Program and Event Descriptions:

LOUDOUN WILDLIFE FEST ― Saturday, June 7 at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship. Starting at 4:30 and going into the evening, we have four great bands, Allegheny Uprising, the Roots Quintet, Acoustic Burgoo and Dirty River, playing bluegrass and blues as we enjoy the night sounds. Between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Reptiles Alive will have a live amphibian zoo set up so you can meet some local species and learn more about them. This is a free event but donations are encouraged to help raise funds for future programs and events. Food and drinks will be available for purchase but you're welcome to bring a picnic. No alcohol please. Please try to carpool to help us with the parking. More information and links to the bands and Reptiles Alive can be found here. Questions: contact Helen VanRyzin at hvanryzin@loudounwildlife.org or 540-882-4187.

LOUDOUN COUNTY NIGHTJAR SURVEY ― June 10-June 26. The Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William & Mary still needs volunteers to adopt Nightjar Survey routes in Loudoun County.  The first survey window closed May 28th but the second window is June 10-June 26. The Nightjar Survey Network relies on volunteer participation by conservation-minded citizens, biologists, and other like-minded groups to adopt and conduct survey routes.  Nightjar Surveys are easy to perform and take about two hours to complete.  Volunteers conduct roadside counts at night, during specific time windows when the moon is > 50 % illuminated, by driving and stopping at 10 points along a predetermined 9-mile route.  At each point, without using audio lures, the observer counts all Nightjars seen or heard during a 6-minute period.  Visit the United States Nightjar Survey Website for more details including location of routes, instructions, and results; www.ccb-wm.org/nightjars.htm. At this time the only active route in Loudoun County runs from Clarks Gap to Taylorstown and was surveyed by Joe Coleman and Laura Weidner last year.  LWC would like to develop three additional routes in the county – if you think you might be interested in helping with a new route or take over the Taylorstown route, please let Mike Wilson know (mdwils@wm.edu) or contact Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildife.org or 540-554-2542.

BIRDING BANSHEE ― Saturday, June 14, 8:00 a.m.  Join the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the Friends of Banshee Reeks at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve for our 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 jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org or 540-554-2542.

INTRODUCTION TO LWC'S STREAM MONITORING PROGRAM AND THE AQUATIC LIFE WE MONITOR ― Sunday, June 15, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. at the Rust Sanctuary in Leesburg. Registration Required. Meg Findley, our LWC Stream Monitoring Program Coordinator, will describe the many aspects of our monitoring program, including where we monitor throughout Loudoun County, how we conduct stream assessments, and what the aquatic life in our streams tells us about the health of our waters.  She will also discuss how interested volunteers can become certified stream monitors in LWC’s stream program, and what’s involved in our stream site monitoring on a regular basis. Registration Required: Sign Up Online or contact Meg Findley at mfindley@loudounwildlife.org.

INTRODUCTION TO LWC'S STREAM MONITORING PROGRAM AND THE AQUATIC LIFE WE MONITOR ― Tuesday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. at the Rust Sanctuary in Leesburg. Registration Required. Meg Findley, our LWC Stream Monitoring Program Coordinator, will describe the many aspects of our monitoring program, including where we monitor throughout Loudoun County, how we conduct stream assessments, and what the aquatic life in our streams tells us about the health of our waters.  She will also discuss how interested volunteers can become certified stream monitors in LWC’s stream program, and what’s involved in our stream site monitoring on a regular basis. Registration Required: Sign Up Online or contact Meg Findley at mfindley@loudounwildlife.org.

MID-WEEK NATURE WALK AT BANSHEE REEKS AND DULLES WETLANDS ― Wednesday, June 18, 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  Registration Required.  Join Joe Coleman on one of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s mid-week birding trips and explore Banshee Reeks and the wetlands.  We will meet at the Dulles Wetlands at 7:00 a.m.  For those who can’t make it at that time, we will meet at the visitor’s center at Banshee Reeks at 9 a.m.  Hiking footgear (waterproof if you are coming to the Wetlands), long pants and insect repellent advised.  To register or for questions contact Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org or 540-554-2542.

HABITAT RESTORATION EVENT IN ROUND HILL― Saturday, June 21, 9:00 a.m. Purple loosestrife, while beautiful, is an aggressive alien wetlands plant that has the potential to force out all other plants in a wetlands and thereby, degrade it.  This plant has established itself along a stream that flows into the Town of Round Hill and ultimately into Sleeter Lake.  If not removed, it has the potential of destroying the wetlands. The area involved is across Business Rte 7 from a riparian restoration project that the North Fork Goose Creek Project completed about five years back.  The project is scheduled for Saturday, June 21 at 9:00 a.m. and, if we don’t finish that day, we’ll wrap up on Saturday, July 12, also at 9:00 a.m. We will be removing this invasive plant by hand so please remember to bring work gloves and waders (this removal project is in and along a stream bank and wetlands) and any desired weeding tools you prefer. Anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. If you think you are interested in helping with this project please contact Joseph Villari at joeyvillari@yahoo.com or Joe Coleman at jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org or 540-554-2542. 

BUTTERFLIES at BANSHEE REEKS ― Saturday, June 21, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00p.m.  Join the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and Mona Miller, the “Butterfly Lady,” for one of our free, family butterfly walks.  We will investigate some of the many diverse natural areas at Banshee Reeks and identify all of the butterflies we can find.  If you own binoculars, please bring them. Click here for directions to Banshee Reeks.  Questions: contact Nicole Hamilton at nhamilton@loudounwildlife.org or 540-882-9638.

DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF LOUDOUN FIELD TRIP- Saturday, June 28, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Bad weather date: Sunday, June 29).  Registration Required – limit 12 participants.  Join Andy Rabin and Kevin Munroe on a free, fun, and informative day of “dragon-hunting” as we visit some of the best dragonfly and damselfly habitat in the county.  We will learn how to catch, handle, identify, and release these insects, so bring an insect net if you have one (some extra nets will be provided).  Other things to bring include a hat, sunscreen, lunch, snacks, water, and binoculars.  We may be walking off-trail through some tall vegetation.  To get the most out of this trip you will want to be an active participant, so be prepared to get your feet wet and muddy.  Adults and interested children are welcome.  Meet at Bles Park in Ashburn (for directions http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=924), and then we will visit one or two other sites in the county. To register and for questions please e-mail Andy Rabin at stylurus@gmail.com (preferred), Sign Up Online or call 703-723-6926.

BIRDING THE BLUE RIDGE CENTER ― Saturday, June 28, 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 Neersville Volunteer Fire Station on Rt. 671 at 8:00 a.m. Questions: contact Joe Coleman at 540-554-2542 or jcoleman@loudounwildlife.org.