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Feather Trails: A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, January, 30th

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Image Courtesy of the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance

Thursday, January 30, 2025
7:00pm – 8pm EST

Virtual Event

Tickets $15.00 Members of the NVBS; $25.00 Non-NVBA Members (General Public)

Registration here.

Presentation of the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance (NVBA)

Birds are visible, vocal sentinels that alert us to environmental harms through their declining numbers or their failure to thrive. In her new book Feather Trails—A Journey of Discovery Among Endangered Birds, Sophie Osborn shares her personal experiences reintroducing endangered Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors to the wild. While immersing readers in the triumphs and tribulations of being a wildlife biologist, Sophie explores the threats that imperiled these birds, and reveals that what harmed them threatens us, too. She will discuss what led to the endangerment of these three captivating species, recount the efforts of biologists to recover their populations, and read a few excerpts from her book that describe what it was like to work with these magnificent birds.

Sophie A. H. Osborn is an award-winning environmental writer and wildlife biologist whose work has included the study and conservation of more than a dozen bird species in the Americas. She contributed to reintroduction efforts for several endangered birds and served as the field manager for the California Condor Recovery Program in Arizona for four years. Her books include Condors in Canyon Country, which won the 2007 National Outdoor Book Award for Nature and the Environment. She has written articles for BirdWatching, Wyoming Wildlife, and Sojourns magazines. Sophie’s writings are also available on her website and her “Words for Birds ” Substack blog.

Sea Turtle Rehabilitation at the National Aquarium: The Conservation Impact from Massachusetts to Florida, August 17th

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Photo: naushad mohamed on Unsplash

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center webinar
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
7 pm
Register here.

Discover what goes into rescuing endangered sea turtles, with Animal Rescue Director Jenn Dittmar of the National Aquarium! All seven of the world’s sea turtle species are either threatened or endangered, though some are common, seasonal visitors to the mid-Atlantic and New England during warmer months. The National Aquarium has been rehabilitating sick and injured sea turtles for 30 years. But the conservation impact of this program reaches far beyond the waters of Maryland. The average sea turtle patient at the National Aquarium will travel more than 1,400 miles during rehabilitation – from the spot where it was stranded to its eventual release. In our August webinar, Dittmar will reveal the complex, team effort to conserve critically endangered sea turtles.

Proposals to Reintroduce Red Wolves to Virginia, webinar January 27th

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Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Wednesday, January 27, 2021
6:30 -7:30 pm
Hosted by the Great Falls Group of the Sierra Club
Learn more and register.

Richmond-based journalist Stephen Nash has been looking into proposals to reintroduce red wolves, Canis lupus rufus, to Virginia. In the 1970s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caught the last 17 known representatives of this critically endangered species. The agency has worked to enlarge the captive population, and reintroduce these animals to the wild. Today, only a handful of red wolves remain in the wild in coastal North Carolina, and 200 or so are in captive breeding facilities, including nine at Roanoke’s Mill Mountain Zoo.