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Birds, Bugs and Berries: Providing Habitat for Birds and Other Wildlife, December 8th

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Sunday, December 8, 2024
2 pm buffet; 2:45 presentation
Gunston Hall’s Ann Mason Room, 10709 Gunston Road, Lorton, VA
Friends of Mason Neck members $15/nonmembers $20
Register here.

It’s time for the Friends of Mason Neck State Park’s annual Swanfall holiday celebration. It’s an opportunity to socialize with members and friends while enjoying a delicious buffet and a
fascinating talk.

At 2:45 PM, we’ll enjoy “Birds, Bugs and Berries: Providing Habitat for Birds and Other Wildlife” presented by Alonso Abugattas. Alonso is the Natural Resources Manager for Arlington County, and he is best known as the Capital Naturalist, creator of the Capital Naturalist Facebook group with 24,000 members, and the Capital Naturalist You Tube channel. Alonso has had numerous mentions and appearances on television, radio, podcasts and the press, including appearances on Animal Planet, and makes presentations throughout the region.

Ethnobotany and Floral Folklore with Alonso Abugattas, May 16

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Photos by Alonso Abugattas

Thursday, May 16, 2024
7:00 – 8:00 PM

Virtual Seminar
ASNV Member ticket: $15 (Non-member ticket: $25)

Registration required!

Ethnobotany is the study of how people relate to and use plants in their lives, be it for food, medicine, tools, and many other ways. Learn about plant folklore and how people here used locally native and commonly available plants in the past. Alonso Abugattas will review the natural history of various plants, and provide some tips and references for finding out more about the various native plants.

Alonso Abugattas (The Capital Naturalist) is a well-known local naturalist, environmental educator, and storyteller in the Washington, DC area. He is the Natural Resources Manager for Arlington County Parks and the long-time Co-Chair for the Beltway Chapter of Region 2 of the National Association for Interpretation, the professional association for naturalists, historians, and docents. He is a former officer with the Virginia Native Plant Society, including past president of the Potowmack Chapter. He was awarded their Regional Outstanding Interpretive Manager Award in 2018 and the national Master Interpretive Manager in 2018.

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

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Photo: “firefly 2010 06 09 092, Photinus pyralis” by Terry Priest is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Event Details

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 Filene Center.

Cover your flashlights and phone with red film. Red film with be available.

Nature will provide the fireflies and music, the symphony of the nocturnal creatures.

A talk about fireflies will be given by Alonso Abugattas, The Capital Naturalist, about all of their mystery and magic.

Link to talk: http://capitalnaturalist.blogspot.com/2014/06/fireflies.html

Information about how to use artificial light at night responsibly will be provided. Artificial light at night prevents the fireflies from finding dates, to find mates to make little baby fireflies. Learn what you can do to protect them and save them from extinction.

Bring a chair, blanket, a dessert and a drink. Wear comfortable shoes suitable for walking on uneven ground. Come prepared to savor the night as Mother Nature designed it, in this treasure of Wolf Trap National Park. And most of all come to have fun dancing with the fireflies!

Event will proceed rain or shine.

More about fireflies: https://www.firefly.org/

 

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)