Program and Event Descriptions:

Bird Walk at Sky Meadows State Park — Saturday, April 3, 8:00 a.m.   Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is partnering with the Northern Virginia Bird Club for a free bird walk at Sky Meadows State Park, at which all ages are welcome. The park is known among birders for its large colony of Red-headed Woodpeckers, and due to its diversity of birdlife is part of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail (Site MFR03).  It is a State fee area.  Please bring binoculars. We will meet in the main parking lot near the Visitor Center. Directions can be found at http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sky.shtml. Questions: contact Andy Rabin at stylurus@gmail.com.

Bird Atlas Training Session — Wednesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 pm. We encourage anyone interested in volunteering with the Loudoun County Bird Atlas to attend a training session. The training will provide an opportunity to meet other atlasers and become familiar with atlasing and entering your data. A printed copy of the atlas handbook, block map, field card, and other information will be provided. The location for this training session is the Purcellville Library. Questions or to register: Sign Up On-line or contact the Atlas Coordinator, Spring Ligi, at sligi@loudounwildlife.org

LWC Nature Book Club ― Thursday, April 8. Join in the fun with other readers and come to our next book club meeting. Our current book title is Gathering Moss, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Here's an excerpt from this wonderful book:

"Every spring, my daughters and I say that the peepers are "calling up the daffodils" with their song.  The green shoots push up after the first peepers are heard and come to full flowering before they are finished.  My Potawatomi ancestors had a word for the mystery: puhpowee, the power that causes a mushroom to rise up from the earth overnight.  I think it is this power that draws me to the pond on a night in April, bearing witness to puhpowee.  Tadpoles and spores, egg and sperm, mine and yours, mosses and peepers - we are all connected by our common understanding of the calls filling the night at the start of the spring.  It is the wordless voice of longing that resonates within us, the longing to continue, to participate in the sacred life of the world."

Please mark your calendars and join us for some great nature book talk! More information about the LWC Nature Book Club can be found here. Please sign up online and our book club coordinator, Donna Quinn, will contact you with more details.

Habitat Restoration Project at the Rust Nature Sanctuary ― Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10. The Rust Nature Sanctuary, on the western edge of Leesburg, has a mix of different habitats on 68 acres that is home to numerous wildlife species. On Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10, from 9 am to noon, LWC habitat restoration volunteers will help the sanctuary remove some of the invasive and aggressive plants at both the pond and around the pollinator garden and replace them with native plants. If you are interested in helping please contact Ann Garvey at ahgarvey@aol.com or 540-882-4405.

Birding Banshee― Saturday, April 10, 8:00 a.m. Join the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Friends of Banshee Reeks at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve for the monthly bird walk.  Because of its rich and varied habitat, this part of the county is a birding hot spot.   Please bring binoculars.  Questions: contact Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542 or jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org

Cricket Frogs at Bles Park ― Sunday, April 11, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Registration Required.  [Note: Registration is currently full but we can add you to the waitlist] Cricket frogs are very small frogs that many people may not recognize as frogs by their call, which sounds like two stones being tapped together. Bles Park is a real haven for this special frog. We’ll begin this class with a discussion of cricket frogs, their habitats during both the breeding and non-breeding season, their life cycles, and the ways to identify them.  We’ll then go for a walk along the trails and listen to their unique calls and see if we can spot a few. Please bring a flashlight or headlamp as well as a chair to sit on. Bles Park is located at 44830 Riverside Parkway, Ashburn. Questions or to register: Sign Up On-line or contact Nicole Hamilton at nhamilton@loudounwildlife.org. 

The Fascinating and Beautiful World of Bird Song — Tuesday, April 13, 7:00 p.m. at the Ida Lee Recreation Center (Leesburg). Join Will Hershberger, avid naturalist, birder, and renown wildlife photographer, for a fascinating audio-visual tour of bird songs. You'll be fascinated by the beauty of bird song and astounded by how much information birds convey in their songs. Wil is also the co-author of the well-received and beautiful book, The Songs of Insects. This free program is sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. For directions to Ida Lee see their website at (http://www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=463) Questions: contact Laura Weidner at lweidner@loudounwildlife.org.

Mid-Week Bird Walk at Algonkian Park in Eastern Loudoun — Wednesday, April 14, 9:00 – 11:00 a.m.  Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy on a mid-week bird walk.  This park has a varied habitat, including a long frontage along the Potomac River.  Admission to the park is free, there is ample parking, and comfort stations are available.  Meet at the parking lot by the pool (see map at http://www.nvrpa.org/documents/file/algonkiamap.gif).  Bring binoculars if you have them.  Birders of all levels welcome.   Questions: contact Bill Brown at 703-437-6277 or billbr50@msn.com.

