NVBA News Blog
American Robin. Photo: Mick Thompson/Audubon Photography Awards
Welcome to the blog for Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, a wealth of resources about northern Virginia birds, wildlife, habitat conservation and restoration, native plants, wildlife-friendly gardening, advocacy and more.
Mini-grants for Invasive Removal Completed
We selected applications with the most effective and reasonable plans to address threats from invasives and involving property containing habitat of value where invasive removal efforts would provide a visible demonstration of educational value to congregants, residents, and passersby.
Protect The Wildlife You Attract
Elements of the landscape may pose serious hazards to the very wildlife that we’ve attracted. Are we drawing them closer, only to have them harmed by an avoidable threat to their health and wellbeing?
A Bird’s Holiday Gift Guide
Although many people make charitable donations during the holidays instead of giving presents to adult friends and family, some of us still like to exchange physical presents. So, how about making some gift selections that will help the birds!
Observations from Meadowood: December 2024
Judy Gallagher is an NVBA board member and a regular surveyor of local wildlife who also captures photos of what she sees, in particular the less common species.
Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Where Do They Go?
We know now that migration on earth accounts for the disappearance and reappearance of birds. But what about other creatures?
Monday Mystery - November 25, 2024
Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery.
Upcoming Workshops and Classes
Join us for a class, workshop or event! Here are some of our upcoming offerings.
Join NVBA for a trip to Panama in March!
Enrollment is open for NVBA’s March 12-22 trip to Panama, Birding the Central and Darien Regions!
Glass and Light Pollution Threaten Birds
NVBA has launched a campaign to prevent bird deaths, citing a National Audubon Society study that found a 30 percent drop in bird populations in North America since 1970, which means more than one in four birds or three billion birds have been lost since then.
Where There’s Wildfire, There’s Smoke: How Does it Affect Birds? Looking Back at the 2023 Canadian Wildfires
We humans can find some refuge from the toxic particles by entering an office building, or staying at home, but what do birds do?
“Keystone” Plants for Fall Gardens
It’s fall, and most healthy plants are looking rather spent as they go dormant for the winter. But some natives are happily blooming away for the first time this growing season, catching your eye with their intense colors and soothing away year-end gardening blues
Two Entangled Bald Eagles Fell from the Sky
When Janet Challender was walking from the Hollin Hall Senior Center to her car around 2 p.m. on October 15, as she rounded the corner, suddenly, out of the sky, two bald eagles intertwined with each other “crashed into the parking lot like a meteor,” she said.
Observations from Meadowood: November 2024
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.
Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Grow your own bird feeder for migrating birds
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 Mystery - October 28, 2024
Monday Nature Mystery continues! Read on to learn who correctly identified our last mystery.
The American Kestrel
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.
Life at the Landfill: Much More than Trash
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.
Plant Native Vines for Hummingbirds and Beauty
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.
Observations from Meadowood: October 2024
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.
Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: October is the Time to Leave the Leaves
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.