Virginia is for Wildlife Photography Lovers

Article and photos (c) by Barbara J. Saffir; Feature photo from dcr.viginia.gov

No need to zip off to Zimbabwe or cruise to Costa Rica to photograph cool critters, bodacious birds, and blindingly beautiful flowers. Just go on safari at a Virginia State Park.

Sunflower-yellow prothonotary warblers adorn the trees and the trails at Mason Neck State Park, practically in the shadow of the nation’s capital. Acrobatic dolphins frolic along the Atlantic Ocean beaches at pristine False Cape State Park. And perhaps Virginia’s most unique fantasyland of nature and wildlife can be captured at mountainous Grayson Highlands State Park, where fuzzy black bears forage in the forests and wild ponies pose by purple rhododendrons and orange flame azaleas along the legendary Appalachian Trail.

Virginia is one of the most diverse states in the entire country as far as flora and fauna go. And with 39 state parks — and counting, as more continue to open — all 8.6 million Virginians are roughly an hour away from one or more of Virginia’s award-winning parks.

Treasures await casual to advanced photographers year-round, though the critter parade and the backdrops change with the seasons. For example, winter is the best time to capture bald eagles nesting along the Potomac River at Mason Neck, Westmoreland, and Caledon state parks.

And with no leaves to block the views, it’s easier to catch mama eagle carting a carp in her razor-like talons to feed her famished eaglets. At Sky Meadows State Park in winter, no leaves mean a clear shot of a fox squirrel or a red-headed woodpecker.

In January along the muddiest of creeks, Virginia’s earliest wildflower blooms: curvy cranberry-and-yellow skunk cabbage, which harkens to a Georgia O’Keefe painting. Spring and summer literally paint a rainbow in all Virginia State Parks. Fields of bluebells glow at Shenandoah River State Park. Pink and yellow orchids burst into bloom at others.

Tawny chipmunks perch in mulberry trees and stuff their cheeks with squishy purple berries. Iridescent blue-green ebony jewelwing damselflies sun themselves on rocks and reeds. Red-orange scarlet tanagers fly home with juicy, green caterpillars dangling from their beaks to feed their babies. Violet coral fungus pops out of the musty brown muck.

Fall brings hawks with red shoulders, red tails, or red eyes by the droves to Kiptopeke State Park. And all over the Commonwealth, autumn brings orange, russet, red, and yellow leaves — and orange, russet, red, and yellow birds migrating through that tangled tapestry.

And sure, it doesn’t hurt to own an expensive DSLR camera with a long telephoto lens but a cell phone or pocket camera can capture many memories. One of my mentors started shooting with a $27 camera. Since she only photographed close-ups and never printed photos, it performed perfectly for online posts.

I still carry a point-and-shoot even when I’m lugging around a heavy camera and lens. Sometimes I use it to capture one of my favorite late-summer stars: itsy bitsy green treefrogs with sticky toes and gold eyelids at Leesylvania State Park. At Leesylvania and other state parks, gangly great blue herons sometimes venture so close that a long lens is almost worthless. And it’s especially good to snag close-ups of beauty-queen bugs like handsome meadow katydids with baby blue eyes and red, orange, green, yellow, and turquoise bodies.

At First Landing State Park, nabbing a shot of pelicans promenading above a sandy Chesapeake Bay beach at sunset does not lend itself to a pricy, “fancy-schmancy” camera. But if I’m photographing black bears when they’re gorging on blueberries in June, I prefer a 600 mm lens — and to take the photograph from inside my nice safe car!

Stalking wildlife with a camera is the same as a hunter stalking prey. The most successful safaris require patience, knowledge of the critters and their habitats, silence — and luck. Even when I’m hiking, I stop every few minutes to listen for the sounds of life.

If I glimpse a bird or beast I really crave, my patience grows to equal my desire to capture the subjects and share their beauty, in part so others also fall in love with them and work to protect them. And I always try to photograph ethically as the National Audubon Society teaches: never harm a critter or disturb its ability to thrive.

The best time to capture wildlife is typically near dawn or dusk. But I’ve grabbed some of my most memorable shots when other photographers were sitting on their sofas. Like tree swallows and other birds puffing up their feathers to cope with 95-degree heat at noon. And pint-sized southern flying squirrels — “fairy diddles” — with bulging eyes that only venture out at night. And a red fox and an otter fishing together like BFFs on a snowy riverbank on a blustery 20-degree day.

Every time of day — and every time of the year — is great for nature and wildlife photography. You never know what treasures you’ll discover.

This article originally appeared in the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation blog and has been reprinted with permission.