Nature Walk at Phillips Farm — Saturday, April 17, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.  Registration Required.  You are invited to an early spring nature walk at Phillips Farm in Waterford.  Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, in partnership with the Waterford Foundation, has been working on several environmental projects on the site.  John Souders, local historian, will give insight into the history of the mill and surrounding area, and Paul Miller and Phil Daley will provide information about the many natural wonders the farm offers. The walk will also be an opportunity to assess the riparian buffer plantings that have been ongoing for the past two years.  Questions or to register: contact Paul Miller at 540-882-3112 or pmiller@loudounwireless.com

Leesburg Flower and Garden Festival ― Saturday, April 17, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 18 from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Visit us at our LWC booth! We will have displays and lots of free handouts, including the Gardening for Wildlife Plant List, the LWC coloring book, and lots more. LWC t-shirts, hats, and pins, as well as kits for creating your own monarch waystation will be for sale to help us raise money for our programs. For more information on the event, visit the festival website at www.idalee.org/parks/events/FlowerGarden. Anyone wanting to volunteer at the LWC booth can volunteer online or may contact Richelle Brown at rbrown@loudounwildlife.org

Sunday in the Preserve ― Sunday, April 18, 1:00 p.m.  Join a naturalist from the Friends of Banshee Reeks and the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy for a free informal, family walk around Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve. Search for the many natural wonders that make this such a special place. For information call the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve at 703-669-0316.

Habitat Restoration Project at Waterford’s Phillips Farm ― Thursday, April 22. In the past two years, hundreds of volunteers from Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Waterford Foundation have planted a thousand trees and shrubs along the South Fork Catoctin Creek on the Phillips Farm and removed a tremendous quantity of non-native, invasive plants. To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, on April 22, from 3 to 6 pm, we will plant more trees and shrubs on the Phillips Farm and continue removing and controlling the invasive alien plants along the Catoctin. If you’re interested in helping with this project please contact Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org or 540-554-2542.

Birding the Blue Ridge Center ― Saturday, April 24, 8:00 a.m. On the fourth Saturday of each month (except December), Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy leads a free bird walk at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES). This beautiful 900-acre preserve is located on Harpers Ferry Road, Rt. 671, in northwestern Loudoun County. Only a few miles south of Harpers Ferry and the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, the property includes meadows in the valley and heavily forested slopes on the Blue Ridge. Meet at the visitor center. The Blue Ridge Center is located just north of Neersville, at 11611 Harpers Ferry Road (Rt 671).  Detailed directions can be found on the website, www.brces.org. Questions: contact Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542 or jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org.

Habitat Restoration Project at Leesburg’s Town Branch Riparian Buffer ― Saturday, April 24. Last June, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy helped the Leesburg Environmental Advisory Committee/Watershed Committee and the Piedmont Environmental Council plant 350 trees, shrubs, and native perennial plants along Town Branch. We did this to create a riparian buffer, the single most effective way to protect water quality along the stream. On Saturday, April 24, from 9 am to noon, the plants that did not survive last year will be replaced and some additional areas will be planted. If you are interested in helping please contact Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org or 540-554-2542.

Arbor Day at Morven Park ― Saturday, April 24, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visit Morven Park for a wonderful Arbor Day celebration! There will be activities for kids, great nature displays, family fun, and lots of food. Stop by and visit the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy booth. Pick up a copy of our Gardening for Wildlife Plant List, which includes an extensive list of native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses that provide excellent habitat for our native wildlife. If you'd like to volunteer at our booth please sign up on our volunteer page. We could really use the help, especially with transporting our booth equipment and materials.

Greenfest 2010 ― Saturday, April 24, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Communities Thrive @ Your Library. Come out for Greenfest 2010 being held at the Lovettsville Library. Local naturalists, conservationists, organic farmers and other land stewards will be on hand with information, activities, and fun for everyone. Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy will be there with all sorts of handouts and educational materials as well as some fun hands on activities for kids.

Earthday@Loudoun Family Festival ― Sunday, April 25, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Willow Creek Farm, Broadlands VA. This free festival will offer virtually everything for the eco-conscience including more than 75 exhibitors, a Green Marketplace offering earth-friendly products and services, hands-on educational activities for all ages and many other entertainment options. The festival is designed to be a family-oriented event to educate Loudouners on the environmental changes happening in the local area. Scott York, Honorary Co-Chair of the event and Chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors said the Willow Creek Farm venue will offer a backdrop that will truly motivate people to make a difference. “We all can benefit from education and direction about the evolving focus of wildlife conservation. This venue truly captures the essence of our new eco-friendly world and its right in own backyard in the Broadlands,” said York. For more information visit: http://www.earthdayatloudoun.org/