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In This Newsletter
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
Observations from Meadowood
During the pandemic we’ve had to cancel our regular wildlife surveys but some long-time participants are going out individually on an ad hoc basis to continue collecting data. Judy Gallagher is one of those folks who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species. Here are two observations from her recent survey.
Peck's Skipper is nectaring on Common Milkweed at West Meadowood in southern Fairfax County. Many butterfly caterpillars require a specific plant for food. Peck's Skipper caterpillars feed on native grasses such as Little Bluestem, but have also adapted to feed on Kentucky Bluegrass, a non-native species. They are therefore relatively abundant as they can use lawns, power-line cuts and other disturbed areas as habitat.
This immature Northern Walkingstick is about 1 1/2 inches long, but will grow to be at least 3 inches long. The mature insect is brown and looks like a twig. Although they are insects, they don't have wings. They eat the leaves of deciduous trees such as Oaks, American Hazel and Black Locust.
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.
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President's Corner August 2020
In July and August, there’s not as much new or interesting in the birding world as there is during the rest of the year. Most birds have nested, their young have fledged, there’s less bird song in the morning and fall migration is several weeks away. Normally, this is when my wife and I head out for a vacation, but two trips never got beyond the planning stage due to the pandemic. Seriously in need of a get-away without compromising our health, we packed a lunch and drinks and headed out for a socially-distanced day trip to the West Virginia border to search for birds we’d not seen before – Red Crossbills.
Red Crossbills are my new favorite bird – at least for this month. Aptly named, their mandibles cross at the tips. They feed primarily on the seeds in pine cones, and their bills have evolved to maximize the efficiency of their foraging. They insert their partially opened bill between the scales of the cone, then close it, forcing the scales apart, and use their tongue and bill to pull out the seeds. Much like the Galapagos Finches, Red Crossbills have evolved into several “types” with different bill sizes based on which species of conifer is prevalent in the area where they live.
Red Crossbills breed primarily in Canada, the Rockies and the Northwest, but range maps show three small regions along the Appalachians where they are found year-round. We headed for the closest spot where they are seen regularly, Briery Branch Gap, wondering whether a 5 ½ hour round trip would be productive. We didn’t have to wonder long. As we pulled off the road, we saw our first crossbill singing in a tree. In the next hour, we watched as many as 28 birds at a time – reddish males, yellowish females and sparrow-striped juveniles – flying from tree to tree, then gathering in a dense mass on the ground to eat grit from the road to aid their digestion. Their chatter and songs were almost continuous. Once we’d had our fill of crossbills, we walked forest roads searching for other birds, then had a relaxed lunch in the forest.
The pandemic will be with us for a good while, but you can still manage to change your routine without having to worry about infection. You can explore significant portions of 6 states within 120 miles of Northern Virginia and still get home in time for dinner. So, get out and enjoy nature – and stay safe!
By Tom Blackburn, ASNV President
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Summer and Early Fall Workshops and Classes
Webinar: Butterfly Identification Workshop -- POSTPONED
with Leslie Ries
When: POSTPONED: (we will reschedule soon)
Where: Virtual
Fee Options: $5 members, $7 non-members
The sight of butterflies fluttering around on a warm day is one of the most iconic signs of summer. These beautiful insects usually only live for a few weeks as adults, but they make quite an impression while they are in their full glory. There is a large variety of butterfly species in our area. Dr. Leslie Ries will focus on identifying the 20 most common butterflies in Northern Virginia. Participants will then be instructed on how to conduct a survey at home or in their neighborhood and upload data to eButterfly.
Even if you can’t take this class, please participate in Monarch Blitz between July 24 and August 2. “In the context of covid-19, with limited ability to do field work, researchers now need your observations more than ever.”
Instructor: Leslie Ries is an ecologist who focuses on patterns at both medium and large scales. She has worked in the fields of landscape ecology and biogeography with a focus mainly on butterflies. Her current research looks at large-scale patterns.
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Summer and Early Fall Workshops and Classes (continued)
Lessons from the Living Landscape – Our Home Habitat: Webinar
With: Rick Darke
When: Monday, August 3, 7:30 PM
Fee Options: $5, $10 or $15
To register, click here.
Rick Darke and his co-horticulturist wife, Melinda Zoehrer, have been creating and tending their home garden for more than a quarter century. The garden is a living laboratory, devoted to proving how  residential landscapes can be beautiful, manageable and joyfully livable while sustaining a vibrant diversity of plant and animal communities. In this presentation, Rick will share insights and strategies from what continues to be an inspiring journey.