2020 Christmas Bird Counts and Alternatives

Photo of Eastern Towhee by Bob Howdesell, CBC

Central Loudoun Christmas Bird Count
When: Monday, December 28, 2020
Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy as they participate in the National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. The count circle has a 15-mile diameter and covers 177 square miles of Loudoun’s countryside: north to Waterford, south to Aldie, east to Ashburn, and west to Purcellville. LWC will not be holding an in-person Tally Rally this year but may do something virtual. If you are interested in participating for just a couple of hours or the entire day, sign up here.

Reston Association’s Winter Bird Count
When: Saturday, January 2, 2021 7 am – 12 pm
Half-day annual bird count throughout Reston natural areas. Meet local bird experts, obtain tips on identification, and help with collecting vital information about our feathered friends. Register using code 106201205 or call (703) 476-9689, ext. 5, by December 30th.

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia plans to hold the 39th Manassas-Bull Run Christmas Bird Count on Sunday, December 20. This year’s count will be different, in light of the pandemic.

Instead of recruiting new participants, they will be limiting the count to last year’s participants who want to do the count under conditions that conform with pandemic restrictions, including wearing masks, maintaining social distance and carpooling with household members only. Instead of their count day lunch gathering, they will have an online “tally rally” in the evening of count day. If you participated in last year’s count, you should have received a message about participating this year.

If you were looking forward to volunteering for the first time for this CBC, they hope you’ll understand and volunteer next year. BUT there are still ways you can join the spirit of the count! Consider these possibilities or invent your own:

Join the Free Zoom CBC Celebration and Summary:

Learn about highlights of this year’s CBC and celebrate with the CBC community. Register here.

Do Your Own Count:

Walk through your neighborhood or visit a park or refuge to gather observations and report your personal findings via eBird. (see below) Be sure to practice social distancing and wear a mask if within six feet of others!

Learn More About Useful Identification and Database Applications:

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a suite of useful tools and sites related to birding.

Explore many aspects of birding (species, hotspots, regions, etc.) at ebird.org.

You can also take a free course on their eBird smartphone application that allows you to document the species you see or hear. https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/product/ebird-essentials/

Take a free course on using another great smartphone app, Merlin Bird ID and other tools at https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org

Play learning games about birds at https://academy.allaboutbirds.org/learning-games/

Project FeederWatch:

Count birds that visit your feeders from the safety of your home or yard. Submit data from your sightings to contribute to winter and early bird counts. The 2020–21 FeederWatch season began on November 14 and ends on April 9. You can still sign up, and the last day to start a two-day count is April 8. Details are at https://feederwatch.org.

CBC Feeder Watchers:

If you reside in the Manassas-Bull Run CBC circle, you can count your feeder birds on December 20 and send a report that can be included in the official count. Contact the CBC compiler Phil Silas, [email protected] for details.

Audubon Afternoon with Dr. Sahas Barve, January 17th

Photo by Jennifer Renteria

Sunday, January 17, 2021
3 – 4:30 pm
Free
Register here.

Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and learn how birds stay warm in cold weather and extreme elevations. Sahas is an avian evolutionary ecologist and currently a Peter Buck Fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History where he studies how birds stay warm in the high Himalayas. He is also an avid birder and hopes to see 6,000 bird species by the time he is 60. Learn more about him at his website www.sahasbarve.com.

A Naturalist Finds Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island, December 4th

Photo by Melanie Choukas-Bradley

Friday, December 4, 2020
12 – 1:15 pm
Online event
Register here.

Explore Washington DC’s beautiful and wild Theodore Roosevelt Island with renowned naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley and Capital Nature.

Who knew that a kingfisher and Theodore Roosevelt island would be the antidote to a year full of disappointments? After the unexpected and surreal outcome of the 2016 election, Washington D.C. naturalist Melanie Choukas-Bradley discovered a new sense of hope and belonging as she explored the wild shores of the island, a green memorial to the United States’ foremost conservationist president. Join Capital Nature’s Stella Tarnay and Melanie as she traces the inspiring beauty and wild diversity of this 88.5-acre oasis.

The program is inspired by Melanie’s latest book Finding Solace at Theodore Roosevelt Island .

Attendees will be sent a link prior to this online event.

For more events like these, please visit the Capital Nature calendar!

Green Jobs Report: Community-Based Solutions for a Diverse Green Jobs Sector, Recording and Report

The short- and long-term projections for the renewable energy sector are growth.

Renewable energy is expected to continue to increase in popularity and usage as utilities and regulators look to it as a viable option for replacing retiring capacity and customers choose it to save money and address the climate crisis. This interest is aligned with a recent poll that found 81% of Blacks, 73% of Latinos and 71% of white respondents think “clean” energy jobs can help people in their communities.

So how do we prepare the U.S. workforce for growth in the renewable energy sector? And ensure the process is just and equitable?

Members of the Environmental Justice Leadership Forum – Deep South Center for Environmental JusticeGreen Door InitiativesWE ACT for Environmental Justice – along with GRID Alternatives answer these questions via their contributions to the “Green Jobs Report: Creating a Green Workforce, Community-Based Solutions for a Diverse Green Jobs Sector.”

