The Sounds of Nature: How Natural Sounds are Made and Why They Sound Like They Do *Virtual*, February 22nd

Image: Courtesy of the Clifton Institute

February 22, 2024
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

**This is a virtual program**

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

As mostly visual creatures, we often take sound for granted, but there is a whole incredible world of vibrations going on around us. In this Zoom program, Co-Director Eleanor Harris, Ph.D., will explain how natural sounds are made and how both human and non-human animals hear them. From why birds sing in the morning to how insects hear with their legs, thinking about sounds in nature might change the way you see and hear the world around you. A Zoom link will be emailed to participants shortly before the program.

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to the Clifton Institute liability release policy.

Spotted Salamander Walk, February 13th

Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

February 13, 2024
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

Once a year, salamanders leave their homes in the woods and head toward vernal pools, temporary ponds created by spring rains and melting winter snow. The conditions must be just right, a warm night with rainy conditions. The males arrive first and lay sperm sacks around the pond. The females come later and absorb these sacks, which causes them to lay their eggs, about 50-100 per female. Join this walk to the vernal pools to witness this spectacle of nature.

It will be necessary to watch the weather closely to adjust the time and date that looks most promising for the group to see this wonderful migration. For now, this date is a best-guess placeholder for the walk. You will receive an email closer to the date with information about when to meet.

Please bring a flashlight. As you will likely go out in the rain, the recommendation is to wear a raincoat and waterproof shoes.

Age:  Adults and children ages 12 and up, accompanied by an adult.

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). It is required that everyone have a mask with them in case the class needs to go inside during inclement weather, to administer first aid, or for other reasons. Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let the Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

Before attending this event, please read the information included on the Clifton Institute liability release form (click here).

How to iNaturalist, February 3rd

Image: Courtesy of The Clifton Institute

February 3, 2024
2:00 pm
 – 4:00 pm

The Clifton Institute
6712 Blantyre Rd
Warrenton, VA 20187

FREE

Registration is REQUIRED.

Cost: Free!

iNaturalist is a powerful tool for people to learn about nature and to contribute to science, but there are lots of people who are not sure how to use it. In this program, Co-Directors Bert and Eleanor Harris will give a brief introduction to the iNaturalist app and website and some background and why it is loved it so much. Then you will go outside and practice how to take pictures and upload them to have the best chance at having your observation identified. Please download the iNaturalist app onto your phone before you arrive.

Age:Adults and children accompanied by an adult.

Weather policy: Rain or shine except in case of extreme weather (e.g. thunderstorm or significant snow fall).

COVID-19 Information: This program will be entirely outdoors (an outside porta potty will be available). Please do not attend if you are experiencing or have experienced in the last two weeks any symptoms associated with COVID-19 (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.).

Cancellation policy: If you register and can no longer attend this event, please let the Clifton Institute know as soon as possible so that they can open your spot to someone else.

By registering for this event, you are affirming that you have read and agree to the Clifton Institute’s liability release policy.

 

Behavior, Society and Sex in Adolescent Birds with Liam Taylor, February 8th

Photo: William Young, Great Horned Owlet

February 8, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Virtual Seminar

ASNV Member ticket: $15 (Non-member ticket: $20)
Registration details

Most birds have some growing up to do before they start to breed. Despite reaching full size within weeks or months of hatching, some species will not raise offspring for years, or even decades. Liam Taylor explores the strange things that some birds need to do before they reproduce—from meeting a fishing buddy on a rocky island to finding a dance partner on a rainforest floor. Looking back through millions of years of evolution, Taylor uncovers how behavioral, social, and sexual development continues to create new challenges and opportunities for adolescent birds.

Liam Taylor is a PhD candidate in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University. He studies how social development influences, and is influenced by, the life history and evolution of birds, with a focus on delayed reproduction and delayed plumage maturation in colony-nesting seabirds and lekking Manakins.

Ducks and Waterfowl Identification with Greg Butcher, January 25th

Photo: FMN Jerry Nissley

 

Thursday, January 25, 2024
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Virtual Presentation
FREE, but registration is required!

