Third Annual Dragonfly Count, June 25th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Sunday, June 25, 2023
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cost: Free

Registration is REQUIRED.

The Clifton Institue
6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

Join volunteers at the Clifton Institute for the third 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. The map of the count circle is here. The circle includes a wide variety of aquatic habitats, including a sphagnum bog, fish-free marshes, lakes with abundant lily pads, and a variety of clean streams and rivers that range from tiny seeps all the way up to the Rappahannock River. This interesting area has not received as much study as nearby northern Virginia, but 72 species of dragonflies and damselflies have already been documented inside the circle. In 2022, volunteers found 55 species of dragonflies and damselflies, including Laura’s and Rapids Clubtails, Sphagnum Sprite, Appalachian Jewelwing, Amber-winged Spreading, Lilypad Forktail, and Turquoise Bluet. Who knows what else they will find this year! The circle will be divided into several areas, which teams of people will cover, similar to a Christmas Bird Count or NABA butterfly count. Organizers will let you know where to meet closer to the date. The count is open to people of all experience levels. They welcome dragonfly experts as well as anyone who is interested in learning about these fascinating insects.

This event is free but registration is required. Email Bert Harris ([email protected]) with any questions or if you would like to lead one of the teams. Please let Bert know if you live inside the count circle and you have a fish-free pond or marsh or a pond with lily pads or other emergent aquatic vegetation on your property that you would like to be included in the count. Organizers are partnering with the Fauquier County Parks and Recreation Department, Goose Creek Association, Virginia Outdoors Foundation, and White House Farm Foundation on this event.

Dragonfly Identification Workshop, June 17th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, June 17, 2023
11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Cost: Free

Registration is REQUIRED.

The Clifton Institue
6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

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. This workshop will cover the basics of dragonfly identification and biology. Participants will then practice what they have learned by visiting lakes, streams, and fish-free vernal pools, each of which host distinct dragonfly communities. You are welcome to bring a lunch and eat on the picnic tables after the program.

Bobolink Walk, June 15th

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Photo by Kathlin Simpkins

Thursday, June 15, 2023
7:30 – 9:00 am
Cost: Free

Registration is REQUIRED.

The Clifton Institue
6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

Join this visit to an active Bobolink nesting colony in partnership with the friends at Virginia Working Landscapes! Bobolinks are unique and beautiful birds that select hay fields for nesting. Sadly, they are declining as a result of nest losses from cutting the hay early in the summer. Participants should enjoy views of adults and fledglings and hear their wonderful song that is reminiscent of R2-D2. The private property we will visit still hosts these wonderful birds because the owners delay haying until the Bobolinks have finished nesting. You should also see a variety of other breeding birds such as Purple Martins, Grasshopper Sparrows, Eastern Meadowlarks, and Blue Grosbeaks.

Plant Family Identification Workshop, June 10th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Saturday, June 10, 2023
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Cost: Free

Registration is REQUIRED.

The Clifton Institue
6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

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 us 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!

Firefly Walk, June 9th

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Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

Friday, June 9, 2023
8:00 – 9:30 pm
Cost: $10 ($5 for Friends of the Clifton Institute)

Registration is REQUIRED.

The Clifton Institue
6712 Blantyre Road
Warrenton, Virginia 20187

Who doesn’t love fireflies? Many of us have fond memories of catching fireflies or watching a magical light show on a summer evening. But why do fireflies flash? What do they eat? How many species are there? And are fireflies disappearing? Learn all about these fascinating insects with Ariel Firebaugh, firefly researcher and Director of Scientific Engagement at UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm (Boyce, VA). After a short talk, participants will walk around grounds, practice identification, and enjoy the light show!

FMN CE Event Recap: Wandering through the Wildflowers at Riverbend Park with Alonso Abugattas

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Photo of Alonso Abugattas by FMN Laura Anderko

On April 23, 2023, Fairfax Master Naturalists spent a cool, sunny Sunday hiking with native plant expert Alonso Abugattas to learn more about native and invasive wildflowers. FMN members in attendance learned to identify many native plants such as Canada Waterleaf, Star Chickweed, Wild Blue Phlox, Smooth Solomon’s Seal, False Solomon’s Seal, Spring Beauty, Ramps/Wild Leeks, Sweet Cicely, Virginia Bluebells, Blue and Cream Violets, Clustered Snakeroot, Sessile Trillium, and Kidney Leafed Buttercup. Non-natives included Gill over the Ground, Garlic Mustard, Bulbous Buttercup and Star of Bethlehem. Participants also heard stories about the folklore and uses of a variety of wildflowers. One example, the Spring Beauty plant is also known as fairy spuds for its small potato-like edible roots. See photos below for more.

