This year’s annual Audubon Photography Awards contest attracted 2,253 entrants from throughout the United States...


** September 2019
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** Quick Links
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* Visit our website ([link removed])
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* View our Flicker album ([link removed])
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* Donate to ASNV ([link removed])

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** In This Newsletter
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* Conservation Counts
* Make a Difference!  
Speak Up!
* Blowing Smoke for A Prize-Winning Shot
* Landscape Professionals Gather for Plant NOVA Natives Conference
* Planting Hope: Engaging Faith-based Communities in Plants for Birds
* President's Corner
* Chesapeake Bay Ecology Trip
* September Bird of the Month: The Pfeilstorch
* Upcoming Classes and Events 
* Take Action
* Bird & Butterfly Walks
* Recurring Bird Walks
* Other News

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**
Conservation Counts
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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. From April through October, surveys are conducted primarily for butterflies and dragonflies at those two locations and two others—Occoquan Regional Park and Julie J. Metz Memorial Wetlands Preserve.

More information is available on the ASNV website.

Contact Jim ([link removed]) for more details or to reserve your space.


**
Meadowood on Mason Neck
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(7:30 a.m. - noon)
* September 11
* October 16


** Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
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(7:30 a.m - noon)
* September 25
* October 30


** Butterfly and Dragonfly Surveys
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April through October
(8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)
* Occoquan Regional Park: September 27, October 25
* Occoquan Bay NWR: September 6, October 4
* Meadowood Recreation Area: September 13, October 11, November 10
* Metz Wetlands Preserve: September 20, October 18

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**
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** Make a Difference!
Speak Up!
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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.


** Advocate Against Climate Change
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We need passionate volunteers across Virginia who can help persuade elected officials to support actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If you would like to help make a difference with climate change and other important issues, please contact Glenda Booth ([link removed]) .


**
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** Blowing Smoke for A Prize-Winning Shot
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** Local Photographer takes Grand Prize Photo in Huntley Meadows Park
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** By Lisa Mackem
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This year’s annual Audubon Photography Awards contest attracted 2,253 entrants from throughout the United States and Canada. Kathrin (“Kathy”) Swoboda, of Vienna, VA, won the grand prize for her photo of a Red-winged Blackbird seeming to blow smoke rings. Kathy is an amateur photographer who started photographing birds about seven years ago in her backyard, which is beside a park. Her son created a professional-looking photography website [link removed] for her, but she has never sold her photographs. Kathy originally did not plan to enter her prize-winning photo in the 2019 Audubon Photography Awards contest. Instead, she posted the picture on the Facebook site “Birds of the Eastern United States” where someone suggested that she enter.


Kathy took her picture in Huntley Meadows Park, which she visits every year. She wanted to capture a bird’s backlit breath on a cold, sunny, early spring morning. The park is a 40-minute drive from her home, but “Huntley Meadows is fantastic,” says Kathy. “In the spring and summer, they have lots of birds, birdwatchers, and people taking pictures. The birds are probably tamer there than in other places because they’re used to seeing more people up and down the boardwalks.” Kathy arrived at the park at 7 a.m. on the March morning when she took her winning photo. She slowly walked along the boardwalk, taking pictures of Red-winged Blackbirds. “A particular bird was very vocal – singing hard and long,” said Kathy. She focused on that bird, and for the first time, she saw the smoke rings. She took 26 shots of that bird, continually trying to get a better one. When the sun rose over the trees, Kathy could backlight the blackbird’s breath. The shadow of the woods behind the bird was an effectiv
e backdrop.

Initially, Kathy took photos with consumer-grade cameras. As she learned more about photography, she bought her current camera – a Nikon D500 with Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR lens. She explained that its features, including fast focus and large buffer, are ideal for bird photography, and let her shoot many images without pausing. “You can just keep going and going,” she says. She finds her subject and just lets the camera shoot. The camera took 30 shots for her winning photo. Kathy joined a camera club and entered a club competition to hone her photography skills. She is active on social media and at National Audubon’s request, is doing an Audubon takeover on Instagram - [link removed] #audubontakeover. “Watch birds, learn all you can about them,” she says. “Focus on one bird or species and know their nature story. That makes for a better picture.”

