Update: Virginia Legislature’s Actions
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In the 2020 session of the Virginia General Assembly, legislators passed several important conservation bills. A terrific source of information on the status of conservation-related legislation is the VCN Bill Tracker ([link removed]) , which is maintained by the Virginia Conservation Network (www.vcnva.org).
The 2020 session adjourned, but Governor Ralph Northam can still act on bills sent to him for signature, and the legislature can reconvene to respond to his actions. In light of the Coronavirus risk, there have been media reports that the legislature may reconvene to address the state’s response and the budget. The Governor has until April 6 to approve a bill, send it back with recommended changes, veto it or allow it to be enacted without taking any action. The legislature reconvenes on April 22 to respond to the Governor’s action.

Waiting for the Governor’s Action:
* Clean Energy Economy Act: The bill replaces the existing voluntary renewal energy portfolio system goals with mandatory goals requiring utilities and supplier to produce energy from 100 percent renewable sources by 2045. A final version that resolves the differences between the Senate and House versions was sent to the Governor for signature. (See ASNV’s letter following this article.)

Bills Signed:
* Drones: ASNV is happy to report that the Governor has already signed the bill allowing local jurisdictions to regulate take-off and landing of private drones from or to property owned by the local government, such as park land. The General Assembly in 2019 passed a bill to limit local governments’ authority, even when drones could harass or endanger wildlife such as nesting eagles. This new law reverses that law. The Virginia Department of Aviation will adopt rules and regulations to govern those local restrictions by January 1, 2021, in consultation with stakeholders.

* Wildlife Corridors: The Governor has also signed the bill to encourage development of wildlife corridors to connect fragmented wildlife habits separated by human activities such as roads. The new law requires several agencies, including the Department of Inland Game and Fisheries, to develop a plan identifying areas separated by human activities and recommend wildlife crossing projects to promote driver safety and wildlife connectivity.

Bills Continued:
* TNR of Unowned Cats: ASNV also reported earlier that the House of Delegates Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources committee “continued” H.B. 1727, a bill to legalize the release of unowned cats into the environment if they have been neutered and inoculated once for rabies. Under current law, that action is an illegal abandonment. Because the bill was “continued,” a relevant committee can act on it before the end of 2020, possibly sending it to the House of Delegates for consideration in the 2021 session. ASNV will continue to promote keeping cats indoors.


** Op/Ed by Tom Blackburn, President of the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia
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When most folks talk about the signs of climate change, they point to things they can see. We see destruction from fires, droughts, or sea rise around the country and the world – and right here in Virginia, we can see it in increased flooding along our coastlines. But for me and other Audubon members, we see it in the changes in the birds in our own backyards.

Nearly 70 species of birds that call Virginia home are at serious risk of extinction from climate change and related threats like sea-level rise, forest fires and false springs, according to the National Audubon Society’s recent climate report, Survival by Degrees ([link removed]) . And nationally, that number grows to two-thirds of North American bird species.

That statistic should alarm everyone, not just birders like me. As indicator species, birds tell us about the health our environment. Birders all over Northern Virginia are commenting on the small number of water birds that have shown up this winter as a result of the unusually warm winter. While one winter’s average temperature does not itself demonstrate climate change, it is a component of the rising average temperatures that are projected to reach dangerous levels in just a few years. The same threats that endanger our birds’ futures also endanger our homes and communities in Virginia and ultimately the lives of our children and grandchildren.

It’s disheartening living so close to Washington and seeing so many of our nation’s leaders either failing to act or, even more dangerously, undoing the positive steps our government has taken to combat climate change. Fortunately, that’s not the story in Richmond, where the General Assembly is working to pass a series of bills to fight climate change in the Commonwealth.

One bill in particular stands out from the rest – the Virginia Clean Economy Act. This bill would make Virginia a national leader in transitioning our energy economy from fossil fuels to clean sources like wind and solar, and in eliminating pollution from our energy utilities. Under this bill, by 2050 the electricity generated by Virginia’s public utilities will come from clean sources and they will be completely emissions-free. With proper siting and management practices to avoid harm to birds, eliminating carbon pollution by switching to clean sources of energy like wind and solar will go a long way toward preserving Virginia’s beautiful habitat for birds and people alike for decades to come.

The Virginia Clean Economy Act isn’t perfect, but it’s the best piece of energy legislation we’ve seen come out of Richmond in a long time. Passing this bill and signing it into law will mark a historic first step in the fight against climate change. Our birds are telling us we have to act on climate change. If we don’t heed their warning, they won’t be the only ones facing extinction. I hope all legislators in the General Assembly will do the right thing when the time comes to vote and support the Virginia Clean Economy Act.


