Entries by Mary Ann Bush

Help Count Butterflies on July 1 at Occoquan Bay

Photo by Plant NOVA Natives, Mourning Cloak Butterfly Saturday, July 1, 2023 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM Occoquan Bay NWR, 13950 Dawson Beach Road Woodbridge, VA, 22191 Participation is limited. To sign up, email Tina at [email protected]. Volunteers are needed for the upcoming North American Butterfly Association butterfly count at Occoquan Bay on July 1, starting […]

Invasive Removal Grant Opportunity for Communities in Fairfax County

Photo: FMN Margaret Fisher, Trees being engulfed by invasive plants The wooded common areas of community associations and places of worship are not only amenities for humans but also important elements of the infrastructure, cooling the environment and soaking up stormwater that otherwise causes downstream flooding. The woods are also home for many non-human neighbors. […]

NABA Butterfly Count, July 22

Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute Saturday, July 22, 2023 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Cost: Free Registration is REQUIRED. The Clifton Institue 6712 Blantyre Road Warrenton, Virginia 20187 Every year community scientists help count the butterflies in 15-mile-diameter circles all around the country and contribute their data to the North American Butterfly Association. This […]

Butterfly Identification Workshop, July 7

Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute Friday, July 7, 2023 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Cost: Free Registration is REQUIRED. The Clifton Institue 6712 Blantyre Road Warrenton, Virginia 20187 Come join members of The Clifton Institute to learn about butterfly identification and biology. Bert Harris will give a presentation on the identification of common butterflies in our […]

Welcome Lightning Bugs! Fireflies! (Beetles who light up their bums) to Wolf Trap National Park, July 18th

Photo: “firefly 2010 06 09 092, Photinus pyralis” by Terry Priest is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 Event Details Tuesday, July 18, 2023 7:30 PM All ages welcome.  FREE. Use this link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/n… Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, 1551 Trap Rd, Vienna, VA, 22182Event will begin at 7:30 pm Meet behind […]

“The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion: Surprising Observations of a Hidden World” By: Peter Wohlleben

(Greystone Books Ltd, 2016, 248 pages) A book review by Mike Garth, Fairfax Master Naturalist As an avid nature photographer, I have spent countless hours observing wildlife, waiting for the peak moment to capture a photograph. Through it all I’ve learned habits and behaviors and developed a deeper sense of appreciation for the moment-by-moment nature […]

What Makes a Species? Streamertail Hummingbirds with Dr. Caroline Judy, June 22nd

Photo: by Dr. Caroline Judy Thursday, June 22, 2023 7:00 – 8:00 PM Virtual Fee: $25 (For members $15) Click here for Registration details. Dr. Caroline Judy will present a program on June 22 on her work studying an unusual case of island speciation seen in Jamaican streamertail hummingbirds (Trochilus spp). Streamertail hummingbirds are closely-related […]

Accessible Trails in Mason Neck State Park

Photo: Courtesy of Friends of Mason Neck Park Information on the accessibility of some of the trails in the park is now available. Birdability is a non-profit organization that works to ensure the birding community and the outdoors are welcoming, inclusive, safe and accessible for everybody. Birdability has partnered with the National Audubon Society to create a crowd-sourced map that […]