A retired physician, married with three grown children, Kathy loves all birds.


** Landscape Professionals Gather for Plant NOVA Natives Conference
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On August 7, over 100 people attended Plant NOVA Natives’ ([link removed]) (PNN) first native plants conference for professionals, including representatives from 39 professional landscaping companies. PNN (outreach partner of Audubon at Home) and AAH collaborated to obtain “seed money” for the conference from Transurban’s Express Lanes Community Grant Program ([link removed]) .

Although homeowners can drive demand for native plants, most residential and commercial landscapes in Northern Virginia are designed and installed by professionals. If our neighborhoods are to evolve in a way that supports the local ecosystem, leadership from the landscaping industry will be critical.

The Plant NOVA Natives campaign ([link removed]) is not just about educating homeowners on why and how to use native plants as a first step toward creating wildlife habitat. The campaign also has resources tailored to the needs of professionals including a reference guide that identifies native plants that are reliable, widely available, beautiful, and suitable for conventional landscape settings. Curb appeal is important to customers and can be easily obtained using the right native plants. The reference guide for landscapers and other resources can be found on the PNN website in the professionals ([link removed]) section. A quick start guide for homeowners can be found here ([link removed]) .


** Landscape Professionals Gather for Plant NOVA Natives Conference (continued)
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The conference agenda included three hour-long presentations. Brad Motter from Gone Native Landscapes ([link removed]) reviewed the critical role of insects in our ecosystem and the ecological benefits of native plants in the food web supporting wildlife, and he discussed how to promote them to customers. One of the examples he showed was the beautiful, native landscaping around Caboose Commons beer garden and coffee house in Fairfax. Ginger Woolrich - co-author with Tony Dove of the highly practical book,
Essential Native Trees and Shrubs - highlighted the landscaping value of various trees and shrubs. Elisa Meara wrapped up the conference with a talk on the native perennials she uses most in her business, Native Plant Landscape Design Corp ([link removed]) .

Several organizations collaborated to make the conference possible: Merrifield Garden Center ([link removed]) provided the venue while the Northern Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association ([link removed]) and the Audubon at Home ([link removed]) program contributed logistical support. Meadows Farms ([link removed]) publicized the event on their email list of professionals. The resulting turnout was very gratifying and demonstrated the need for future conferences as we work together to be conscientious stewards of our environment to mitigate the climate crisis.


** Reflections on Hog Island Audubon Camp
Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week
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** By Kirk Treakle – ASNV 2019 Hog Island Scholarship Winner
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Spending six days on Hog Island, Maine was one of the most meaningful, educational experiences I have ever had. From the moment we stepped off the boat from the mainland, we were immersed in a rich environment of natural wonder, forming new relationships, and inspired by the passion and knowledge of the camp staff and our fellow educators who arrived from all over the country.

The week was full of highlights, big and small. Here are few:
* Being challenged by the hands-on “Mystery of the Day” where we had to figure out something about the natural world by using available resources. It was fascinating to learn that black feathers contained more melanin, causing them to be hardier, and thus found on the outer wings of many sea birds whose feathers can take a beating when they sometimes touch the surface while flying over the water.
* Exploring tide pools and pond life allowing us to live the kinds of experiences we hope to share with our students and along the way, anticipating pitfalls and learning a bagful of simple tricks to involve every child and expose them to the best outdoor nature experiences available to us.
* Getting to witness, first hand, the results of decades of work by Audubon’s Project Puffin, a part of the Seabird Restoration Program, which has successfully re-introduced Atlantic Puffins to Egg Island where they once lived. The island is now thriving with puffins and Common Terns, which are still studied by scientists who live in tents near the birds during breeding season.
* Discovering the geologic history of another island by walking its rocky coast with a geologist. Decades ago, fishermen who stained the island rocks with tar while waterproofing their nets, added a human element to the story told thousands of years ago in boulders deposited by glaciers, and even earlier by the twisted layers of schist and cross-cutting igneous intrusions created millions of years ago.
* Sitting on moss-covered rocks under the shade of tall trees, the sounds of nature flooded our senses as we took a mindfulness break during a day-long hike around Hog Island.
* Being a part of a group in an atmosphere that was purposefully created to be inclusive of all types of people.
* Hearing the repeated message by camp staff that we all can and are making a difference in conserving nature, one student and one action at a time, and gaining so many new tools with which to successfully make those differences.

