Nature Talk: Plants Shaped by Water, November 10th

Photo by Jerry Nissley

Tuesday, November 10th
7:30 pm
Zoom webinar
To register, email [email protected] and put “November 10 program” in the subject line and your name in the body of the email

Water is essential for life. Plants are composed mostly of water, which also defines reproductive strategies and vegetative community composition.  Presented by Friends of Dyke Marsh (FODM), Fairfax County naturalist and ecologist Charles Smith will explore how these issues are expressed in natural communities in Northern Virginia and how changes in land use and climate affect the health and future of our ecosystems.

FODM will confirm your registration and send you instructions for joining the meeting.

The American Horticultural Society, the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Friends of Little Hunting Creek are cosponsors.

Nature’s Puzzle: The Interconnectedness of the Natural World, November 25th

Wednesday, 25 November 2020
7 pm
Register here. (And while you’re there, check out the other wonderful programs lined up!)

Join Alonso Abugattas, Capital Naturalist on FaceBook and blogger, for an in-depth look at how pieces of the nature puzzle fit together. Nature is intricately interconnected, and while we certainly don’t know how all the pieces fit, we can have some fun trying to put them together. Get a peek at just how interdependent our plants, fungi, insects, other wildlife, and, even humans, can be. You’ll be challenged to try to piece together parts of our local nature puzzle.

Call of the Wild Conference, Wildlife Rehabilitation Conference, November 20-22

Eastern painted turtle, photo by M. Prysby

November 20-22, 2020
Online
Cost: $50 for one day, or $100 for all three days.
For More Information, Conference Schedule, and Registration: Wildlife Center of Virginia Call of the Wild Conference

The Wildlife Center of Virginia invites you to the 25th annual Call of the Wild Conference on wildlife rehabilitation, co-sponsored by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. Wildlife rehabilitators, veterinary professionals, wildlife biologists, environmental educators, and wildlife enthusiasts from Virginia and beyond will share ideas and knowledge that can benefit wildlife, the environment, and the continually evolving field of wildlife rehabilitation. 

Octobird Fest at The Clifton Institute, webinars October 16th and 30th

Winter Bird Identification
Friday, October 16, 2020
7 – 8 pm
Register here.
$20 registers you for both webinars.

Every season brings its own challenges for birdwatching. In winter similar-looking sparrows can be hard to tell apart and birding by ear becomes more difficult as birds start singing less and calling more. Join the leaders of The Clifton Institute bimonthly bird walks, including Executive Director Bert Harris, to learn some tips for identifying winter birds. Managing Director Eleanor Harris will quiz them with tricky calls and pictures and you can play along as Bert talks through the identification process. And then come out for one of their bird walks and put your new skills to the test!

Evolution and Biology of Bird Song
Friday, October 30, 2020
7 – 8 pm
Register here.
$20 registers you for both webinars.

Bird songs are beautiful and diverse and they have played an important role in the evolution of birds. Bird songs also give us the opportunity to see animals learning and sexual selection in action. In this presentation Managing Director Eleanor Harris, Ph.D., will give an overview on the biology and evolution of bird songs. And she’ll highlight some of the questions about bird songs that scientists still don’t have answers for. Throughout the talk she’ll focus on local examples.

Great Lakes Water Conference, “Water in the Courts,” webinar November 6th

Photo by Jack Anstey on Unsplash

Friday, November 6, 2020
9 am – 12:30 pm
Registration by November 4th required.

Water-related cases of international, national, regional, and local import will be the focus of the 20th Annual Great Lakes Water Conference. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be conducted virtually online as a live webinar.

Titled “Water in the Courts,” the half-day conference will feature six legal experts addressing litigation about the Enbridge oil pipeline underlying the Straits of Mackinac; an interstate groundwater allocation case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court; the Court’s recent County of Maui decision affecting permitting under the Clean Water Act; challenges to the new federal “waters of the United States” rule, high water levels and flooding in and around Lake Ontario; and the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

This conference is sponsored by The University of Toledo College of Law and its affiliated Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

Registration for the conference is free for the public. The deadline for registration is November 4, 2020. For more information and to register, visit the conference webpage.

Friends of Mason Neck State Park Owl Moon Program, Zoom session October 17th

Saturday, October 17, 2020
7 pm
FREE
Register here

It’s nearly time for the Friends of Mason Neck State Park’s annual presentation of OWL MOON! This year, they will be bringing the event to you right in your own home using Zoom.

