The Sounds of Nature: How Natural Sounds are Made and Why They Sound Like They Do *Virtual*, February 22nd

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Image: Courtesy of the Clifton Institute

February 22, 2024
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

**This is a virtual program**

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

As mostly visual creatures, we often take sound for granted, but there is a whole incredible world of vibrations going on around us. In this Zoom program, Co-Director Eleanor Harris, Ph.D., will explain how natural sounds are made and how both human and non-human animals hear them. From why birds sing in the morning to how insects hear with their legs, thinking about sounds in nature might change the way you see and hear the world around you. A Zoom link will be emailed to participants shortly before the program.

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to the Clifton Institute liability release policy.

Spotted Salamander Walk, February 13th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

February 13, 2024
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

Once a year, salamanders leave their homes in the woods and head toward vernal pools, temporary ponds created by spring rains and melting winter snow. The conditions must be just right, a warm night with rainy conditions. The males arrive first and lay sperm sacks around the pond. The females come later and absorb these sacks, which causes them to lay their eggs, about 50-100 per female. Join this walk to the vernal pools to witness this spectacle of nature.

It will be necessary to watch the weather closely to adjust the time and date that looks most promising for the group to see this wonderful migration. For now, this date is a best-guess placeholder for the walk. You will receive an email closer to the date with information about when to meet.

Please bring a flashlight. As you will likely go out in the rain, the recommendation is to wear a raincoat and waterproof shoes.

Age:  Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult.

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). It is required that everyone have a mask with them in case the class needs to go inside during inclement weather, to administer first aid, or for other reasons. Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let the Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

Before attending this event, please read the information included on the Clifton Institute liability release form (click here).

How to iNaturalist, February 3rd

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

February 3, 2024
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

Cost: Free!

iNaturalist is a powerful tool for people to learn about nature and to contribute to science, but there are lots of people who are not sure how to use it. In this program, Co-Directors Bert and Eleanor Harris will give a brief introduction to the iNaturalist app and website and some background and why it is loved it so much. Then you will go outside and practice how to take pictures and upload them to have the best chance at having your observation identified. Please download the iNaturalist app onto your phone before you arrive.

Age:Adults and children accompanied by an adult.

Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall).

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let the Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to the Clifton Institute’s liability release policy.

 

Behavior, Society and Sex in Adolescent Birds with Liam Taylor, February 8th

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Photo: William Young, Great Horned Owlet

February 8, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Virtual Seminar

ASNV Member ticket: $15 (Non-member ticket: $20)
Registration details

Most birds have some growing up to do before they start to breed. Despite reaching full size within weeks or months of hatching, some species will not raise offspring for years, or even decades. Liam Taylor explores the strange things that some birds need to do before they reproduce—from meeting a fishing buddy on a rocky island to finding a dance partner on a rainforest floor. Looking back through millions of years of evolution, Taylor uncovers how behavioral, social, and sexual development continues to create new challenges and opportunities for adolescent birds.

Liam Taylor is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. He studies how social development influences, and is influenced by, the life history and evolution of birds, with a focus on delayed reproduction and delayed plumage maturation in colony-nesting seabirds and lekking Manakins.

Ducks and Waterfowl Identification with Greg Butcher, January 25th

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Photo: FMN Jerry Nissley

 

Thursday, January 25, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Virtual Presentation
FREE, but registration is required!

Join Greg Butcher, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) board member and retired migratory species coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, for an introduction to waterfowl identification. Get to know many of the species that winter in the open waters of our region. You’ll learn how to tell a Bufflehead from a Hooded Merganser, and you’ll learn the features (and hear the call) of the beautiful Tundra Swans that winter in Northern Virginia. Strategies will include identification by shape and color pattern.

This event will be helpful for those participating in the Winter Waterfowl Count on Feb 3rd and 4th but is open to anyone who would like to know how to identify winter waterfowl!

Some good locations to see waterfowl in Northern Virginia are Huntley Meadows, Dyke Marsh and Mason Neck State Park.

Winter Waterfowl Count, February 3rd and 4th

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Photo by FMN Ana Ka’ahanui.

Saturday, February 3, 7:00 AM – Sunday, February 4 – 2:00 PM
Various locations
FREE, but registration is required!

The Winter Waterfowl Count is a citizen science effort organized by Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) to track data about winter waterfowl. This survey complements the Christmas Bird Count, and the data is shared openly with the public. When it started in 2008, ASNV volunteers covered the Potomac River from Algonkian Regional Park in Loudoun County to Quantico Marine Base in Prince William County, as well as many inland bodies of water. In 2020 ASNV expanded the survey to include areas along the Potomac River in King George and Westmoreland Counties down to the mouth of the Potomac River where it empties into Chesapeake Bay.

Although ASNV expect many veterans from past years to return, they can always use new volunteers. Beginners are welcome but are strongly encouraged to attend the Duck and Waterfowl Identification webinar on January 25. Each volunteer will be assigned to a team led by an experienced birder. Each team determines the start time, which will vary between 7:00 and 8:30am. End times may also vary depending on assigned survey locations.

This count is organized by Larry Cartwight. The deadline to register is Tuesday, January 30 at 9:00 PM so that you can be assigned to a team in time for the count on Saturday morning.

Larry Cartwright is an avid birder and leads several avian related surveys in Northern Virginia. He lectures on birds and birding for the Lifetime Learning Institute at Northern Virginia Community College. His lecture topics have included the evolution of birds from feathered theropod dinosaurs and birding in the Alaskan tundra. Larry has received several awards from scientific and conservation organizations, including the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s Jackson M. Abbott Conservation Award for 2013.