Educator’s Week on Hog Island was a celebration of the natural world, giving us strategies, tips, and ideas to inspire a sense of wonder with the youth we have the privilege to guide along the path.

I am so grateful to the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for sponsoring me for this transformative adventure.


** Planting Hope: Engaging Faith-based Communities in Plants for Birds
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A session on “Planting Hope: Engaging Faith-based Communities in Plants for Birds,” engaged a full room at the July National Audubon Convention in Milwaukee. ASNV’s Audubon at Home Co-Director Robin Duska described how Audubon at Home has built on pioneering work by its outreach partner, Plant NOVA Natives, to certify faith community properties as Wildlife Sanctuaries and to obtain a grant from the Coleman and Susan Burke Center for Native Plants in 2018 for six northern Virginia Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith communities, whose gardens and educational programs are now in bloom.

Also, on the program, Tom Tribble, immediate past President of the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society in North Carolina, described EMAS’s work with a Catholic church with a large Hispanic community. John Rowden, the National Audubon Society’s Director of Community Conservation, moderated the session.


** President's Corner
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**
“To Spray or not to Spray – a challenge for bird-friendly people.”
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** By Tom Blackburn, ASNV President
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The National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution, among others, recently highlighted the increasing threat to insect populations caused by long-lasting pesticides used in commercial agriculture, warning of an “insect apocalypse.” But the problem is not limited to large-scale agriculture.

Have you ever considered how heavily your backyard birds depend on insects? Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, and our local woodpeckers are frequent visitors to seed and suet feeders, but most of their diet consists of insects. Insects make up 80-90% of the Carolina Chickadee’s diet. One pair may bring as many as 9000 caterpillars to their nest to feed just one brood of young. Even birds that eat mostly seeds, such as Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches, and House Finches, need insects to pollinate the plants that produce seeds.

Although we mostly see Ruby-throated Hummingbirds at our nectar feeders, we need to remember that 60% to 80% of their diet consists of small insects and spiders. Hummingbirds “hawk” for insects – flying from a perch to grab small insects and then returning to the perch – just like flycatchers such as the Eastern Wood-Pewee and the Eastern Phoebe.

The dependence of our common backyard birds on insects creates a difficult dilemma: If you have your yard sprayed to kill mosquitoes or insects that harm your flowering plants, the spray kills virtually all insects that contact it. That impacts the food supply of your birds.

In our yard, we never spray for mosquitoes because our healthy population of birds and dragonflies, as well as eliminating all standing water, seems to keep them in check. And rather than kill the bald-faced hornets that recently made a large nest in a tree next to the sidewalk, we posted caution tape on stakes surrounding the tree. Hornets are beneficial insects that will not sting unless threatened. However, we reluctantly decided to spot spray our garden phlox with pyrethrin to kill the phlox bugs that are devastating them. The plants are no longer flowering, so bees will not be affected. The short period before the chemical degrades will minimize the impact on other insects and the birds that eat them.

How you choose to deal with insects in your yard is of course up to you. But so long as you keep in mind the crucial role insects play in the ecosystem, from pollination to feeding birds, you will be more likely to make the right decision.