This report outlines imperatives for bringing underrepresented groups into climate change work and the clean energy economy, and offers policy and best practice prescriptions for closing diversity gaps in the renewable energy industry and was released via webinar on December 9. Here is the recording.

Fairfax County Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) News

Monthly CECAP Update: November 2020

Throughout November, the Fairfax County Community-wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) team of staff and consultants have been working to prepare for the initial meetings of the CECAP Working Group sector-specific subgroups, taking place in early December. Per the CECAP Process Update shared in late October, the planning model has shifted from an approach based on the involvement of nine district level Focus Groups and one Task Force to an approach involving a single Working Group. The Working Group is composed of members of the former Focus Groups and Task Force, with a few new faces in the mix.

To advance discussion of emission reduction strategies and to allow all Working Group members the opportunity to actively participate and be heard, the Working Group has been split into two sector-specific subgroups. The first group, the Energy Subgroup, will focus on issues of energy efficiency, renewables, energy generation, and supply. The second group, the Transportation/Development Subgroup, will focus on transportation issues, land use, waste, and water. This group will have a more diverse portfolio. To read the full November CECAP update, please click here.

CECAP Working Group December Meetings Announced

All members of the public are invited to attend and observe the initial meetings of the two, new sector-specific CECAP Working Group subgroups, taking place December 1st and 2nd, 2020. These meetings will focus on emission reduction strategies that may help the Fairfax County community meet CECAP goals in the long-term. The meetings will take place online via WebEx. Meeting access information is available at the links below.

Join the December 1 CECAP Energy Subgroup meeting

Join the December 2 CECAP Transportation/Development Subgroup meeting

Public Feedback Summaries Now Online

The results of the public feedback provided between August 27 and September 13, 2020 via an online survey, three virtual public meetings, and via email to the public CECAP mailbox are now summarized and available online. A narrative summary of the survey results provides a question-by-question rundown of the responses given, and an overview of the public comments provides a window into the thoughts and concerns of the community. The findings of the public engagement process will be reviewed by county staff at the December 1 and December 2 CECAP subgroup meetings (see above).

Training for new Audubon at Home Ambassadors, December 6th

Photo courtesy of audubonva.org

Sunday, December 6, 2020
2 pm
Register here.
Note: This training is for those interested in volunteering as Ambassadors, not a program for those wanting to learn how to landscape with native plants in their own yards.

Tami Sheiffer, Audubon at Home Coordinator for Fairfax County, will be holding virtual training for new volunteers interested in becoming Audubon at Home Ambassadors in Fairfax County.

Ambassadors are knowledgeable volunteers who expand quality wildlife habitat in Northern Virginia by sharing their knowledge of native plants and ecosystems with homeowners. As an Ambassador, you will conduct site visits, provide personalized advice to homeowners, and certify yards as wildlife sanctuaries. (The personalized recommendations are provided to the homeowner via email after the site visit so you will not be on the spot to provide all recommendations during the site visit.)

We have successfully resumed site visits since July with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. Site visits take place entirely outdoors, one on one or in small groups. Clients and Ambassadors must wear masks and fill out an online form prior to the site visit stating that no one in their families has symptoms. Followup communication with the recommendations is done through email.

Being an Ambassador is rewarding because you’re guiding people to make changes in their yards that noticeably improve wildlife habitat, as evidenced by the presence of sanctuary species. And, volunteering as an Ambassador is convenient because you schedule the site visit for a day and time that fits in your schedule. Clients are assigned based on proximity so you will usually not have to drive more than 15 minutes to a client’s house, and you can accept or decline clients based on your availability.

FMN Volunteers Help Riverbend Park Thrive

Photos and article courtesy of Valeria Espinoza, Volunteer Coordinator

Marilyn Kupetz (right, in feature photo)

Marilyn Kupetz and wood turtle Harriet

Marilyn has volunteered at Riverbend for almost two years now. She serves as an Animal Caretaker and Roving Naturalist. Marilyn plays a key role as part of our Animal Care team. From enrichment to health monitoring, Marilyn helps us make sure the animals are happy and healthy. She is a volunteer who has gone above and beyond her role. She has also volunteered at cleanups and other park events. This year, she committed to assisting with park monitoring as a Roving Naturalist when we could only offer outdoor volunteer opportunities. Now she continues to fulfill both roles every week. Her support this year has made a remarkable difference to our park!

Toni Oliveira (center, in feature photo)
Toni is someone who has gone above and beyond to carry our mission to protect and preserve our parks. Toni has volunteered with us for over a year now and has participated in several projects both at Riverbend and Scott’s Run. She has helped with park monitoring, trail maintenance projects, and watershed cleanup events. This year she adopted a spot at Riverbend where she restored a section of the park by removing invasives and seeding native grasses/plants. She has also helped staff with park monitoring at Scott’s Run and has become a key player in our restoration efforts by serving as a Lead Volunteer at our weekend cleanups. Toni’s commitment, positivity, and determination have made a huge difference at both parks!