Rick heads RICK DARKE LLC, an independent design firm focused on conservation-based landscape design and management. His work is grounded in an observational ethic that blends art, ecology and horticulture. His projects include parks, botanic gardens, community landscapes and residential gardens. His many books include The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden, co-authored with Doug Tallamy. For further info visit rickdarke.com.
Sponsors: Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and Plant NOVA Natives.
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Identifying Shorebirds with Marc Ribaudo
This class is recommended for anyone who would like to tackle shorebird identification on their own. We will spend two evenings online  covering identification tips for shorebirds that can typically be seen in our region. Emphasis will be on shorebirds that pose the biggest identification challenges, such as peeps. We’ll also discuss places to practice and sharpen your new-found skills. A recommended book for this class is The Shorebird Guide by Michael O’Brien, Richard Crossley and Kevin Karlson (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006). The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Sibley (Knopf, 2014) is also a good basic field guide.
Instructor: Marc Ribaudo has been birding since he was a teenager in New Jersey in the 1960s. He has a great amount of field experience and is a regular trip leader for the Northern Virginia Bird Club and the Friends of Dyke Marsh.
ONLINE: August 12 and 13 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM
Fee: $25
Limit: 95
Register: Here
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Creating a Wildlife Sanctuary on Your Property:
The Audubon at Home Program
When: Thursday, August 27, 7:00 to 8:30 PM
Where: Virtual
Fee Options: $5 members, $7 non-members
What can you do on your own property to attract and support wildlife? To learn how, join us online for “Creating a Wildlife Sanctuary on Your Property: The Audubon at Home Program.”  We originally scheduled this program as a live event last March but we had to cancel it due to the pandemic. Now you’ll be able to attend from the comfort of your home.
Betsy Martin will talk about the Audubon at Home program, Wildlife Sanctuary certification and Habitat Best Practices. Betsy is a member of the ASNV Board of Directors and a Co-Coordinator of ASNV’s Audubon at Home program. She is a Virginia Master Naturalist, a founder and President of the Friends of Little Hunting Creek and the Mount Vernon representative to Fairfax County’s Chesapeake Bay Exception Review Committee, which she also chairs.
Laura Beaty will relate how she transformed her yard into a wildlife habitat with a slide program entitled: “Your Landscape as Habitat.” She will show how to support nature’s relationships in your wildlife habitat, and why it’s important to view your habitat from two perspectives: the eyes of turf-grass traditionalists and native pollinators. She’ll show you the truth behind the phrases, “The greater the plant diversity, the greater the wildlife” and “Plant it and they will come.” Laura Beaty is Horticulture Chair of the Virginia Native Plant Society (VNPS) and Propagation/Plant Sales Chair of the Potowmack Chapter of VNPS. She also represents her Fairfax County district on the Fairfax Tree Commission.
This program is co-sponsored by the Friends of Mason Neck State Park and Audubon Society of Northern Virginia. We’re charging a nominal fee of $5.00 per registration to help defray the costs.
Click here to register.
SAVE THE DATE!
Audubon Afternoon
When: Sunday, September 13, 3:00 to 4:00 PM
Where: Online
Guest Speaker: Amanda Gallinat
Ecological Landscaping with Charles Smith
Participants will learn to apply ecological principles to creating backyard habitats and restoring ecosystems. Focus will be on looking not only at the needs of animals, but working with nature and using local ecosystems as examples for selecting species, building soils and providing natural structure.
This workshop is open to all. It is especially relevant for volunteer Audubon at Home Ambassadors, and will augment basic training for Virginia Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners and qualifies for advanced training hours. It is recommended that attendees have some familiarity with the book, Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy and the ASNV publication "The Nature of Change" which can be downloaded here.
Instructor: Charles Smith is a native of Arlington, VA, and a naturalist and ecologist with 25 years of experience working primarily in natural resource management, including the Fairfax County Park Authority and five years with Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. He is currently branch chief of Fairfax County Stormwater Planning Division, focusing on stream and natural area restoration. He is on the advisory panel for ASNV’s Audubon at Home Program; a US Army veteran; a board member of Virginia Native Plant Society, Prince William Wildflower Society and Prince William Conservation Alliance; and a member of Friends of the Potomac River Refuges. He is a popular Virginia Native Plant Society speaker and has served as an instructor for three chapters of the Virginia Master Naturalists.
Online: Thursday, September 24 and Thursday, October 1 (Each session is 1 hour)
Cost: $25
Limit: 90
Register: Here
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ASNV Online Programs
Missed one of our programs?
