NVBA NEWS BLOG
Welcome to the blog for Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, a wealth of resources about northern Virginia birds, wildlife, habitat conservation and restoration, native plants, wildlife-friendly gardening, advocacy and more.
Weekly Bird Word: May 26, 2025
Our new feature, the Weekly Bird Word, introduces a new bird-related vocabulary word each week.
Photo: Chipping Sparrow, Troy Bynum
This week’s Bird Word is:
Eyline
According to the Cornell Lab Bird Academy, an eyeline is a distinctively colored line that passes through the eye, as seen below in the Chipping Sparrow.
Chipping Sparrow, Troy Bynum
Each week, we introduce a new Bird Word along with a briefing on the latest news and events from NVBA. If you’d like to receive this email, make sure you sign up for our mailing list!
Weekly Bird Word: April 28, 2025
Our new feature, the Weekly Bird Word, introduces a new bird-related vocabulary word each week.
Photo: Mallard, Alan D. Wilson, Wikimedia
This week’s Bird Word is:
Dabbling
According to the Cornell Lab Bird Academy, dabbling is a foraging technique in which a bird moves the beak rapidly on the surface of shallow water to pick up small aquatic animals and plant materials; it is used by “dabbling ducks” (like the Mallard pictured below) and a few other species.
Mallard, Erik Hansen/Audubon Photography Awards
Each week, we introduce a new Bird Word along with a briefing on the latest news and events from NVBA. If you’d like to receive this email, make sure you sign up for our mailing list!
Weekly Bird Word: March 31, 2025
Our new feature, the Weekly Bird Word, introduces a new bird-related vocabulary word each week.
Photo: Mallard, Alan D. Wilson, Wikimedia
This week’s Bird Word is:
Bounding
According to the Cornell Lab Bird Academy, bounding is a flight pattern in which a bird alternates flapping (during which it rises slightly) with glides on closed wings (during which it descends slightly). House Finches like the one shown below are known to fly in this manner.
House Finch, Jeff O’Keeffe/Audubon Photography Awards
Each week, we introduce a new Bird Word along with a briefing on the latest news and events from NVBA. If you’d like to receive this email, make sure you sign up for our mailing list!