For the last four years it’s has been a pleasure and an honor to be NVBA’s president. I want to take this opportunity to thank the great folks on our board, on our staff, in our volunteer ranks, and among our members and communities – and to highlight how, working with these groups, NVBA has been able to strengthen and grow its bird and nature conservation efforts. 

The equinox is a reminder that things begin again. Birds feel it before we do, returning, singing, coming back to the spaces they need. And that's exactly what I want us to think about this May during spring migration and the local nesting season: who gets to be in those spaces with them?

The Virginia Legislature has passed legislation, now awaiting the Governor’s signature, which will help combat the spread of invasive plants. But the new laws don’t do anything about the invasive plants in your own, or your neighbors’, yards. Here are a few that are at the top of my Enemies List, along with some suggestions on what to replace them with. 

I expect that many of you have wondered during the past frigid, snowy, and icy weeks, “How can birds survive the winter here?” That question has had me thinking too, and the answer seems to boil down (pun intended, see below) to two types of responses, i.e., behavioral and physiological, or a combination of the two.

Working to help birds, I cherish moments in the field. It's a reminder that helping science and volunteering is about more than contributing additional data. It sharpens your noticing. And suddenly you realize there are flickers of hope everywhere.

A year ago, I joined NVBA as Executive Director. I knew I was joining an organization with a strong legacy built by dedicated volunteers over many years, but I wasn't sure exactly what to expect.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, hosts a Project Owlnet bird banding station as part of a project studying Northern Saw-whet Owl migration. I was allowed to participate as a volunteer last year, which gave me a truly memorable experience, seeing the Northern Saw-whet Owl for the first time.

As each November rolls around, I try to review the past year in order to acknowledge and honor the many things for which I am thankful. 

One of the perks of editing the Potomac Flier is access to National Audubon Society’s photo archive, which includes years’ worth of images from the photography awards.

Fall migration is starting! I saw that someone had reported a Tennessee Warbler in northern Virginia just the other day, which got me musing about this migration season -- the challenges the birds face, how to make it safer for migrating birds and how to enjoy the spectacle of migration.

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.

As the sun slowly sank into Belmont Bay, a full moon rose behind us, lighting our way down Kane’s Creek. We paddled our kayaks back to the launch site with only the splash of our paddles to disturb the quiet of the evening.

Now that it is spring, NVBA’s conservation work has gone into high gear and it is this work that has taken on new meaning for me.

As spring transforms our northern Virginia landscape, millions of birds take to the skies in one of nature's most spectacular phenomena. This annual migration brings both opportunities for celebration through events like birdathons and responsibilities for ensuring that these travelers reach their destinations safely.