**
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**
Chesapeake Bay Ecology Trip
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** By Tom Wood
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On the weekend of August 17 – 18, sixteen ASNV members headed east to Calvert County Maryland for a fun summer weekend. Only an hour and a half from Northern Virginia, our first stop was the Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, where we were greeted with the call of a Piliated Woodpecker, as we walked under the canopy of majestic cypress. A gently flowing stream under a boardwalk revealed fresh deer and raccoon tracks while blooming cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) provided bright red color to the serene setting. Mid-August is a relatively quiet time for passerines. Post-nesting Prothonotary Warblers and Summer Tanagers were no longer vocalizing as they quietly prepared for migration, allowing the drone of the cicadas’ chorus to mute out all other sound. As we emerged from the cool understory, mid-day summer heat greeted us in the sanctuary’s restored meadow. Here, we found abundant Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies before enjoying lunch and heading south to the Calvert Marine Museum.

On Saturday afternoon, we were guests on one of the last skipjacks on the Chesapeake. The Dee of Saint Mary’s was built as a working oyster boat and converted for education by Captain Jackie Russell, who like many watermen, is working to restore the bay’s ecosystem. The Dee is now owned by the Calvert Marine Museum and operated by an excellent crew, knowledgeable about the skipjack, oysters, and blue crabs. We had a fun afternoon, hoisting the massive main sail and enjoying the solitude of sailing in the bay. We were treated to Double Crested Cormorants, all age classes of Bald Eagles, Osprey families, and both Herring and Laughing Gulls. Back at the museum, we enjoyed the paleontology (shark teeth!) and bay exhibits, with river otters being among our favorites.

After an exhilarating day, we checked into a comfortable hotel and re-assembled for a fun dinner overlooking the Patuxent river. We were treated to a beautiful sunset, fine seafood, and nice wine.

On Sunday morning, we visited one of my favorite out-of-the way beach spots. Matoaka Beach Cabins is a rustic retreat that takes you back in time, where you can see the famous Calvert Cliff Formations and find Miocene fossils. We saw Bald Eagles and fishing Osprey and enjoyed the water on what was a summer day to remember.


** September Bird of the Month: The Pfeilstorch
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** By Elise Brosnan
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In the 19th century, a curious phenomenon stumped European bird watchers and zoologists. Why did some species of birds disappear and then reappear every year? People back then had no way to track birds as they traveled long distances, so they had to come to their own conclusions.

One popular theory was that birds hibernated at the bottom of a pond or stream, the same strategy used by aquatic frogs and turtles. This claim was buoyed by fisherman, who said they were catching birds in their nets. In earlier times, other scientists, such as Aristotle, believed that birds metamorphized, transforming into other bird species like caterpillars transform into butterflies. Other theories were even more bizarre. In 1703, a Harvard professor proposed that birds were flying to the moon!

In 1822, one White Stork helped put an end to this mystery. The bird landed near the German village of Klütz with a 30-inch spear through its neck. The spear was discovered to be made from African wood, meaning this stork must have traveled between the continents. Being a literal people, the Germans felt this strange, new animal needed a new name: Pfeilstorch, or arrow-stork. Amazingly, there have been 24 subsequent recorded Pfeilstorchs—birds that have successfully migrated to Europe with an African spear embedded in their flesh.

The Pfeilstorch was the first concrete evidence for migration, the annual, large-scale movement of birds between their breeding and non-breeding territories. Migration may be less fantastical than space travel or shape-shifting, but it is no less impressive. Twenty-five recorded Pfeilstrorchs traveled 2,000 miles to Africa, got impaled, and then traveled 2,000 miles back. Their 4,000mile round trip pales in comparison to the Artic Tern, which makes an almost 60,000-mile voyage between the poles. The Common Swift has a shorter migration, traveling from its breeding grounds in Scandinavia to its feeding grounds in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, because of the recent development of lightweight accelerometers commonly used in smartphones, researchers have been able to prove that the Common Swift has the longest uninterrupted flight of any bird. Common Swifts eat, drink, mate, and even sleep while airborne, and consequently, some of them never set foot on the African continent they return to each
year. By the time they touch back down in Scandinavia, these birds have been airborne for an entire 10 months.

