Clean the Bay Day, June 4th

Saturday, June 4, 2022
9 am – Noon
See a full list of sites to find one near you.
(Mason Neck State Park and Huntley Meadows are options)
Register here.

Clean the Bay Day has been a staple for Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay community since its inception more than three decades ago. On June 4, thousands of Virginians will simultaneously work together to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay by removing litter and debris from its rivers and streams at hundreds of sites all across the Commonwealth.

Can’t make it to the June 4 event? No worries! The week of May 30 to June 3 is Clean the Bay Your Way DIY Week, where you can conduct your own cleanup in your neighborhood, place of work, or anywhere else you have permission, and where you can take care of the disposal safely and properly yourself.

Audubon Afternoon: “A Year in the Life of an Owl,” June 5th

Photo:  Eastern Screech Owl, Randy Streufert

Sunday, June 5th
3 pm
National Wildlife Federation Building cafeteria
11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston

Join Audubon Society of Northern Virginia for their first in-person Audubon Afternoon in more than two years! Four live owls will be the stars of the show. They’ll gather informally starting at 2:30 pm. At 3 pm they’ll have a brief Annual Meeting where they will elect officers and directors. Their main program will begin at 3:15 pm, when Secret Garden Birds and Bees will present “A Year in the Life of an Owl,” featuring four live owls for you to see and photograph: a Barn Owl, a Screech Owl, a Great Horned Owl, and a Barred Owl. This is an event the whole family will enjoy!

They welcome any food and drink you would like to share with everyone during the informal portion of the program.

FMN CE Hike: Hold a Wild Bird, Stunning!

Article by FMNs Barbara Saffir and Janet Quinn; all photos by Barbara Saffir

Lions, and tigers, and bears?  Heck, no — but holding wild birds, snakes galore, and close  encounters with yellow birds that glow like the sun were some highlights during a recent

Banders at work

Fairfax Master Naturalists’ continuing education hike.  Hike leaders Barbara Saffir and Janet Quinn led eight FMNs on the “Hold A Wild Bird” hike and visited a bird banding at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Woodbridge on April 24.  Since Covid rules for the banding forced the 10 hardy hikers to break into two smaller groups, Barbara’s group watched two Gray Catbirds, two Northern Waterthrushes, a Hermit Thrush, a House Wren,

FMN Dee Pistochini releasing banded bird

and a Swamp Sparrow being banded.  Janet’s group had a different experience.  The banders netted three birds during their visit and all three had previously been banded.  One was the Northern Waterthrush Barbara’s group had seen banded as well as a Song Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow.  The White-throated Sparrow was a “significant event” because it had been banded in 2017. Any bird captured which is older than five years is such an event.  The banders, all volunteers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,  measured, sexed, weighed, and banded the birds.  The group members then took turns learning how to safely hold the birds to release them.  (Photos and a slo-mo video of one release are attached.)  FMN 2022 trainee Deirdre “Dee” Pistochini, said it best: ” It was such a thrill to hold a wild creature so close that you can feel their heartbeat.  A once in a lifetime experience.”

Both groups also visited a great horned owls’ nest near Painted Turtle Pond. The big, fluffy, ivory-colored “babies” were napping when one group visited but the two owlets were standing tall and checking out their human admirers when the second group came to call.

Snake visit

After that, the naturalists took a two-mile spin around the refuge.  First they encountered four frisky northern black racers, then another racer poking its head out, and four northern watersnakes in two separate hideaways. Ospreys were parading around everywhere — and two were even caught in a Valentine’s Day act.  The group also eyeballed at least three eagles, a horned grebe in breeding colors, hundreds of blue jays flying over in small flocks toward their summer homes, and more.  But the bird of the day outside the banding was a prothonotary warbler, a tiny sunflower-yellow bird with a big personality — and seemingly a fondness for humans.  Four of the darlings came close to say hello.  Barbara could have sworn they also asked the hikers if they would return in a few weeks so they could show off their babies.

 

 

Want to see more?  Download these videos of the day taken by FMN Dee Pistochino:

Controlled chaos:  Banders work quickly.

