The 38th Annual Manassas-Bull Run Christmas Bird Count on December 15, 2019 had the highest total of participants yet at 137 and counted over 20,000 birds of 86 avian species. The conditions were favorable, so there were many more walking miles than during the saturated conditions on last year’s count.

Each summer Audubon Society of Northern Virginia offers a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine. We have extended the application deadline to March 1, 2020!

Save the Date!  On March 21st, Betsy Martin of The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia’s Audubon at Home Program and Linda Beaty of Plant NOVA Natives will join forces to provide a special program on how to make your yard more attractive to wildlife.

The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) is sponsoring a mini-grant program in 2020 to help teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations educate youth about birds and the environment. ASNV anticipates awarding three mini-grants, up to $500 each.

The November Potomac Flier article “Three Billion Birds,” shared 7 Simple Steps to help birds published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Conservation Biology Institute. The 7th step, “Watch Birds, Share What You See” encourages birdwatching and citizen science. Data collected through simple observation can have profound results.

A team brings at-risk Peregrine Falcon chicks from bridge nest sites in eastern Virginia to Virginia’s mountains, once part of their historic range. They hope the birds will imprint on the park's cliffs and return as breeding adults.

In celebration of the natural connection between birding and photography, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia will co-host the 2019 Audubon Photography Awards Traveling Exhibition with Walker Nature Center in Reston between February 5 and February 26, 2020 and again with Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria between March 4 and March 25, 2020.

Along with the Prince William Wildflower Society, a chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and Audubon at Home will be sponsoring an author lecture by renowned entomologist and ecologist Dr. Doug Tallamy.

Last month, the Potomac Flier article “Three Billion Birds” summarized the alarming decline of birds in the US and Canada since 1970. Habitat loss is the biggest driver of that decline. The second biggest driver is free-roaming domestic and feral cats.

Do you have a favorite spot to bird that you’d like to share with others?  Consider leading a winter or spring walk there for ASNV.

Wild bird populations in the continental US and Canada have declined by almost 30% since 1970, representing a loss of nearly 3 billion birds. This loss astounded Cornell Lab of Ornithology conservation scientist, Ken Rosenberg. Rosenberg led an international team of scientists from seven institutions in the analysis of population trends for 529 bird species. The journal Science published the study results in September. 

Winning Birdathon teams traveled out to the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, Virginia on September 17 to view some rare books, including a John James Audubon folio, and the grounds of the estate of Rachel "Bunny" Mellon, who designed the White House Rose Garden. 

The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is pleased to announce the 2020 youth education mini-grant program. This program aims to help teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations educate youth about birds and the environment.

Each spring and fall Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts hosts two campouts for Fairfax County 5th and 6th grade students sponsored by Friends of Wolf Trap. The campouts give young people an opportunity to develop meaningful connections to the natural world, learn outdoor skills, make new friends, and have fun.

National Audubon has asked its members to advocate for the federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act NAS Bird Safe Windows, and ASNV wants to address the issue on a local level. If you have expertise in architecture, city planning or bird-safe building measures, the Advocacy Committee would like to hear from you.

Owls are our nocturnal neighbors, leading secretive lives in woods and fields around us. Rarely seen during the day, they can be hard to spot at night. Here are 12 things to know about these elusive birds.

On September 22, ASNV awarded James (Jim) Waggener National Audubon Society’s prestigious Great Egret Award in recognition of his outstanding citizen science contribution. Jim is only the second person from ASNV to receive this award. He is a naturalist, who began the Occoquan Monitoring Program 30 years ago after retiring from foreign service.

The Audubon Society of Northern Virginia is happy to highlight a new partnership:   Green Muslims is a volunteer-driven 501(C)3 headquartered in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area that is working to connect Muslims everywhere to nature and environmental activism. 

Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s most quoted (and misquoted) poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” tells the story of a sailor who shoots a friendly albatross, cursing himself and his crew. As punishment, he is forced to wear the bird around its neck, making the albatross a symbol of his burden and regret. Good omens in life and bad omens in death, albatrosses have become symbols of both good and bad luck. Fittingly, while some real albatrosses have been fortunate, others have had tough luck.

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.