Although we have had proof of migration for nearly 200 years, in many ways it still perplexes us. We still don’t have definitive answers to what triggers migration, how birds navigate across oceans, or why birds choose to go on these long and arduous journeys at all. With all of these unknowns, one thing is for certain: technological innovations like accelerometers, as well as random happenstance like the Pfeilstorch, will continue to shed light on one of the most beguiling mysteries of the natural world.



** Sources:
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**
Upcoming Classes and Events
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Audubon Afternoon and Silent Auction
Butterfly Research From The Ries Lab Of Butterfly Informatics
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2019
Time: 2:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Location: National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston 20190

Save the date for our next Audubon Afternoon & Silent Auction, Sunday September 22, 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. Join us as we welcome Leslie Ries and Elise Larson from the Ries Lab of Butterfly Informatics at Georgetown University. We’ll learn about their current research and get an update on ASNV’s citizen science surveys.

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.

Elise Larsen is a post-doctoral associate with interests in ecology, population dynamics, phenology, and disturbance. She is especially fascinated by butterfly dynamics, currently focusing on traits such as color and lifespan.

The Ries Lab of Butterfly Informatics studies large-scale patterns of insects, mostly butterflies, using a combination of laboratory and data-intensive approaches. Their laboratory work on thermal tolerances is designed to provide key parameters for large-scale distribution and phenology models that they then test with independent distribution data, mostly acquired from citizen science monitoring programs. The lab supports a variety of databases providing information on ecological traits and distribution which are a resource for the public. They also lead efforts to support butterfly monitoring programs throughout North America.


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Raptors of the East Coast Region

Classroom Instruction:
Date: Thursday, September 26, 2019
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Location: National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston 20190

Field Trip:
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2019,
Time: beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Location: Waggoner’s Gap (At top of Kittatinny Ridge, near Carlisle, PA)

Fee: $50 members, $60 non-members

Join us on Thursday, September 26 for Stacia Novy’s presentation on birds-of-prey. She will discuss flight characteristics, identification and migration patterns, focusing on raptor species of the East Coast region. The presentation will be followed by a field trip to Waggoner’s Gap, PA on Saturday, September 28 for a day of hawk watching. We’ll apply knowledge learned in the workshop by observing kettles of Broad-winged Hawks, falcons, and other migrant raptors making their way south for the winter.

Stacia Novy has been involved with wildlife conservation projects for over 30 years, specializing in birds. She is on the Board of Directors for Save the Prairie Society, an organization that saved Wolf Road Prairie Nature Preserve from urban development in Westchester, Illinois. She has conducted avian surveys for Wolf Road Prairie, the Audubon Center at Riverlands, Missouri, and the USDA Henry White Experimental Farm. She collected nesting data on Elf Owls, Gilded Flickers, and Yellow-billed Cuckoos for Tucson Audubon Society and Sonoran Audubon Society to establish Important Bird Areas (IBAs) for those species in Arizona. Stacia has also worked with Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge biologists to band birds, radio-track ocelots, and conduct nocturnal surveys of mammals. In Texas and Belize, she assisted in releasing endangered Aplomado Falcons and Orange-breasted Falcons for The Peregrine Fund.

Stacia has presented wildlife-related topics in both popular and scientific forums. Her articles have been published by the Illinois Ornithological Society, the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, the Illinois State Academy of Science, the North American Falconers Association, American Falconry, and the American Birding Association. She has a passion for raptorial birds, and is one of only about 500 women in the United States to hold state and federal falconry licenses to keep birds-of-prey in captivity.

To register, click here ([link removed]) .