Actual banding.

Blowing and tail measuring.

And even more!  The handout created for the hikers.

Prothonotary Warbler

Great Horned Owlets

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snakes Alive Program, June 2nd

Photo: Barbara J. Saffir (c)

Thursday, June 2, 2022
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Where: Cascades Library
21030 Whitfield Place
Potomac Falls, VA 20165
Cost: Free

Snakes play an important role in maintaining the balance and diversity of native species. They keep rodent and insect populations in check and in turn are preyed upon by larger species. While they spend the cold months in hibernation, much of their summer is spent under cover or basking in the sun. Join naturalist Jenny Erickson to learn and explore the fascinating aspects about the various species native to our area. This talk is co-sponsored by Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Loudoun County Public Library.

Please click here for additional information.

Common Plant Family Identification Workshop, June 16th

Image: The Clifton Institute

Thursday, June 16, 2022
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Where: The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
Cost: Free
Registration is required!

If you’re learning to identify plants, learning the common families can really help narrow down your options when you’re faced with an unfamiliar specimen. If you already know a few plants, learning their families can provide a useful framework to help organize all the species rattling around in your brain. Whatever level you’re at, learning to identify the plant families around you is a really fun way to get to know the natural world. In this program, Managing Director Eleanor Harris will give a brief talk on the ways to identify the most common plant families in Virginia. Then she will lead a short walk in the fields to practice your plant family identification skills.

Click here for registration and additional information.

Bird Walks at The Clifton Institute, Various Dates

Image: The Clifton Institute

Second Wednesdays and Fourth Saturdays
7:00 am – 9:00 am
Where: The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
Cost: Free
Registration is required!

Novice and experienced birders will enjoy this guided 1-2 mile hike to look for the many species of birds that can be found on the field station. Attendees will explore successional fields, meadows, lake edges, and forest. Don’t forget to bring binoculars!

Please click preferred date below for more information and registration.

Wednesday, May 11, 7 – 9 am

Saturday, May 28, 7 – 9 am

Wednesday, June 8, 7 – 9 am

Saturday, June 25, 7 – 9 am

Wednesday, July 13, 7 – 9 am

Protecting the Chesapeake from aquatic invaders

By Kathryn Reshetiloff.

This article and the accompanying photos are reproduced with permission from the Chesapeake Bay Journal.

Red-eared slider

The red-eared slider, a popular aquarium species native to the southern and southwestern U.S., is spreading to northern states, helped along by people who release them when they grow too big. (Robert J. Sharp/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Across the nation, invasive, nonnative plants and animals are becoming a larger threat to our waterways. And the Chesapeake Bay watershed is not immune.

These unwelcomed species didn’t just show up on their own. Most were introduced, either intentionally or accidently, by people. The possibility of these species multiplying in our waters — and eating, displacing or infecting native aquatic life — is a real concern to natural resources managers and citizens.

All living things have evolved to thrive in specific places on Earth. Local climate, geology, soil, available water, nutrients and food all determine which plants and animals can live in a particular ecosystem.

Species that have evolved in a particular place are considered native; those that arrive from elsewhere are considered nonnative — but are not necessarily invasive. That distinction belongs to plants and animals that threaten native species, often by crowding them out or establishing themselves more quickly in disturbed land, in the case of plants, or outcompeting them for food, in the case of animals.

Northern snakehead

The northern snakehead, a native of Asia, was first discovered in the Bay watershed two decades ago and now seems to be firmly established. (Brian Gratwicke/CC BY 2.0)

 

Invasives may also have an advantage over natives because of a lack of natural controls, such as predators or disease. Conversely, invasive herbivores and carnivores may eat native species, and invasive plants could introduce a disease deadly to natives.

Invasive species damage natural systems by disrupting the intricate web of life for native plants, animals and microorganisms, including those that are rare or close to extinction. Once invasives have consumed all of the food sources or destroyed the habitat for other wildlife, they move on to the next suitable site.

