Photo: Prairie Warbler, Will Stuart
By Tom Blackburn
It’s hard to write about anything other than Covid-19 at this juncture, so I’m taking this opportunity to discuss what ASNV is doing as a result of the outbreak and what you can do while we are all at risk.
Basic ASNV Operations ASNV Staff are working from home until further notice. Our Board of Directors and committees conduct meetings by telephone. We are answering voice mail, responding to emails and conducting routine business. Please feel free to contact us about ASNV business in the same way as you have done before.
Classes and activities We have canceled upcoming classes, bird walks and surveys and postponed client visits by our Audubon at Home Ambassadors. Given the rate at which new infections are occurring, it’s quite possible that we won’t resume these activities until the fall. We are investigating whether we can offer classes and activities online and will let you know if we do.
What can you do while restrictions on activities are in effect?
Start a list of the birds you see in your backyard. This is a perfect time to start a yard list just as spring migrants are heading our way. You can get help identifying birds using the free Merlin Bird ID app and the free Audubon Bird Guide App.
Take the opportunity to watch the birds more closely. Put up a bird feeder to attract them to your yard, then watch them as they court, mate, incubate eggs, feed their young and teach them to survive on their own.
Contribute to citizen science databases by sending your bird sightings to eBird and your wildlife and plant sightings to iNaturalist. iNaturalist will help identify what you see, just take a photo and submit it.
Brush up on your birding skills. If you have a Cornell Lab of Ornithology account, eBird has fun quizzes that allow you to practice identifying birds by sight and by sound. Purchase one of Cornell Lab’s 15 excellent on-line courses; you can use them with no time limit.
Improve your yard’s attractiveness to wildlife by planting more native plants. You can get information on what to plant on ASNV’s Audubon at Home pages and the Plant NoVa Natives website.
Get involved in our advocacy efforts. We’ll continue to monitor and take action on issues that affect birds, other wildlife and our environment. Send us an email at info@audubonva.org if you have a concern you’d like us to look into or you would like to help out.
Above all, stay healthy! Please follow the latest guidelines on how to minimize your chance of catching the virus.