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Fundamentals of Avian Biology: The Study of Birds
Fall Session

Classroom Instruction:
Dates: Thursdays, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.; October 3, 10, 17; December 5, 12, 19
Location: National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston 20190

Field Trips: October 12; December 14
Location: TBD

Are you new to birding and want to learn more or just want to dig deeper into the subject? Then this class is for you! This course is designed to include beginners, but it is by no means restricted to them.

Fundamentals of Avian Biology: Fall Session, will feature close scrutiny of the modern theory and field methods used to interpret the life of birds. Topics to be covered will encompass basic avian biology, life histories, evolution, behavior, ecology, geography, migration, and human socio-cultural relationships. Whenever appropriate, contrasting perspectives will be offered, including some controversial views, and distinctions made between different historical approaches of professional ornithology and birding. Classroom presentations will include PowerPoint slides, auditory or video supplements, and some participatory exercises.

Instructor: Dr. Chris Haney's expertise straddles the fields of ornithology, including: marine science, climate change, wildlife biology, ecosystem management, and conservation policy. His projects and scholarly work have taken him to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, several countries of southern Africa, and the former Soviet Union. He has authored over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical notes, and over 150 reports, abstracts, and testimony. He has delivered more than 150 seminar, conference, and workshop presentations. Dr. Haney’s knowledge and enthusiasm in the classroom is contagious!

Limit: 30 students. Don’t delay, this class will sell out quickly.

Fee: $250 members, $275 non-members

This course is designed and presented at a university introductory level in two separate sections (Fall and Spring) with a total of 12, two-hour classroom sessions. The two sections are independent and field trips will focus on birds that are present during the season. The Spring Session will begin in late winter 2020, there is no prerequisite for this section.

To register, click here ([link removed]) .


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Project FeederWatch Workshop
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Locaton: National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston 20190

Project FeederWatch is the easiest citizen science you will ever do! From the comfort of your home, you simply count the winter birds that visit your feeders and report your data to Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This FREE workshop will cover a bit of the history of Project FeederWatch, its purpose, tips for identifying birds, and the protocols to be followed while counting. We’ll spend some time practicing with the birds at the ASNV feeders. Light refreshments will be served.

Instructor: Carol Hadlock, volunteer extraordinaire and pioneer with the Audubon at Home program, will instruct this workshop.

Although the workshop is FREE, registration ([link removed]) is required.


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Christmas Bird Count Workshop
Date: Sunday, November 24
Time: 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Location: National Wildlife Federation 11100 Wildlife Center Drive Reston, VA 20190

Join Phil Silas, the Manassas-Bull Run Christmas Bird Count compiler, to learn about this long-running citizen science bird survey. Phil will cover its purpose, and scope, explain how we organize our CBC and show where the data goes and how it is used. The workshop offers tips on preparing for a winter bird count and will review how to identify many of the birds seen in our area in winter. Light refreshments will be served.

Instructor: Phil Silas is a popular field trip leader and volunteers on many counts and surveys in the area.

This workshop is FREE, but registration ([link removed]) is required.



** 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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** Take Action
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**
HISTORIC WILDLIFE CONSERVATION CRISIS
Help Save America’s Birds and other Wildlife
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National Audubon is asking all conservation-minded citizens to urge their congressional representatives to support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. This legislation would allocate $1.3 billion each year to conserve at-risk species, the largest investment in wildlife conservation in generations. Learn more at [link removed].


**
Virginia’s Environmental Challenges
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What are the environmental challenges facing Virginia and its localities? Join your friends in Richmond on October 11 and 12 for the Virginia Environmental Assembly, sponsored by the Virginia Conservation Network. Experts will explore topics like responding to climate change, renewable energy’s potential, and land conservation. This conference will be held at the Living and Learning Center of Virginia Union University. Learn more at [link removed]. ([link removed])


** Bird & Butterfly Walks
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** Dyke Marsh, Alexandria, VA
Wednesday, September 11, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
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Dixie Sommers leads this walk sponsored by the Northern Virginia Bird Club.