They are often spread — unknowingly — by people while boating, fishing or taking part in other recreational activities. Invasive “hitchhikers” attach to boat bottoms, motors and other items, then are transported to new waterways.

Dumping unwanted aquarium fish and plants and releasing unused live bait are another way they are introduced.

Other invaders arrive in the discharged ballast water of ships arriving from all over the world.

Invasives, like the zebra mussel, reproduce and spread quickly, wreaking havoc on native wildlife, ruining boat engines and large water-intake systems, and making lakes and rivers unusable for boaters and swimmers.

Purple loosestrife

Purple loosestrife, a wetland plant brought to North America in the 1800s as an ornamental, is aggressively displacing native marsh species. (St. Arnualer Wiesen/CC 0)

Another infamous invader is the nutria, a voracious, almost beaver size, rodent native to South America. An aggressive trapping and hunting program has all but eradicated them from the Eastern Shore, where they had chewed their way through marshes, accelerating the loss of thousands of acres of wetlands.

The list goes on. The northern snakehead fish, a native of Asia introduced in 2000, is essentially out of control. Blue and flathead catfish, natives of the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio river watersheds compete with Bay species for food and habitat. The spotted lanternfly, spreading like wildfire through the region, is killing trees and devastating orchards and vineyards. Purple loosestrife, an invasive wetland plant, was introduced as an ornamental plant in the 1800s and now dominates marshes. Even the seemingly innocent red-eared slider, a semi-aquatic turtle native to the southern and southwestern U.S. — a very popular pet — is invading northerly states because many owners set it free when it outgrows its aquarium.

Once an invasive species has a foothold, the cost — in terms of degraded natural areas, loss of native wildlife or control efforts — can be incalculably high. In addition, other economic resources and lifestyle choices are lost. Recreational activities, such as swimming, fishing, boating, or wildlife-watching are affected, as are the sources of income associated with these activities: the seafood industry, sales of outdoor equipment and clothing, hunting and fishing licenses, guide services, travel and tourism, and service stations for boats and automobiles.

Lanternfly

The Asian spotted lanternfly first showed up in Pennsylvania in 2014, but it has since spread southward into Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, ruining vineyards and orchards. (Rhododendrites/CC BY-SA 4.0)

What can you do to prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species? The overarching rule of thumb is this: Never release a plant or animal in an environment if you are not certain where it came from. Bait can come from anywhere, and it is believed that rusty crayfish, a very troublesome invader from the Ohio River watershed, has established itself in the Bay region mostly as discarded bait.

Some organisms are so small you may not even realize they are hitching a ride with you. So it’s important to follow this checklist every time you leave any body of water. Examine your boat, trailers, clothing, shoes and gear, then:

  • Remove any plants, fish or animals.
  • Remove all mud, dirt and plant fragments. The larvae of an animal, perhaps too tiny to see, can live in mud, dirt, sand and plant fragments.
  • Eliminate water from equipment before moving it.
  • Clean and dry anything that was in contact with water (boats, trailers, equipment, clothing) before using it in another waterway.

The Chesapeake Bay Program estimates that approximately 200 invasive species have established themselves in the watershed. To learn about invaders in your area, contact your state’s natural resources or environmental protection agency. One of the most comprehensive and user-friendly online resources for invasive species is the USDA’s National Invasive Species Information Center, at invasivespeciesinfo.gov.

Kathryn Reshetiloff, a Bay Journal columnist, is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Annapolis.

Second Annual Dragonfly Count, June 26th

Photos: Clifton Institute

Sunday, June 26, 2022
10:00am – 5:00pm
Where: The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
Cost: Free
Register here.

Join the Clifton Institute for the second annual Dragonfly Count! The goals are to learn which species of dragonflies and damselflies are found in the area, to monitor changes in their populations, and to encourage everyone to learn more about Odonates!

For more details about the survey habitat and count process please click here.

Dragonfly Identification Workshop, June 11th

Image: Clifton Institute

Saturday, June 11, 2022
11:00am – 1:00pm
Where: The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Road, Warrenton, VA
Cost: Free
Register here.

