
Dyke Marsh: A Fragile Treasure
Some history and current efforts to preserve and protect this rare marsh habitat.
Photo: View of Dyke Marsh, Dixie Sommers

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Creating Habitat for Butterflies
Want to see more butterflies in your yard? Plant what they need at every stage of their lives.
Photo: Monarch Butterfly, Judy Gallagher
The Bobolink
Another migrating songbird battles habitat loss in northern Virginia
Photo: Bobolink, Calvin Borgmann/Audubon Photography Awards

Happy Bees, Happy Yards
Gardening to attract as many bees as possible is more than a rewarding pastime. It’s a blend of purpose, beauty and connection to something grand and greater than we are.
Photo: Spring Beauty Bee, Judy Gallagher

Attracting Hummingbirds (and convincing them to stay awhile)
Here are some tips to attract them now and get them to linger for the season.
Photo: Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Scarlet Beebalm, Sarah Holtz

Ospreys and the Menhaden Question
It’s always a joy when Osprey return to northern Virginia in the spring to breed after their winters in the Southern Hemisphere, but reports of increased nest failure are cause for concern.
Photo: Osprey, Lewis Scharpf/Audubon Photography Awards
Conserving and Enjoying Nature
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance is a chapter of the National Audubon Society.
Our mission is to engage all Northern Virginia communities in enjoying, conserving, and restoring nature for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people. We advance our mission through educational programs, citizen science, conservation initiatives, and advocacy initiatives. We envision a world where people, wildlife, and their habitats thrive.

Letter to Our Members
I have been admiring the fireflies in my backyard recently. I didn’t see them there for many years, but I’ve attracted them by making several simple changes.
Photo: Common Eastern Firefly, Judy Gallagher
News
The latest stories from NVBA. Looking for a particular topic? Try searching our site. We have hundreds of articles full of great information about everything from birds to advocacy to native plants.
Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA) is seeking an experienced data migration consultant to handle the updating of our volunteer database.
The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance is seeking a passionate, creative volunteer to transform our social media presence and connect with bird enthusiasts across the region and beyond.
The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, in northern Mount Vernon along the Potomac River shoreline, is the "nearest thing to primeval wilderness" in the Washington area, wrote Louis J. Halle in 1947 when he biked from the city at dawn to watch the wetland awaken.
Gardening to attract as many bees as possible is more than a rewarding pastime. It’s a blend of purpose, beauty and connection to something grand and greater than we are.
The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryaivorus, also called the rice bird or rice bunting, is yet another migrating songbird that has declined in population over the last fifty years.
Judy Gallagher is an NVBA board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.
Do you want more butterflies around your home? Consider creating a butterfly habitat that will attract not just adult butterflies passing through but will support butterflies throughout their life cycles.
Not the best of mornings for finding butterflies; sunless, oppressively humid, just the slightest of breezes, downright uncomfortable. But more than two dozen volunteers were ready for the challenge.
It’s always a joy when Osprey return to northern Virginia in the spring to breed after their winters in the Southern Hemisphere, but reports of increased nest failure are cause for concern.
During spring migration’s height, in April and May, from 6 a.m. to noon, volunteers catch and band birds in the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Marumsco Creek three mornings a week, a project undertaken there every spring since 2001, except 2020, the “covid year.”
With forethought and some planning, you can have a clear and frequent view of these 3.5-ounce, dive-bombing, backward-flying, shimmering, drama-obsessed, and Ferrari-engine-powered birds. If that sounds like fun, here are some tips to attract them now and get them to linger for the season.
It’s difficult to be optimistic about the future of North American birds in the face of a relentless avalanche of news about national policy changes that can challenge conservation efforts.
Find more stories on our News page.
Upcoming Classes and Events
We have resumed some in-person bird walks and are holding our classes and events both in person and online. You can also watch recordings of past virtual events on our Online Programs page.