National Wildlife Refuges are entering a period of uncertainty that could undermine the vital protections they offer to around 800 bird species across the country. Northern Virginia’s refuges are not immune from the looming pressures, but area refuges outside the federal system are thriving.

During the transition from winter to spring, nature shows off. There are a trillion different emerging sights, but few as captivating as the trilliums (Trilliaceae family). 

Few people find visiting a landfill enticing, but some of our avian friends do. Grassland and other birds are using a closed portion of the I-95 landfill, according to a recently released Fairfax County report.  

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. 

Some history and background on a favorite birdwatching locale for many northern Virginians as Huntley Meadows celebrates its 50th year.

As multi-ton garbage trucks roll in and out 24 hours a day to unload the never-ending detritus of modern life and mammoth forklifts rumble over the I-95 landfill at Lorton, just over the hill, a very different kind of life abounds.

A landfill can be more than a garbage dump. It can be a place of ecological renewal. The latest example at Fairfax County’s I-95 landfill is a plan to protect some of the landfill’s grassland habitat for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.

What few people know is that there is a lot of natural habitat at Upton Hill, and that habitat attracts a lot of migratory birds. In that sense, Upton Hill is a microcosm of northern Virginia – we have lots of people and lots of development, but we also have lots of birds, especially in spring and fall.

Fourteen participants met up at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Visitor Center to witness and learn about a migration hawk watch.