Once any of us becomes aware of the threat to our community’s trees from invasive vines, walking through our own neighborhoods can be a little frustrating. What if you could help those trees in a friendly, neighborly way?

If Japanese Barberry’s thorns, poisonous berries and dense thickets aren’t enough to convince you to get rid of it, here’s another reason.

During the transition from winter to spring, nature shows off. There are a trillion different emerging sights, but few as captivating as the trilliums (Trilliaceae family). 

After snow flurries and a couple of cold snaps this past month, here are a couple things local birders are looking forward to in April.

My favorite birding spot is Veterans Memorial Park in Woodbridge. I keep coming back for the surprises that appear around every bend in the trail.

As spring arrives in northern Virginia, we’re looking forward to Birdathon 2026, our biggest and most FUN fundraiser of the year!

Time to turn off your lights to help migrating birds coming to or through our area! Learn more about the importance of darkness to migrating birds.

Finding natives in commercial garden centers can be challenging. Plant labels, excepting those that Plant NOVA Native volunteers have already tagged in red as “Native,” rarely offer much information and use terms that can be confusing. Here are some definitions and tips to help you find exactly what the biodiversity of the region needs.

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.

Everybody loves butterflies, but caterpillars can be less charismatic. However, without caterpillars, we don’t have butterflies.

You still have time, if you’re lucky, to see one of our most spectacular winter visitors: the Tundra Swan. Hundreds of these graceful white birds spend the winter in the Chesapeake Bay and tidal Potomac from November through mid-March. When they gather in large flocks, the sight is unforgettable.

Spring migration is about to bring millions of birds north along the Atlantic Flyway, a welcome sight for Virginia bird-lovers emerging from a season of persistent cold and stubborn snowbanks. With these birds, concern is also returning about a bird flu outbreak that has been active in the U.S. since early 2022.

The Virginia legislature appears to be intent on taking steps to slow the environmental and economic harm that invasive plants are causing. State legislators introduced seven bills relating to invasive plants in the 2026 legislative session, and all of them are proceeding through the legislative process. 

Few people find visiting a landfill enticing, but some of our avian friends do. Grassland and other birds are using a closed portion of the I-95 landfill, according to a recently released Fairfax County report.  

Celebrate the end of winter by helping Fairfax Tree Rescuers clip invasive vines and dig up invasive plants to save trees!

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.

Spring arrives on March 20. Those occasional warm sunny days that occur in early spring may signal that it is time to add to your native plant gardens. But don’t move too fast!

Following a long and hard-fought campaign by environmental advocates, the Fairfax City Council voted not to proceed with constructing the George Snyder Trail, which would have destroyed much of the city’s urban forest. This victory for the environment over development is a classic demonstration of the effort needed to secure an environmental “win.” 

An “irruption” is a large-scale movement of birds to a new area, somewhat similar to migration. However, unlike regular fall and spring migrations, irruptions are typically driven by resource availability (such as food scarcity) and thus occur more randomly, with some winters seeing big irruptions and others seeing none at all.

Breeding bird atlases have a long history in the United States, where they are typically conducted at the state level. Like road atlases, at their core they are centered around maps, but the maps relate to the geographic distribution and abundance of breeding bird species—that is, where they are found on the landscape and in what numbers.