Alliance Afternoon: Matt Felperin’s Birdathon Warbler Bootcamp, March 23rd

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Photo Matt Felperin -Yellow-throated Warbler

Sunday, March 23, 2025
2:30 PM – 4:30 PM

National Wildlife Federation
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Ste. 100RestonUnited States

This event is FREE and registration is not required, but those who register will receive an email reminder.

Join the quarterly live Audubon Afternoon at the National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive in Reston.

There will be an informal gathering starting at 2:30 pm so you have an opportunity to reconnect with everyone. You are welcome to bring any food and drink to share with everyone during the informal portion of the program. At 3:00 pm, the Board President will present the revised bylaws for member approval. The formal program will begin at 3:15pm, when guest speaker Matt Felperin will give a Warbler Bootcamp in preparation for spring migration. He will also speak about Birdathon, the Audubon Spring fundraiser, and how to get your team set up. All are welcome to attend, participation in Birdathon is encouraged but not required.

After the talk, from 4:00 – 4:30 pm, stick around to speak with board members and staff about how you can get more involved! Volunteers are needed for a new bird strike monitoring program, spring outreach tabling, purple martin monitoring, invasive removal and more.

More about the speaker: Matt Felperin is a DC area local, raised in Takoma Park, MD. He is the Roving Naturalist with NOVA Parks, the regional park system of Northern Virginia. Matt has always been drawn to nature, and has been sharing his findings with anyone within earshot since his days as a small child looking for salamanders and crayfish in nearby Sligo Creek. He truly treasures the Chesapeake Bay and has enjoyed field work and naturalist programs in several types of habitat within the Chesapeake Watershed, and credits working under naturalist Greg Kearns for truly sparking his love of birds. As the NOVA Parks Roving Naturalist, Matt leads environmental education and recreation programs such as bird walks and kayak tours for the public. He views his wildlife photography work as one of the most useful tools to connect people with nature.

Open to the general public, all are welcome!

This event is FREE and registration is not required, but those who register will receive an email reminder.

Backyard Bird ID Workshop, March 20th

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Photo: Cerulean Warbler by Matt Felperin

Thursday, March 20, 2025
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Virtual

Free – RSVP now and start birding!

Sign-up for this exciting backyard bird identification workshop, where you will dive into the fascinating world of local birds and seasonal visitors! Whether you’re watching from your window, patio, or garden, you’ll gain the confidence to identify and appreciate the birds around you.

During this workshop, we’ll cover:

  • Common backyard bird species you’re likely to see year-round

  • Migratory warblers that might pass through your yard this Spring

  • Essential birding tools—from field guides to apps and binoculars

  • How to use Merlin to identify unfamiliar birds

  • How to use e-bird to report birds you observe

  • Tips for creating a team and participating in Birdathon

This is also a great opportunity for Wildlife Sanctuary Program participants to brush up on how to identify the Sanctuary Species that visit their yards. You need to document 10 sanctuary species to get your certification! Board Member Betsy Martin will join workshop to speak about that program and how you can make your yards friendlier to birds.