** Local Photographers Win National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest
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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 a water was the top photo out of nearly 5,000 submissions from all over the world. Randy and his wife Barbara’s property, where the photo was taken, is a Certified Wildlife Sanctuary in ASNV’s Audubon at Home program.

Randy also won an Honorable Mention for his photo of a Cope’s Gray Treefrog tadpole and froglet.

Local wildlife enthusiast Arthur Hass’s photo of an Eastern Tailed-Blue won the top prize in the category Close-up Native Plants and their Wildlife Visitors, and Fairfax resident Sherry Schellenger Parker’s photo of her son in his grandmother’s garden won in the category People in the Wildlife Garden. The Category Winners ([link removed]) and Honorable Mentions ([link removed]) showcase a wonderful array of photos of plants, wildlife and people enjoying them.


** Bird Walks, Classes and Events – Update
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We have cancelled all of our bird walks and in-person classes and events through April 30 but we are planning to hold our April Audubon Afternoon as a webinar. Our Birdathon has been postponed.


** ASNV’s Hog Island Scholarship Winner
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The Youth Education Committee of ASNV is thrilled to announce Phoebe Riegle ([link removed]) as the 2020 recipient of our Hog Island Scholarship. Each summer, ASNV offers a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week ([link removed]) ” at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine. While there, educators learn interdisciplinary hands-on methods and approaches to environmental education while immersed in the natural world. Ms. Riegle is a fifth-grade teacher at William Ramsay Elementary School (Alexandria, VA). She hopes to use the lessons learned at Hog Island to better integrate conservation and habitat content with English Language Learning (ELL) strategies across grade levels and subjects. Ms. Riegle will attend the program in July 2020 before returning to her classroom in the fall.


** 2020 Youth Education Mini-grant Recipients
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Every year, the Youth Education Committee of ASNV sponsors a mini-grant program to support teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations in youth-oriented education about birds and the environment. The committee is proud to announce three recipients ([link removed]) ($500 per grant) in 2020:

Fairview Elementary School in Fairfax Station, VA will use funds to build bluebird houses and purchase binoculars for its K-6 students. They will couple existing indoor environmental lessons with outdoor activities along their newly built bluebird trail. Students will engage in seasonal observations and analysis of a wide variety of avian behaviors to complement their science standards of learning.
Cub Run Elementary School in Centreville, VA will purchase wildlife cameras and bird feeding kits so that their K-1 students can track birds in their natural habitat. They will incorporate the data and observations into curriculum on the basic needs of animals.

H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program in Arlington, VA will launch a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) around the topic of single-use plastics, from their environmental impacts to their re-use in the school’s makerspace. The mini-grant will help to fund a field trip on 2020 Potomac Watershed Clean-Up Day to trawl for and analyze micro-plastics.


** Take a Virtual Tour of the 2019 National Audubon Photography Awards
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In celebration of the natural connection between birding and photography, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia co-hosted the 2019 Audubon Photography Awards Traveling Exhibition with Walker Nature Center in February and again with Huntley Meadows Park in March. Sadly the exhibition is now closed to the public but you can take a virtual tour and learn about the stories behind the photographs here ([link removed]) .


** WE NEED YOUR HELP!
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ASNV is primarily a volunteer-driven organization. We rely on people like you to carry out most of our organization’s functions.

If you would like to volunteer your time to help support birds and the environment, check out the following opportunities. If you are interested, please send me an email at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) and if you have other ideas about projects you’d like to undertake, let me know about those too.

Volunteer Coordinator: We need an enthusiastic person to help us manage our volunteers. You would keep a roster of volunteers, publicize volunteer opportunities in our newsletter and website, coordinate the volunteers’ activities, and help ensure that their volunteer experiences are good ones.

Speaker: We receive requests from time to time for speakers who can talk about birds, wildlife, habitat, and conservation. Let me know if you would like to join our Speakers Forum. ASNV can provide some training, access to photographs from the National Audubon Society website, and an already-prepared slide show of common birds that you can use or modify to suit your preferences.

Public Events Representative: ASNV attends festivals and conferences, where we set up a table with information about our organization and items to purchase such as hats and books. We also have a wide variety of children’s activities. You would pick up materials for the event from the National Wildlife Federation building in Reston and be our representative to the public, discussing ASNV’s mission and current activities and encouraging people to join.

Thanks!
Tom Blackburn

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Other News

Bird Feeder in Reston

This store offers a 10% discount to current ASNV members, good on all purchases excluding optics and sale merchandise. When you visit, just tell them you are a member of ASNV and ask for the discount.
1675 Reston Pkwy, Suite J, Reston, VA 20194. (703) 437-3335

New Hours: Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Closed Sunday

Curbside service available, call the store at 703-437-3335
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