Peregrine Falcons have been nesting on the Riverfront Plaza Building in Richmond since 2003. For thirteen years the same pair, “Ozzie” and “Harriet” occupied the nest. Harriet was last seen in 2016 and Ozzie’s last appearance was in 2017. Last year a new banded male showed up and was joined by an unbanded female this spring.

Bryan Watts, Director of The Center for Conservation Biology, has written a timely article about the importance of social distancing or spacing among various bird species.

Our birding friends tell us how glad they are to have birding during this time of social distancing. Even though they might not be visiting their favorite parks and hot spots, they can walk outside and experience the songs and displays of our region’s spectacular spring migration. When ASNV decided in March to cancel all of our in-person activities because of Covid-19, we received many questions about what was safe to do.

When schools closed due to the Coronavirus, my husband and I decided to homeschool our 10-year-old daughter. We wanted to come up with some interesting science projects to keep her engaged during these challenging times. We started off raising tadpoles, where our daughter would gather data to calculate their survival and growth rates. We thought about designing a vegetation habitat survey or an invertebrate creek survey. Can you tell we’re biologists?

Barred Owls are some of our most intriguing local birds. Most people will recognize their hoot-sequence call that sounds like, “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” Unlike many other owls, they are semi-nocturnal. Their name comes from their striped plumage, or “bars.” They are the only eastern owls with deep brown eyes, which can appear blue-black in certain light. Females are larger than males, and only females incubate chicks, or owlets.

Last month we announced the winner of our Hog Island Scholarship for teachers, Phoebe Riegle, a fifth-grade teacher at William Ramsey Elementary School in Alexandria, VA. Unfortunately, she will not have the opportunity to attend “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” this year. Hog Island Audubon Camp cancelled their summer programs out of concern for the health and safety of campers, volunteers and staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While in-person Audubon at Home Ambassador visits are paused you can still plan for spring planting with information on our website. Native-only plant vendors in our area will be taking orders in advance and arranging for curbside pick-up.

In celebration of the natural connection between birding and photography, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia co-hosted the 2019 Audubon Photography Awards Traveling Exhibition with Walker Nature Center in February and again with Huntley Meadows Park in March.

Governor Northam’s commitment to help the 25,000 migratory birds whose nesting area on the South Island was displaced by the expansion of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel has resulted in significant action in the past few weeks.

While in-person Audubon at Home Ambassador visits are paused you can still plan for spring planting with information on our website Native-only plant vendors in our area will be taking orders in advance and arranging for curbside pick-up.

ASNV member Randy Streufert has won the Grand Prize in the National Wildlife Federation’s “Garden for Wildlife” photo contest. Randy’s photo of a Prothonotary Warbler cooling off in water was the top photo out of nearly 5000 submissions from all over the world.

If you missed the 19 March webinar on bird-window collisions, you may watch a recording of it here. Collisions with windows are the third greatest cause of death for birds in the United States, after habitat loss and predation by outdoor cats.

Although Audubon at Home has discontinued client visits, we encourage you to consult with us about how to create wildlife habitat.

Audubon at Home encourages you to check out our new interactive map on our Certified Wildlife Sanctuaries webpage.

Every year, the Youth Education Committee of ASNV sponsors a mini-grant program to support teachers, schools, and non-profit organizations in youth-oriented education about birds and the environment. The committee is proud to announce three recipients ($500 per grant) in 2020.

ASNV’s Youth Education Committee is thrilled to announce Phoebe Riegle as the 2020 recipient of our Hog Island Scholarship. Each summer, ASNV offers a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine.

The 2020 ASNV Birdathon Competition is POSTPONED. We hope to reschedule for Fall 2020.

In 2018, Reston became part of the worldwide Biophilic Cities Network. To help residents identify specific actions that will protect Reston's natural resources, Reston Association's Environmental Advisory Committee is now deploying a Reston Biophilic Pledge.

In January, thirteen ASNV participants traveled to Colombia for a birdwatching tour. Gerry Abbott, chairman of the ASNV adult education committee, worked with Holbrook Travel for travel and tour arrangements. The successful trip oversold immediately.

Audubon at Home ambassadors gathered on February 1 for their annual – and delicious – brunch, at which AAH co-directors and county coordinators updated them on the program's progress over the past year. It has now been 10 years since AAH first certified a Wildlife Sanctuary, as of the brunch, the program has certified 683 properties on over 6300 acres.