Dragonflies and damselflies are some of the most mysterious and beautiful animals that live at the Clifton Institute, and June is the perfect time to search for them. Workshop attendees will visit lakes, streams, and fish-free vernal pools, each of which host distinct dragonfly communities. The time period, 11AM-1PM, was chosen because it will be late enough in the day that there will be dragonflies flying but it’s not the absolutely hottest part of the day. Attendees are welcome to bring a lunch and eat on Institute’s picnic tables after the program.

FMN Earns 2022 Environmental Sustainability Award

Cover photo, Jerry Nissley

On Wednesday, April 20th, Volunteer Fairfax, together with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, celebrated the 149 nominees, 11 category winners, and 10 Community Champions during its 30th Anniversary Awards Program. The 2022 program consisted of a virtual awards program where the winners were announced to the public and an in-person reception at the Stacy C. Sherwood Center in Fairfax City where the winners received their awards.

Photo Janet Quinn

Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards highlight the achievements of volunteers in several distinct award categories. The 2022 Environmental Sustainability Award was presented to the Fairfax Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists (FMN). This award honors volunteers who work to protect and beautify our environment and natural surroundings, advocate for the preservation of our planet and strive to instill these values for our community.

During the virtual portion of the program, previously recorded video dialogues were shown detailing mission, goals, and achievements that supported each service category award. FMN President Marilyn Parks and FMN Member Chair, Mike Garth, were the video presenters for our organization and they more than carried the day by offering both quantifiable metrics for FMN 2022 achievements and gracious praise and recognition for all the FMN volunteers that are at the heart of this award. FMN Communications Co-chair Janet Quinn and FMN Jerry Nissley accompanied Marilyn to the reception where Marilyn accepted the award on behalf of FMN.

In January 2022, the FMN annual report was shared with members in a newsletter.  Marilyn realized the crux of what our chapter had accomplished really didn’t shine through.  Our service deserved further recognition, so she wrote up and submitted a nomination to Volunteer Fairfax for consideration.

From left to right: Jerry Nissley, Marilyn Parks, Janet Quinn, and Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay – Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Photo by Edward Marion

In the nomination Marilyn highlighted some important 2021 FMN accomplishments. Most notable were – 197 FMN members volunteered 15,500 hours; a 25% increase in 2021 over 2020!  This increase was a surprise given 2020 over 2019 hours had resulted in a 15% reduction of hours (first year of COVID outbreaks). FMN delivered 25% more hours to our partners and sponsors in the midst of a 2nd year of COVID. Let that sink in. We were out there working and spending time on 106 projects, making a difference and helping to preserve and protect the natural environment within Fairfax county. We recruited, trained and graduated 40 students – without the benefit of meeting at the county Government Center (all via zoom).  

This is attestation to the fidelity of all FMN volunteers that carried on their substantial enthusiasm for service in support of our partner organizations, our communities, our local, regional and state parks, and our growing network of service allies.

Marilyn concludes by saying, “I hope members are pleased with their chapter, happy with their choice of volunteering to serve nature, and thrilled to be recognized and named the Volunteer Fairfax –  Environmental Sustainability Award winner for 2022”.

The Honorable Gerry Connolly (Congressman 11th District Virginia)

Photo Janet Quinn

was the keynote speaker and engaged the audience with anecdotes of volunteerism and serving in local government. He said, “Volunteers are a testament to the strong ethos of public service and volunteerism that exists in Fairfax County and is one of many reasons why this community is such a wonderful place to live.”

In commemoration, Congressman Connolly had this commendation along with additional comments and a list of all award winners entered into the Congressional Record of the 117th Congress recognizing the 2022 service award winners. FMN in the Congressional Record!

Now is the time to take your right arm, reach across your left shoulder and give yourself a pat on the back. Not that you would normally do this because as FMN members you unselfishly volunteer your time as a service to your communities, not expecting this level of gratitude or recognition. But Marilyn emphasized that this award would certainly not have been possible without the generous, benevolent efforts of each and every volunteer in this wonderful organization.