Tom Blackburn

Tom Blackburn
Tom has volunteered at Riverbend for over 5 years! He has supported our interpretive programs, festivals, and park cleanups. This year Tom supported our trail monitoring efforts as a Roving Naturalist and once programs opened up again this fall, he assisted and lead several outdoor, socially-distanced programs. Tom has led several programs such as our Native Americans of Virginia fieldtrip, nature/ecology fieldtrips, and our Halloween Mystery at the Cabin program (a new program this year). Tom made this event very special for trick or treaters by portraying the character of a bootlegger’s ghost! During the shutdown, Tom served as a guest speaker at the Wildlife Explorers camp. He provided insight and knowledge on birds to our campers who truly enjoyed their experience.

Nancy Yinger

Nancy Yinger

Nancy has participated in the wildflower survey for over a year now. Last year, she also partook in the Caterpillars Count! Arthropod Survey. This year, she has continued surveying the park’s wildflowers while supporting our trail monitoring efforts. She has also “adopted” a pollinator garden by the Visitor Center. With her assistance, we plan to re-design this garden to better support Riverbend’s pollinators and educate visitors about native plants & flowers that support them. We are very lucky to have Nancy as part of our volunteer community.

Kris Lansing

Kris Lansing

Kris continued to monitor trails and survey the birds of Riverbend despite the cancelation of the birding walks during the pandemic. Thanks to her commitment we were able to stay up to date with trail conditions and continued to receive a snapshot of bird sightings this year. 

Robin Duska

Due to her regular volunteerism at Riverbend, Robin has been instrumental in bird surveying efforts.

Scott Schroth (left, in feature photo)
Scott began volunteering at our parks in the summer of 2018. He has done so much since! From trail projects with boy scouts to invasive removal projects and supporting our festivals, Scott has become one of our most dedicated volunteers. This year, he supported us with the biggest challenge we faced due to the pandemic. An increased amount of trash and litter at Scott’s Run Nature Preserve resulting from increased visitor turnout along with a decrease in staffing. Scott serves as a Lead Volunteer for our cleanups, along with Toni Oliveira.  Thanks to their support, we were able to run cleanup events every weekend to keep up with the growing amount of trash. 

If you, too, are interested in volunteering at Riverbend, here are the folks to find:

Trail Monitoring/Roving & General Volunteer Questions: Julie Gurnee [email protected]  

Natural Resource Projects & Surveys and Scott’s Run: Rita Peralta [email protected]   

Animal Care Volunteer Program & Nature Education Volunteer Program: Jordan Libera [email protected] 

Introduction to Statistics Virtual Program (Presented live December 3rd)

Presented and recorded by Clifton Institute

This talk is intended for community/citizen scientists who help collect data but may not have the knowledge they need to analyze it, for nature journalers who record numbers in their journals but aren’t sure what to do with them, and anyone else who is curious about how scientists use data to understand the world. Managing Director Eleanor Harris, Ph.D., will give a brief introduction to the statistical methods biologists and other scientists use to analyze data. Eleanor will use interesting examples relevant to the ecology of northern Virginia throughout the talk. No mathematics beyond high-school level will be required. By the end of the talk you’ll understand what a p-value is and what it means when they say the phrase “statistically significant” on the news. And she hopes you’ll be inspired to try analyzing some data of your own.

Here is the recording of the talk.

My Tree Counts–Help the VDOF

Photo by J. Quinn Article by Jim McGlone, Urban Forest Conservationist, Virginia Department of Forestry

In 2010, the courts determined that the EPA and its partners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed had not made sufficient progress in improving Bay water quality with voluntary measures and ordered the EPA to begin regulatory measures to clean up the Bay. The process the EPA settled on was the Watershed Improvement Plan (WIP) and directed the states in the Bay watershed to develop plans to improve water quality in the Bay and its tributaries.

In 2020, Virginia adopted WIP phase 3 or WIP III. This plan has many elements and practices, but one of the practices that is relevant to home owners is tree planting. The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) has been tasked with counting tree plantings to meet the WIP III goals. This year (October 1 – September 30) the goal for Northern Virginia is 28,500 trees and shrubs.

Needless to say, the VDOF needs your help to count all these plantings, so we made a web app for that. It is called My Tree Counts https://arcg.is/WryDG. On this app you can report your tree and shrub plantings made since October 1, 2020. You can also read about other tree planting projects in Virginia and learn why trees are so good at protecting water quality. We want to count every tree planted this year and for at least the next 4 years, so please report your tree and shrub plantings and ask your friends and neighbors to do so as well, because MY TREE COUNTS!