Can you guess what this is? Plus last week's answer and winner!

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** Monday Nature Mystery
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12/09/24

We are pleased to announce the winner of our most recent Monday Nature Mystery, Daniel Bailey! (Please email your snail mail address and preference for a hat or tote bag to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Monday%20Nature%20Mystery%20Winner) )

Congratulations to Daniel for identifying the Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus). According to All About Birds ([link removed]) , the name “longspur” refers to the unusually long hind claw on this species and others in its genus. Lapland Longspurs breed in tundra habitats across the arctic. Their name refers to the Lapland region of Scandinavia, which is partly in Sweden and partly in Finland. This species can be found in our region in the winter months - look for them on fallow agricultural fields, often with bare ground or sparse stubble, where they form large flocks along with American Pipits, Horned Larks, and Vesper and Savannah Sparrows.
Last Week's Mystery: Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus). Photo: Robin Ohrt/Audubon Photography Awards
Each Monday we’ll post a new photo and identify the previous week’s winner. They’ll receive an NVBA hat or tote bag.

Be sure to post your answer on our Facebook page @ ([link removed]) NVBirdAlliance ([link removed]) under the Monday Mystery post...do not reply to this email with your guess! We only accept entries from our Facebook page, not via email.

Please remember to write the common name, being mindful of hyphens, uppercase and lowercase letters and always include the Latin name in parentheses. To learn more about bird names click here ([link removed]) .
What is this? Photo: Judy Gallagher

This week’s Mystery: What is this?

Post your guess (please list both common name and Latin name) on our Facebook page @ ([link removed]) NVBirdAlliance ([link removed]) under this week's Monday Nature Mystery. Remember, we only accept entries from our Facebook page, not via email!

Good luck!

-Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

Please note that we only accept entries on our Facebook page where they are date- and time-stamped. Remember that, if you need to correct your entry, you should make a new posting instead of correcting the old one so that we get a correct time stamp for your correction. Winners are limited to one prize every 90 days, maximum 2 per person, but we are starting fresh since we have a new logo! If you have already won twice, feel free to play and try to win a hat or tote with our new logo on it.

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Enjoy the Monday Nature Mystery Series? Please consider supporting NVBA so we can continue to bring you educational (and fun!) programs like this.
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