Program and Event Descriptions:

Rusty Blackbird Winter Blitz ― January 30 though February 15. The 2010 Rusty Blackbird Winter Blitz will take place from January 30th through February 15th across multiple states in the bird’s wintering range. The Rusty Blackbird Blitz is a citizen science-based effort to document Rusty Blackbird locations across their wintering range in a centralized database, thus providing groundwork for researchers to conduct their work in the future. This work is indeed vital as the declining Rusty Blackbird is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN and is currently listed by the National Audubon Society as an A1 Species of Conservation Concern at the Global Level.Your sightings can help in this effort! We need all available birders to go birding as much as possible during the Blitz period and record their results (including habitat information and the presence or absence of the birds) through the Virginia eBird portal at http://ebird.org/content/ebird/va in addition to sending the sightings in to our Bird Atlas Coordinator, Spring Ligi: sligi@loudounwildlife.org.

LWC Nature Book Club ― Thursday, February 4, 7:30 p.m. Join in the fun with other readers and come to our next book club meeting. Our current book title is Douglas Tallamay’s Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants. By the simple act of planting native plants (and the not so easy removal of invasive plants) we can each be a conservation activist and do our part in saving the eco-system and protecting biodiversity.  The Loudoun County Library system has copies available. 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.

Woods and Fields in the Coldest Month ― Sunday, February 7, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. CANCELED due to Snow Join Phil Daley and Paul Miller as they explore the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship during winter. While many people stay indoors during the cold months, others enjoy the beauty of a season when the sky is so clear you can see forever and the sun casts the longest shadows. During this free winter hike, watch for the many birds, insects, and mammals that over-winter here and examine some of the plants to see how they adapt to temperatures that dip below freezing. The Blue Ridge Center comprises 900 acres south of Harpers Ferry in northwestern Loudoun County. Meet at the visitor center on Rt. 671 at 11:00 a.m. Detailed directions can be found on the website, www.brces.org. Questions: contact Phil Daley at 540-338-6528 or pdaley@loudounwildlife.org.

Great Backyard Bird Count ― February 12 through 15. The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) will be held from February 12 – 15th. The GBBC is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across our entire continent and in Hawaii. Each checklist submitted by these "citizen scientists" helps researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society learn more about how the birds are doing—and how to protect them and the environment we share. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent's largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.This is a really fun event to be a part of so we encourage everyone to participate! If you do participate, we'd also love to have your data to use it in our Loudoun County Bird Atlas! After you do your GBBC, just email your tally results over to our Bird Atlas Coordinator, Spring Ligi, at sligi@loudounwildlife.org and she'll get your data entered into our Atlas database.

Birding Banshee― Saturday, February 13, CANCELED due to Snow 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.

Highland County, Va., Winter Weekend — Friday through Sunday, February 19 – 21. Registration Required. CANCELED due to Snow This year we will be doing our out-of-county trip to the mountains of western Virginia.   We will be looking for Golden Eagles among other birds that over-winter there.  Trip is limited to 12 people.  Questions or to register: Sign Up On-line or contact Laura Weidner at lweidner@loudounwildlife.org.

Sunday in the Preserve ― Sunday, February 21, 1:00 p.m. CANCELED due to Snow 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.

Birding the Blue Ridge Center― Saturday, February 27, 8:00 a.m. On the fourth Saturday of each month (except December) the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy leads a 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.

Loudoun Amphibian Monitoring Refresher Class, Field Trip, and Program Kickoff — Saturday, February 27, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Registration Required.  Recheduled to March 28 due to weather conditions. Please see the March calendar for more information and to sign up. 

The Birds of Loudoun County― Sunday, February 28, 2:00 p.m. at the Purcellville Library. With Loudoun County’s wide variety of natural areas including rich and large wet forests along the Potomac River, extensive farms and meadows, and large upland forests along the Blue Ridge that rise to more than 1,900 feet in elevation, bird life is abundant.  Over 100 species of birds nest and raise their young here, and at least another 150 species migrate through each year.  Thousands of hawks and eagles migrate through every fall; ducks flock on the Potomac and Shenandoah in early winter and late spring; and warblers and other songbirds show up in May, sometimes for only a brief visit and sometimes to stay for a couple of months while they raise their young.  Joe Coleman, president of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and avid naturalist and birder, will discuss and show slides of the birds of Loudoun County and identify the best spots to find them. Questions: contact Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542 or jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org.