Do you want to learn about warblers, how to build a helpful habitat for wildlife, prevent bird-window collisions or attract birds with bird feeders? Visit our online programs page. We’re sharing webinars on these topics and others to help us stay engaged with birds and the habitat they depend on.
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Great American Outdoors Act Will Become Law
By Lisa Mackem
In a rare show of bipartisan support, the Great American Outdoors Act passed in both Congressional houses with a large margin. Republican Senator Cory Gardner sponsored the bill, along with 59 cosponsors. Both Virginia senators supported the bill. The Act has been called one of the most important environmental bills in history.
Sarah Greenberger, senior vice president for the National Audubon Society’s conservation policy, said that the bill will help protect birds, improve parks, and create jobs in every state and will provide permanent, mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at the a uthorized amount of $900 million annually at no additional taxpayer cost. It will also direct up to $9.5 billion over five years to the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy funds to help address huge backlogs in maintenance needs.
Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) Federal Legislative Director Anders Reynolds called the Great American Outdoors Act “a huge step in the right direction…but only a first step. Properly maintaining our parks and preserving public lands is vital for our environment and for the economic health of local communities that depend on outdoor tourism.”
President Trump has expressed support for this bill and is expected to sign it into law. A signing date has not yet been set.
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Birding while Black: Understanding our Different Experiences
Resources from National Audubon
David J. Ringer, Chief Network Officer for the National Audubon Society, shared these resources with Audubon chapters around the county. We think they offer a helpful introduction not only for our ASNV board but for anyone who wants to better understand how the outdoors and specifically birding, is not equally safe and welcoming for everyone, especially for people of color.
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Prepare NOW for the November 3 Election
Conservation Policies at Stake
Virginians will elect a U.S. President, U.S. senator and all members of the U.S. House of Representatives on November 3, 2020. There will also be two state constitutional amendments on the ballot, one of which addresses the redistricting process. Some advocates say that the proposed amendment is designed to end partisan gerrymandering, but others argue it will not achieve that goal.
Localities may have other issues on the ballot. Fairfax County voters, for example, will vote on four bonds, including a parks bond.
Check with your local elections board or the Virginia Department of Elections to find out what will be on your ballot.
Request Your Absentee Ballot Now
Because of the health risks posed by the coronavirus, officials are expecting heavy absentee voting this year, by mail and in person. You can request an absentee ballot now and will receive it around 45 days before the election. Many localities have in-person absentee voting before Election Day (In Fairfax County, it begins on September 18). Check with yours.
October 13 is the deadline to register to vote in Virginia.
It’s never too early to get involved. Many conservation policies are at issue in this election.
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Keeping Up with the Upcoming Legislative Special Session
The Virginia General Assembly will convene on August 18  in a special session called by Governor Ralph Northam. The legislature is expected to focus primarily on the state budget and changes in criminal justice laws. All state programs, including land conservation and other environmental programs will be reviewed for their budget implications. The Virginia Conservation Network (VCN, at www.vcnva.org) will be monitoring the legislature’s actions.
If you want a preview of the issues or want to get involved, you can attend a virtual Special Session Legislative Preview VCN is hosting on August 4th from 11:00 AM to- 1:00 PM. The event is free and open to all ASNV members. ASNV is a VCN Network Partner. The event will provide an overview of what to expect and the issues as well as breakout meetings by legislator to encourage people to schedule meetings with their elected officials. You can find more details here.
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Is This Land Your Land?
Prince William Conservation Alliance held a community conversation on July 12, “Is This Land Your Land?” with keynote speaker, Dudley Edmondson, who presented information and ideas on why African Americans and other People of Color might not think so.
Originally planned as an in-person event, the conversation was held as a live webinar with community organizations and citizens. The recording is here
Dudley Edmondson is the author of the book, “Black & Brown Faces in America’s Wild Places,” profiling African Americans in nontraditional vocations and avocations in the outdoors.
Program Sponsors included: Prince William Conservation Alliance with the NAACP Prince William, Todos Supermarket, Northern Virginia Community College, Virginia Native Plant Society, Unity in the Community, Coalition to Protect Prince William, Prince William County Parks, Wetland Studies and the National Park Service Prince William Forest [National] Park.
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ASNV Bird Walks are Resuming in September—within Limits
By Jean Tatalias and Dixie Sommers
Soon we will begin—cautiously – to resume bird walks this fall. While the activity is outdoors, we still want to avoid the need for participants to be in close proximity. Even though the business economy is restarting, we realize that the virus is still a significant risk, especially to older people.
