Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.

Fall-fruiting native shrubs and trees not only provide nutritious, fatty berries for birds, but also display beautiful fall color. That’s not for our benefit: what’s called foliar fruit flagging is the way the plants signal to birds that fruits are ripe and ready for plucking—just in time for migration.

Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery.

American Kestrels are often seen perching on utility wires alongside farm fields, or hovering with rapid wingbeats, until dropping to snatch prey from the ground or mid-air. This robin-sized falcon is speedy and fun to watch.

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.

Native vines can be terrific additions to your landscape. The most popular one, Coral Honeysuckle, is a hummingbird magnet! Unlike the non-native invasive vines that we see everywhere killing trees, our native vines seldom hurt them.

Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.

There are many good reasons for leaving the leaves. By keeping fallen leaves on our properties rather than having them hauled away by landscapers or local governments, we can reduce our production of greenhouse gases and more.

Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery.

Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery.

Each summer, NVBA offers a full scholarship and transportation to “Sharing Nature: An Educator’s Week” at National Audubon Society’s Hog Island Camp in Maine. Here is what our 2024 scholarship winner shared with us.

King Rail populations have declined over the last ten years primarily due to habitat loss. King Rails are among northern Virginia birds that BirdLife International’s State of the Birds 2022 identified as at a tipping point for extinction, having lost half of their population in the last 50 years, and on a trajectory to lose another 50% in the next 50 years if nothing changes.

Billions of birds die each year from human-made causes. NVBA, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Nature Forward, DarkSky NOVA, DarkSky Virginia, Friends of Dyke Marsh, and Friends of Little Hunting Creek have formed a partnership, Bird Safe NOVA, in an effort to reduce the devastating toll on birds from excess light and window collisions.

We all know the climate is getting hotter. The week of July 22 included the world’s two hottest days in recorded history. We can only anticipate more heat and more drought in the future. How can you help your garden thrive?

As part of our ongoing commitment to inclusivity and making birding accessible to everyone, the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance is excited to celebrate Birdability Week!

The news reports are filled with coverage about the major party conventions for the upcoming Presidential race. It’s important, but don’t let it distract you from keeping track of what’s going on in Virginia.

Judy Gallagher is an ASNV board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.

Watch this space for an almanac entry in October!

Recently, we were confronted by the question of whether a yard where the homeowner has taken many steps to improve habitat can be certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary when the homeowner also employs a regular mosquito spraying service. We reviewed the evidence and decided that the answer is no: broadcast spraying for mosquitoes is not consistent with creating a functioning wildlife sanctuary in one’s yard. 

The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA, formerly Audubon Society of Northern Virginia) has been associated with Occoquan Bay for over 30 years, conducting regular bird, insect, and plant surveys on the Refuge grounds and providing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) staff with valuable data for making decisions about Refuge management.