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.
Ospreys May Be in Trouble Again
This year has brought some troubling signs for these impressive birds.
Pollinator Pathways: Connecting your yard to the bigger picture
Is it possible to reconnect isolated fragments in our urban, suburban, and rural settings to benefit pollinators and the creatures that depend upon them?
Biodiversity or mosquito fogging: You can’t have both
Some of our neighbors turn to commercial-grade mosquito fogging, persuaded by marketing claims that the product is both effective and “safe.” But a closer examination of these claims reveals an ineffective process that is devastating for native bees, butterflies, fireflies, moths, and a plethora of other beneficial insects we work so hard to attract with native plants.
A Closer Look: Nature All Around Us, September 2025
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.
Dyke Marsh: A Fragile Treasure
The Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve, in northern Mount Vernon along the Potomac River shoreline, is the "nearest thing to primeval wilderness" in the Washington area, wrote Louis J. Halle in 1947 when he biked from the city at dawn to watch the wetland awaken.
Happy Bees, Happy Yards
Gardening to attract as many bees as possible is more than a rewarding pastime. It’s a blend of purpose, beauty and connection to something grand and greater than we are.
The Bobolink
The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryaivorus, also called the rice bird or rice bunting, is yet another migrating songbird that has declined in population over the last fifty years.
Plant Survival Strategies
I am fascinated by the concept that plants and insects have co-evolved. Many plants rely on insects to pollinate them and disperse their seeds, and most insects rely on plants for food, either directly, or indirectly by eating other insects that have eaten plants. But it isn't in the plant's best interest to have all its vegetation eaten, and plants have evolved strategies to ensure that they survive the hordes of hungry insects.
Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Creating Habitat for Butterflies
Do you want more butterflies around your home? Consider creating a butterfly habitat that will attract not just adult butterflies passing through but will support butterflies throughout their life cycles.
Report on the 2025 Occoquan Bay Area Annual Butterfly Count
Not the best of mornings for finding butterflies; sunless, oppressively humid, just the slightest of breezes, downright uncomfortable. But more than two dozen volunteers were ready for the challenge.
Ospreys and the Menhaden Question
It’s always a joy when Osprey return to northern Virginia in the spring to breed after their winters in the Southern Hemisphere, but reports of increased nest failure are cause for concern.
Bird Banding at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge
During spring migration’s height, in April and May, from 6 a.m. to noon, volunteers catch and band birds in the Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge near Marumsco Creek three mornings a week, a project undertaken there every spring since 2001, except 2020, the “covid year.”
Attracting hummingbirds (and convincing them to stay a while)
With forethought and some planning, you can have a clear and frequent view of these 3.5-ounce, dive-bombing, backward-flying, shimmering, drama-obsessed, and Ferrari-engine-powered birds. If that sounds like fun, here are some tips to attract them now and get them to linger for the season.
New Study Documents Trends Using eBird Data
It’s difficult to be optimistic about the future of North American birds in the face of a relentless avalanche of news about national policy changes that can challenge conservation efforts.
An Introduction to Lacewings and Other Neuroptera
I went to North Carolina recently, searching for early season dragonflies. We searched for dragonflies by day, but at night we set up a black light to see what other insects we could attract. The highlight was a Pleasing Lacewing, an insect I had only seen once before, and it is the inspiration for this month's column.
Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Pollinators
Pollinators are important to our daily lives. Without insects, around 80 percent of flowering plants would not be pollinated.
Weekly Bird Word: May 26, 2025
Our new feature, the Weekly Bird Word, introduces a new bird-related vocabulary word each week.
Birdathon Stories: The Board Birders
The Board Birders started their Birdathon at 6:00 AM at Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. Read about their Birdathon adventure and find out how many species they saw!
New Law Requires Signs: Some Plants Are Invasive
Thanks to NVBA advocates’ and many others’ efforts, Virginia has a new law that requires, by January 1, 2027, retailers to conspicuously post “in proximity to each invasive plant display” signs indicating that a plant is invasive and “encouraging consumers to ask about alternatives.”
The People Birding to Make a Difference: Stories of Birdathon
It’s that time of year again: the days are longer, you have dirt under your fingernails from planting natives, and all across the region teams of people are birding for a good cause.