Posts

Birding in a Winter Wonderland, December 7th

/in , /by

Photo:  FMN Lori Scheibe

Wednesday, December 7, 2022
7 – 8:30 pm
Webinar
$25 member/$30 nonmember
Register here through Smithsonian Associates.

We all grow up with the knowledge that birds fly south for the winter, but while our neotropical summer breeders return to the tropics, many other species find their way to winter homes in temperate North America from their arctic breeding grounds. The majority of these birds are ducks, geese, and swans, but the seasonal visitors also include songbirds, shorebirds, and raptors. Winter is also a great time to observe rare vagrant birds that have flown out of range and need to refuel before continuing their journey.

Naturalist Matt Felperin shares valuable tips on how to the make the most of winter birding in the mid-Atlantic region. Learn why so many species stay here for the winter instead of flying further south and discover some new locations to observe our winter snowbirds—complete with detailed photos. You’ll be ready to put on your snow pants and parka and enjoy one of the most rewarding and magical times for birding.

Author Event: “A World on the Wing” with NY Times Bestselling Author Scott Weidensaul, webinar June 28th

/in , /by

Photo: Yellow Sea Shorebirds, Scott Weidensaul

Thursday, June 28, 2022
7 – 8:15 pm
ASNV member $20, nonmember $30
Register here.

Audubon Society of Northern Virginia and the Virginia Society of Ornithology are proud to present an author talk with New York Times Bestselling Author, Scott Weidensaul!

His recent book, A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds, has captivated birders and non-birders alike with stories of astounding discoveries about the navigational and physiological feats that enable migratory birds to cross immense oceans or fly above the highest mountains, go weeks without sleep or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch.

For this lecture, author and researcher Scott Weidensaul takes you around the globe — with researchers in the lab probing the limits of what migrating birds can do, to the shores of the Yellow Sea in China, the remote mountains of northeastern India where tribal villages saved the greatest gathering of falcons on the planet, and the Mediterranean, where activists and police are battling bird poachers — to learn how people are fighting to understand and save the world’s great bird migrations.

Get your ticket at reduced price by joining Audubon Society of Northern Virginia or the Virginia Society of Ornithology.

Bird Migration 2020 Brings Some Welcome Surprises, VSO recorded webinar

/in , /by

Photo by Barth Bailey on Unsplash

Watch the webinar here.

Zoom lecture by Dr. Jerry Via, former Virginia Tech assistant dean. This has been an interesting year with the migration of so many winter finches. What are influences which result in the irruptions of finches and other species? Some species such as Rufous Hummingbirds seem to be off course, but are they lost? What does new monitoring technology teach us about some of the mysteries of migration, such as trans-oceanic migrants?

Brought to you by Virginia Society of Ornithology.

Review of How Birds Migrate, by Paul Kerlinger

/in , /by

Reviewed by FMN Kristine Lansing

In just a few weeks, nothing short of a miracle will be well underway.

Birds of all sizes and shapes — from the tiniest of hummingbirds to the largest of hawks — will embark upon an incredible geographic relocation, traveling thousands and, in some cases, tens of thousands of miles to reach their summer breeding grounds . . . where they will stay for only a few months to raise their young.

How do such fragile creatures survive a journey that would do most of us in — despite all of our modern conveniences — on the very first day? It’s not too late to learn more about the odyssey that is spring migration before it gets into full swing.

In this succinct book (only 216 pages) from 2008, ornithologist Paul Kerlinger demystifies migration by discussing: why birds migrate; factors that trigger migration; how birds prepare for the journey; their navigation across water and vast terrain; why some birds fly at night while others fly during the day; migratory rest stops; and in-flight communications. Dr. Kerlinger’s explanations, accompanied by short case studies and artist Pat Archer’s illustrations, make this book exceedingly accessible to non-birders and birders alike.

So if you’re new to birding (or simply curious), and if you read this book right now, you will never see spring and fall through the same eyes again. If you’re an experienced birder, though, don’t pass the book by; you’ll find yourself referring to it time after time.

Dr. Kerlinger is a former director of the New Jersey Audubon Society’s Cape May Bird Observatory.