Join Greg Butcher, Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) board member and retired migratory species coordinator for the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, for an introduction to waterfowl identification. Get to know many of the species that winter in the open waters of our region. You’ll learn how to tell a Bufflehead from a Hooded Merganser, and you’ll learn the features (and hear the call) of the beautiful Tundra Swans that winter in Northern Virginia. Strategies will include identification by shape and color pattern.

This event will be helpful for those participating in the Winter Waterfowl Count on Feb 3rd and 4th but is open to anyone who would like to know how to identify winter waterfowl!

Some good locations to see waterfowl in Northern Virginia are Huntley Meadows, Dyke Marsh and Mason Neck State Park.

Winter Waterfowl Count, February 3rd and 4th

Photo by FMN Ana Ka’ahanui.

Saturday, February 3, 7:00 AM – Sunday, February 4 – 2:00 PM
Various locations
FREE, but registration is required!

The Winter Waterfowl Count is a citizen science effort organized by Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) to track data about winter waterfowl. This survey complements the Christmas Bird Count, and the data is shared openly with the public. When it started in 2008, ASNV volunteers covered the Potomac River from Algonkian Regional Park in Loudoun County to Quantico Marine Base in Prince William County, as well as many inland bodies of water. In 2020 ASNV expanded the survey to include areas along the Potomac River in King George and Westmoreland Counties down to the mouth of the Potomac River where it empties into Chesapeake Bay.

Although ASNV expect many veterans from past years to return, they can always use new volunteers. Beginners are welcome but are strongly encouraged to attend the Duck and Waterfowl Identification webinar on January 25. Each volunteer will be assigned to a team led by an experienced birder. Each team determines the start time, which will vary between 7:00 and 8:30am. End times may also vary depending on assigned survey locations.

This count is organized by Larry Cartwight. The deadline to register is Tuesday, January 30 at 9:00 PM so that you can be assigned to a team in time for the count on Saturday morning.

Larry Cartwright is an avid birder and leads several avian related surveys in Northern Virginia. He lectures on birds and birding for the Lifetime Learning Institute at Northern Virginia Community College. His lecture topics have included the evolution of birds from feathered theropod dinosaurs and birding in the Alaskan tundra. Larry has received several awards from scientific and conservation organizations, including the Virginia Society of Ornithology’s Jackson M. Abbott Conservation Award for 2013.

Help Trees Thrive: Tear Up Some Turf

By Elaine Kolish, Fairfax County Tree Commission, photo: Plant NOVA Trees

It’s fairly common in residential neighborhoods to see trees surrounded by grass or by small mulch beds, often heaped high like a volcano. But did you know that your trees would be healthier and grow faster if you replaced that turf and mulch volcanos with a 2-4” deep ring of mulch that extends out to the tree’s drip line or even beyond? Let’s look at why this is.

Tree roots are not as deep underground as you might think. Instead they are generally fairly shallow, in the upper six inches of the soil, which is where turf grass roots grow. This means trees and turf are competing for the same water and nutrients in the soil. The grass generally wins. And of course, as trees become more established, the shade they cast doesn’t do the turf any favor. Turf grass does best with lots of sunlight, and dense shade will significantly affect grass growth and quality. Another factor to consider is that exposed tree roots in your lawn can be a trip hazard. In addition, when you mow over the grass-surrounded roots, you could be damaging them and detrimentally compacting the soil.

If you wonder how much difference turf under trees can make, one study reported that trees in turf grow at half the rate of trees that are not dealing with that competition. So if you want vigorous tree growth, no turf or less turf under them is best.

Another wonderful benefit from eliminating or reducing turf is the improvement in the survival rate of the caterpillars that turn into butterflies and moths that in turn bring beauty into our lives and environmental benefits. According to Doug Tallamy, a famous professor of entomology and wildlife ecology, a hard-packed lawn underneath a tree does not provide adequate pupation sites for caterpillars that may have been feeding on your native tree, such as an oak. The caterpillar may find no leaf litter (because the lawn has been cleaned up) in which to spin a cocoon, or if it is a species that burrows into the soil, it won’t find any loose soil if there is only turf under the tree. And we need these insects, not just for their beauty, but for their role as pollinators and as food for other wildlife. As E.O. Wilson, the eminent ecologist, famously said, insects are ”the little things that run the world.”