Photo by Laura Anderko, Canada Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum canadense)

Photo by FMN Laura Anderko, Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Register for Clean the Bay Day! June 3rd

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Image: courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

The registration for Clean the Bay Day is now live!

Every year Virginians all over the state join together to clean litter that jeopardizes the health of Chesapeake Bay. To participate in Clean the Bay Day on Saturday, June 3 register here. The earlier you register, the more choices you will have regarding cleanup sites. For groups, it is recommended you register early to ensure you can all be at the same location. This year we’re highlighting Zone Captains and their critical work helping Clean the Bay Day run smoothly.

 

The Foundation knows not everyone is able to join the volunteers for the main event, they are again offering a DIY option—
Clean the Bay Your Way—from June 4th through June 10th. Clean the Bay Your Way gives you the option of cleaning-up when you want with friends, family or by yourself! You’re able to conduct your own cleanup effort on smaller sites like your private property, school, workplace, or anywhere else you have permission. Learn more about our DIY option and register here!

Please let Lila know if you have any questions or run into any site issues. Thank you again for your interest in joining this huge volunteer event.

 

Lila Powell

Clean the Bay Day Intern

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

757-644-4122 / [email protected]

 

For Fairfax Master Naturalists the following clean up locations may be of interest:

Alexandria/City of Alexandria
Annandale/Friends of Accotink Creek

Lorton/Mason Neck State Park
Lorton/Mason Neck State Park Boaters

Book Review: Wild Honey Bees: An Intimate Portrait Photography by Ingo Arnot and Text by Jürgen Tautz

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Book review by FMN Marilyn Schroeder.

 Photography by Ingo Arnot and Text by Jürgen Tautz

Enjoy awesome closeups and riveting scientific findings about wild honey bees in their natural forest habitat.  Wait a minute!  Didn’t we learn in class that honey bees aren’t native?  Maybe not in Fairfax, but this book is about the life of wild honey bees in the forests of Central Europe.

Huge honey bee portraits and views inside their tree cavity hives grace this coffee-table book.  Any art-lover would be captivated by the amazing photography.  But naturalists will also be intrigued by the research into their behavior, social life and ecology.  The author draws a thought-provoking contrast between bee colonies in cavity hives in the forest versus bee keepers’ hives in farm fields.  A chapter describing the techniques and challenges of photographing bees in flight, in a nest cavity 66 feet off the ground and throughout the seasons of their life cycle attest to the photographer’s skill and commitment.  Can you tell I loved the book?  Wild Honey Bees is available in the Fairfax County Public Library.

Tool Under Development for Amateur Naturalists – Created by FMN Margaret E. Fisher

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 Article and photo by FMN Margaret E. Fisher

Tool under development for amateur naturalists – created by FMN Margaret E. Fisher


For those of you who enjoy learning the names of the plants and animals that surround us, we are working on a spreadsheet to make it a little easier to identify Northern Virginia organisms. This tool is for people who have enough experience to take a reasonable guess at the identification of a plant, insect, or other organism but not enough to distinguish it from its lookalikes. Using iNaturalist can sometimes help, but only if you photograph the right part. The idea is to create a cheat sheet – one that can be referenced in the field – that highlights one or two features that can readily make the distinction.

 

For example, you might know enough about flowers to identify the two pictured here as Monkeyflower. One is Sharpwing Monkeyflower (Mimulus alatus) and the other is Allegheny Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens). At first glance, they look very much alike, but the distinction becomes easy once you know that the former has a short flower stem and long leaf stem, and the latter has a long flower stem and no leaf stem at all. Similarly, you may already know that the terms Painted Lady and American Lady refer to butterflies, but you could use a reminder that the former has a band of small eyespots as opposed to the latter which has two large eyespots on the underside of the hindwing.

 

We are only just getting started on collecting information to fill in the blanks as people submit the results of their research. The spreadsheet will never be complete, but it will be fun to watch it grow as our familiarity with our non-human neighbors increases. To contribute your tips (or corrections, which are welcome and needed), email [email protected].

You can view the Google spreadsheet here.