You will meet and learn about all the owls from raptor rehabilitator Secret Garden Birds and Bees, their favorite presenter. A special treat will be the introduction of Phantom – a beautiful barn owl. Find out what makes him unique as you also explore the life of a barred owl, great horned owl, and screech owl.

You will be able to ask questions about all the raptors in the program.
Get the whole family together. This event is appropriate for all ages and is open to the public. Registration is only $10 per person or family, which will help to offset the cost of the program. Don’t miss it!

After you register, they’ll provide you the instructions you’ll need to join the program.

Planning for a Pollinator Landscape, videoconference October 22nd

Thursday, October 22, 2020
11:00am-12:00pm
Register here.

Join Landscape Designer Barbara Ryan as she addresses questions about creating a good design for a pollinator landscape. Submit your questions on the registration page, and please send photos of the area in question to [email protected]. This videoconference will be recorded and posted to YouTube.

Birds and Culture with Bill Young, Six online sessions, November 16th – December 1st

Parc de Belleville, Julien Malland

November 16, 17, 23, 24, 30; December 1, 7:00 to 8:00 PM
6 one-hour sessions, 7 — 8 pm
Fee: $40
Register here

Birds have inspired the imaginations of people from prehistoric times to the modern era. They have influenced the development of human language, religion, music, literature, art and many other areas. Audubon Society of Northern Virginia‘s Birds and Culture will examine these relationships in a 6-part course. Birders of all skill levels will be able to understand the content.

Instructor: Bill Young is a writer who lives in Arlington. He is the author of The Fascination of Birds: From the Albatross to the Yellowthroat. He is the co-creator of the MPNature.com website, which contains information about birds, plants and other aspects of natural history at Monticello Park in Alexandria. Bill also makes nature videos, and his YouTube channel has had over half a million views.

Join Project FeederWatch: Learn how with Greg Butcher and Dixie Sommers, October 29th

Photo: Feederwatch Kit

Thursday, October 29,2020
7 — 8:30 pm
FREE
Register here

Project FeederWatch is the easiest citizen science you will ever do! From the comfort of your home, you simply count the winter birds that visit your feeders and report your data to Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

This FREE Audubon Society of Northern Virginia workshop will cover a bit of the history of Project FeederWatch, its purpose, tips for identifying birds, and the protocols to be followed while counting.

Instructors: Greg is the Migratory Species Coordinator for U.S. Forest Service International Programs. He is a Ph.D. ornithologist who has worked for the National Audubon Society, American Birding Association, Partners in Flight, Birders World (currently BirdWatching) magazine, and Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Greg is a recognized public speaker and interpreter for bird conservation and ecology worldwide. He welcomes the opportunity to contribute to Audubon’s environmental mission at the local level.

Dixie Sommers has been an Audubon member since 1986 and became a serious birder after moving back to the Washington area from Ohio in 2006, adding to her long interest in nature photography and travel. She is an avid e-bird user and enjoys using photography to help learn the birds, and sharing her photos on www.ddpix.smugmug.com.

In addition to favorite places in Virginia, her recent birding travels include Colombia, Tanzania, Texas, California, and Mexico. She is also a board member for the Virginia Society of Ornithology and the Friends of Dyke Marsh. Dixie lives in Alexandria, Virginia and retired from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics after a long career of counting jobs and workers. Now she counts birds!

Little Brown Jobs: Online Workshop with Larry Meade, October 22nd

Fox Sparrow photo by David Boltz/Audubon Photography Awards

Thursday, October 22, 2020
7 – 8:30 pm
Fee: $15
Register here

Have you been wondering about all those “little brown jobs” in your backyard? Could you use a little help distinguishing between the House Finches and the Pine Siskins? Song Sparrows and Savannah Sparrows? This Audubon Society of Northern Virginia workshop will concentrate on identification skills for some of the finches, sparrows, and other similar birds in our region, including both residents and migrants, just in time for the arrival of our cold weather birds.

Instructor: Larry Meade, a member of the ASNV Education Committee, is president of the Northern Virginia Bird Club and a former board member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. He has served as a sector leader for a number of years for several local Christmas Bird Counts and is an avid nature photographer.