Our walks will be limited to 4 or 5 participants plus the leader. Participants must observe social distancing whenever possible and masks will be required when that is  not possible—for example, when passing other walkers. Scopes will not be used. Locations will be chosen where trails are wide enough for the needed separation.
The bird walk list will announce the general area for a walk (e.g., western Prince William County or south of Alexandria), the date and the leader. We will require that people enroll with the leader by email. The leader will limit the attendees to space available and will give enrollees the exact location to meet. Two September walks are being offered.
These walks are intended for participants who would like the guidance of a leader. In parallel, we encourage our more experienced birders to continue with their own solo birding and photography outings.
When you register for a walk you are expected to be symptom-free if you attend. If you have registered but find you cannot attend, please notify the leader. We will keep a waiting list
This is a cautious beginning for all of us who miss birding together. Some may not be comfortable with even this limited format yet—and we respect their choice. If you do register, please follow the requirements out of respect for the leader and other participants.
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Bird Walks
Because the number of attendees at walks is very limited to allow social distancing whenever possible, these walks are intended for inexperienced birders. You must wear a mask for situations where distancing on trails or from other walkers may not possible be. Registration with the leader is required: if space is available, the leader will tell you where to meet.
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Email leader to register and determine if space is available.
Southern Fairfax County
Sunday, September 6, 8:00 to 11:00 AM
Leader: Dixie Sommers [email protected]
Northern Prince William County
Sunday, September 20, 8:00 to 11:00 AM
Leader: Toby Hardwick [email protected]
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Bird of the Month: Who’s that Calling in the Air?
By Jessica Bigger
“Tier, Tier, Tier, Tier, Tier.” Have you heard this call? It’s the call of a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), but it could be a Blue Jay you’re hearing. Even if you have a discerning ear, the calls can be indistinguishable. Although I’ve found that a Red-shouldered Hawk call tends to be longer, a bit sharper, higher pitched and louder than its copycat.
There’s definitely a healthy population of resident Red-shouldered Hawks in Northern Virginia.
Reston Association (RA) volunteers tallied 38 of them in Reston alone during this spring’s 24-hour bird survey.
They are also one of the Audubon at Home program’s Sanctuary Species. Red-shouldered Hawks in our area tend to live in deciduous forests with little understory, enabling them to see better while hunting. Although, you will also find them in residential areas on the edge of forests. There was even a nesting pair who strayed farther away from the woods to make their home in a  maintenance shed at the RA Central Services Facility (CSF) in Reston last spring. Most red-shouldered pairs return to the same nest from year to year, but unfortunately our CSF occupants did not come back this spring.
If you do find a nest, take a look on the ground for bird poop, which is a good sign that it’s active. Red-shouldereds have one brood per year with a clutch of between two and five babies. Five days after the brood hatches, the babies start throwing their poop over the nest. Another earlier sign that you can look for is a nest decorated with pine boughs. You can often find some pine boughs on the ground near the nest.
During the breeding season, males do an elaborate aerial mating dance. They begin calling while soaring, and then make some steep dives towards the female. They fly back up in a spiral pattern before diving back down again to mate. Most Red-shouldered Hawks pair for life and usually hunt together year round.
These hawks are pretty easy to identify compared to their fellow hawk neighbors, like the Cooper’s Hawk. Their markings are distinguishable from the others; with their reddish-peach barred underside and a sharply defined banded tail. However, you are more likely to see them in flight than hiding out in a tree.
So, the next time you hear a “Tier, Tier, Tier, Tier,” listen very closely and see if you can guess who it is – your friendly red-shouldered neighbor or one of those sneaky Blue Jay mimics. Happy birding!
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/overview
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Getting into Nature – Often the Best Therapy
Zebra- Good News from Alexandria
For our readers who need to be outdoors, and that’s most of us, here is a thoughtful article written by Glenda Booth and originally published in Zebra. It offers ideas for easy, socially-distanced nature experiences in our region.
https://thezebra.org/2020/07/10/getting-into-nature-often-the-best-therapy/
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Monday Mystery
 Last month we asked readers if they could identify a particularly beautiful nest that had fallen from a tree.  People posted their answers on our Facebook page and Kristen Sinclair had the first correct guess – Gray Catbird. She won a snazzy ASNV hat!
We decided to continue our Monday Mystery contest each week. On Monday, July 13, we shared a particularly tricky, just emerging Pink-striped oakworm moth w hich Gwen Jennier correctly identified. On July 20 we shared an unusual plant (correct answer will be announced today) and this coming Monday, August 3, we have a feather quiz. The first person to correctly solve a Monday Mystery wins a hat or a tote bag. Visit our FB page to offer your suggestions.
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