So consider eliminating the turf under your trees or combining various smaller mulched areas into a bigger area. Your trees will be happier (and you will have less lawn to mow and maintain)! But, remember, don’t let the mulch touch the trees—stay one to two inches away from the trunk to avoid bark rot. Too deep a mulch layer will keep water from reaching the soil – two to four inches is ideal. Best of all is to use arborist wood chips (which you can get for free from Chip Drop or from any tree company that needs to dispose of the chips after felling a tree), as they don’t mat down the way standard bagged mulch may.

Once you have wider rings around the trees, you will have the opportunity to create more biodiversity and habitat by under-planting with native plants including shrubs, flowers and ground covers that thrive in shade or part shade (think ferns and wild ginger). Native plants have different root depths compared to turf grass, so you won’t have the same unhealthy competition for water and nutrients that you did with turf. You can find details about these plants on the Plant NOVA Natives website.

Pushing back the turf is a project you can do before the ground freezes, or you can start planning your beds now, while other garden tasks are on hold, for spring installation.

MVHS Science Fair – Judges Wanted

Our friends at Mount Vernon HS are asking for volunteers to judge their science fair.

E152: Science Fair Judge at Fairfax County Science Fairs — FCPS

Several FMN have supported them in past so their request was sent to previous judges but it is not limited to previous judges. Read on…

“Good morning,

My name is Anna Gosling. Cory Smith and I are the Science Fair Directors at Mount Vernon High School. First, I would like to thank you for volunteering as a judge at one of our previous Science Fairs. Our students and teachers greatly appreciate your time and knowledge—I know I have been impressed by how much my students have grown from your feedback. Mount Vernon would be extremely grateful if you were able to volunteer again as a Science Fair Judge.

This year’s Science Fair will be held on Monday, January 29 (snow date: February 2) from 8:00 am to roughly 12:00 pm for general judging, or as late as 1:00 pm for Grand Prize judging.

If you would be interested in volunteering your time as a judge again, please complete this Google Form let me know if there is a particular category that you would like to judge.

Thank you in advance for your time.”

If the form does not work in your reader, here is Anna’s contact information:

Anna Gosling
[email protected]
703-619-3378

AHS Blue Bird Trail – Building Team FMN

Washington’s River Farm, the headquarters of the American Horticulture Society (AHS) is renovating their Bluebird Trail and FMN is building a team to help.
The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, once as common as the robin, saw a drastic decline in population for many reasons including loss of habitat, pesticide use, snag removal, an influx of house cats and the introduction of the House Sparrow and the European Starling. The American Bluebird Society (ABS), started a conservation movement in 1978 to put up boxes and monitor the numbers and health of the bluebird population. Their successful program continues today.

One of several sad looking boxes to be replaced – photo Jerry Nissley

Fairfax Master Naturalists is putting together an ABS team to help install the bluebird boxes at River Farm and monitor the boxes between March and July. Training will be provided. If you are interested in any aspect of this project, please contact FMN Susan Farmer [email protected] with your availability and level of interest.  Volunteer for installation, or installation and monitoring, or monitoring only – whatever works for you. The Blue Bird boxes have arrived and will be installed on 13 Jan 2024. If you can help, please contact Susan Farmer.

AHS is a new FMN chapter partner located along the Potomac River. FMN has approved stewardship, educational, and citizen science project codes for this blue bird opportunity and many other volunteer opportunities to support AHS River Farm. S275, E275, and C275, respectively.

Bird Friendly® Certified Coffee (and how you can help) Webinar, January 18th

Photo: Courtesy of the Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification

Thursday, January 18, 2024
7 – 8 pm
Webinar
Free but registration required.

Did you know that the coffee you drink can affect the birds in your backyard? The Smithsonian Bird Friendly certification does more than any other certification program to conserve habitat for birds and other wildlife on coffee farms. Bird Friendly Program Manager Kirstin Hill will describe the link between coffee and conservation, discuss what makes Bird Friendly certification the gold standard in biodiversity protection, and share ways to get involved in the movement to “Drink Bird Friendly.” Your coffee is stronger than you think! Currently, we know of no coffee shops in northern Virginia where you can buy a fresh hot cup of bird-friendly coffee – and we want to change that! We are looking for volunteers who are inspired by this program to help us with coffee shop outreach.