Getting there: From Alexandria, take GW Parkway south. Cross I-495; continue 1.2 miles to Belle Haven Park entrance on the left. Meet at the south parking lot. 6401 George Washington Memorial Parkway, Alexandria, 22307


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** Stratton Woods Park, Reston, VA
Sunday, September 15, 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.
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Matt Bender leads this walk sponsored by the Reston Association and The Bird Feeder of Reston.

Getting there: From westbound Dulles Access Road, go south on the Fairfax County Parkway. From the Parkway, go west on Fox Mill Rd and take the first right turn into the parking lot and park by the ball fields. 2431 Fox Mill Road.


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** Huntley Meadows—Hike & Bike trail, Alexandria, VA
Wednesday, September 25, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
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Dixie Sommers leads this walk sponsored by the Northern Virginia Bird Club.

Getting there: From I-495 eastbound, take the exit to go South on Van Dorn Street. At the end of the road, turn left on Telegraph Road and then immediately right onto Kings Highway. The park’s parking lot is on the right. Alternately, from Arlington, take Route 1 south 0.5 miles to South Kings Highway. Turn right (west) and go 2.5 miles to park entrance and lot on the left, just before Telegraph Road.


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** Royal Lake Lakeside Park, Fairfax, VA
Sunday, September 29, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
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Phil Silas leads this walk sponsored by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia.

Getting there: From I-495 take exit to VA-620, Braddock Road going west and continue 2.36 miles. Turn left onto Route 651 Guinea Road and continue 0.64 miles. Stay straight at intersection with Commonwealth Boulevard (do not turn left to follow Guinea Road.) Go 0.4 mile and turn left on Pommeroy Drive and then turn right at the intersection with Bronte Drive to the entrance leading to the parking lot. 5216 Pommeroy Drive, Fairfax 22032.


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Bles Park, Sterling, VA
Wednesday, October 9, 8:30 to 11:00 a.m.
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Jean Tatalias leads this walk sponsored by the Northern Virginia bird club.

Getting there: From the intersection of VA Route 28 and VA Route 7, travel west on Route 7 for 1.3 miles and turn right onto Loudoun County Parkway. Turn right on George Washington Boulevard, then left on Riverside Parkway Bles Park will be on your right at the end of Riverside Parkway.


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** Bright Pond, Reston, VA
Sunday, October 13, 7:30 to 10:30 a.m.
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Linda Fuller leads this walk sponsored by the Reston Association and The Bird Feeder of Reston.

Getting there: Take the Reston Parkway north from the Dulles Toll Road or from Baron Cameron Avenue. Turn right on Bright Pond Lane and park around the cul-de-sac and along the street.


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** Walker Nature Center, Reston, VA
Sunday, October 20, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
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Robin Duska leads this walk for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia

Getting there: From VA-267 W/Dulles Toll Road take exit 14 (Hunter Mill Road/VA-674). Turn left onto Hunter Mill Rd (VA-674), right onto Sunrise Valley Drive, left onto S Lakes Drive, left onto Twin Branches Road. Then take third right onto Glade Drive. Meet at the Nature House at 11450 Glade Drive in Reston.


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** Laurel Hill Equestrian Center, Lorton, VA
Thursday, October 24, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m.
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Phil Silas leads this walk sponsored by the Northern Virginia Bird Club.

Getting there: From I-495, take I-95 south about 13 miles to exit 163 (Lorton Road). Continue 1.4 west on Route 642 (Lorton Road). Turn left on Route 611 (Furnace Road) and then immediately right onto Dairy Road. Proceed to the parking lot where we’ll meet.


** Recurring Bird Walks
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Several parks in the area have established year-round weekly bird walks. These walks are not run by ASNV, but may be of interest to ASNV members. They can be found here ([link removed]) .

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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, Ste J, Reston, VA 20194. (703) 437-3335
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