Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Most of us don’t have hummingbirds at our houses here in Loudoun in winter, but every year or two we do get reports of Rufous Hummingbirds showing up.

Cornell calls this bird the “feistiest” of the hummingbirds, which will attack larger hummingbirds at feeders and out maneuver them (which is amazing considering the agility of hummingbirds in general.)

So, what do you do if a Rufous Hummingbird shows up at your house in December or January? Well, the Hummer/Bird Study group has the answer.  Here’s the link to their study and information on what to do:

http://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/winterfeeder.html

This group has been studying and banding winter hummingbirds for over 20 years and have compiled some great findings and recommendations.

I hope so! Now it’s time for some fun holiday shopping and a nature walk!

Head over to the Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop in Leesburg for some wonderful gifts for the nature enthusiasts (and crazy ‘ole birds) in your family and when you’re done, take a stroll along the trails (you can’t do that at the mall!).

At the shop you’ll find a wide selection of nature books for adults and kids, binoculars (nice gift – just in time for the Christmas Bird Count on December 28th!), bird feeders, bird-friendly coffee, notecards, tshirts, toys….and very friendly volunteers to help you out.

Members of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy receive a 20% discount (that’s huge!) on seeds and other items.

While at the sanctuary, take a few minutes for a nice nature walk – the trails are lovely, and with this warm weather, you’ll likely see all sorts of neat wildlife out and about.

Rust Nature Sanctuary, located at 802 Childrens Center Rd in Leesburg, is one of our great places here in Loudoun and a wonderful place to recharge during this holiday season

Discounts on Bird Seed and Gear for Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Members!

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members receive a 20% discount on bird seed and suet, nature books, bird feeders and accessories at the Rust Sanctuary Shop in Leesburg – now through December!

If you’re not yet a member of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, please join or renew today and then run on over to Rust Sanctuary and get your seeds and stuff! The birds are definitely flocking to feeders with this chilly weather and the Rust Sanctuary Shop has a great selection. You can find some nice holiday gifts there too.

If you join now, your membership will run through December 2012.  Join/renew today. Your savings on seeds will quickly pay for your membership!

The Rust Sanctuary Shop is located inside the Rust Manor House at 802 Children’s Center Road, Leesburg. After selecting seeds, browse their great selection of natural history books, field guides, children’s books, binoculars, eco-friendly coffee, stationary, and gifts made by local artisans.

To take advantage of you member discount, just tell the Sanctuary Shop volunteer that you’re a Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy member and they’ll take the discount at the register.

Rust Sanctuary Shop Hours:
Wednesdays (10 am-4 pm)
Saturdays (10 am-1 pm)
[if these hours don't work for you, you can call 703-669-0000 x5 and ask about special arrangements]

With all the rain and warm weather we’ve been having over the last two weeks, mushrooms and other fungi have been having a field day! They’re coming up in all colors, shapes and sizes. 

There are a few decent field guides out there to help you with id but I also just came across this neat App by Audubon and thought I’d pass it along.  Just go to the “marketplace” on your device and do a search to check it out. Or visit their website.

You can get the mushroom app for the iPhone, iPad and Android platforms:

Audubon Mushrooms
Get in touch with your inner Mycologist and own the most comprehensive and accurate guide to North American mushrooms and other fungi available to date. Search over 550 common species, each with professional photographs and detailed descriptions.

Here’s a neat app for your smart phone.  It’s called Species Finder. Here’s a little bit about it:

“Species Finder” works through the Android phones’ GPS to call up a comprehensive list of all threatened and endangered species in whatever county users are passing through.

There’s also a search option that brings up a list of species for any county in the United States. The app provides a species list for each county and each state, plus links for more information about each animal or plant.

The app is the latest creative media project from the Center for Biological Diversity.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/speciesfinder/index.html

For the past 10 years or so, I’ve been raising and releasing butterflies, primarily Monarch butterflies but sometimes a swallowtail or other friend will come under my care and observation as well.

I started this when I first saw a Monarch caterpillar transform from caterpillar to chrysalis and was fascinated by what was happening. All the years (and butterfly transformations) later, I’m still in awe by what happens, and it’s nice to be a part of it.

If you planted a Monarch Waystation last fall (or have a nice robust garden with host plants that butterflies will come to), you might want to give a go at raising and releasing a butterfly or two this year. 

Having the host plant (the plant that the caterpillar eats as it matures) is critical – caterpillars eat a lot and you don’t want to run out. The host plant is unique to the butterfly you are raising so keep that in mind too. Our Gardening for Wildlife Plantlist provides information on host plants for Loudoun butterflies.

Here is a link to the fairly new Raising Butterflies website. It provides some very detailed and useful information and techniques for rearing butterflies.  While the focus is on western U.S. butterflies, many of the species and techniques are applicable to the east.

http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/

As Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy marks International Migratory Bird Day with many walks and a bird-a-thon, another thing you can do to support migratory birds is to buy Bird Friendly coffee certified by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center at the Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop in Leesburg.

As always, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members get 10% off everything in the shop–including coffee.  Just mention to the volunteer that you’re a Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy member.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has the most strict certification process for shade-grown coffee. Read below to find out how your purchase of Bird Friendly coffee benefits birds, other organisms, soil, water, and people. How can you beat this?

Shade-grown organic coffee plantations stamped with the “Bird Friendly®” seal of approval play a key role in the conservation of our global environment and of migratory birds that find sanctuary in their forest-like environments. The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) encourages the production of shade-grown coffee, and the conservation of migratory birds, through its “Bird Friendly®” seal of approval. Benefits of “Bird Friendly®” (some due to its organic and/or fair trade status). Those farmers, roasters, and distributors that carry the “Bird Friendly®” seal of approval are:
• All Bird Friendly® coffee is inspected and certified to USDA standards.
• Growing better tasting coffee because shade-coffee beans ripen more slowly, resulting in a richer flavor.
• Managing shade trees and other on-farm vegetation to conserve biodiversity.
• Providing healthy environments for workers and downstream communities.
• Protecting waterways (buffer zones along streams, for example) and sources of drinking water.
• Reducing soil erosion through shade management, employing agronomic techniques, and planting on hills with appropriate slopes.
• Eliminating pesticide and chemical fertilizer use through use of biological control and other organic practices.
• Using a pruning regime that will have minimal impact on biological diversity.
• Minimizing use of fuel wood for drying.
• Encouraging use of traditional varieties and varieties that are resistant to pests.
• Controlling pollution at mills, both wet and dry.
• Maintaining machinery and equipment to avoid contamination from fuel, fluids and lubricants.
• Guaranteeing fair and stable prices for producers.
• Providing access to credit to producers employing sustainable technologies.
• Promoting democratization and community participation in all aspects of sustainable coffee production.
• Providing technical assistance and environmental education for farmers shifting to sustainable technologies.
• Ensuring adequate wages, housing, and health care for workers.
• Providing access to markets for all producers, irrespective of farm size. 
From  http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/coffee/

The cost is $12 for 12 oz and there are 3 roasts available as well as Decaf. Both beans and ground are available.

The Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop is currently open 10-4 Monday thru Friday and 10-1 on Saturdays. Hours are subject to change as we are staffed by volunteers (call 703-669-0000 ext. 5 if you want to check on our hours.) The Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop is located at 802 Children’s Center Rd.

Remember, we’re also offering a special IMBD Bird Walk at the Rust Nature Sanctuary for Children (we know there are some budding birders out there!), Saturday, May 14, at 9:00am.  You can read more about it and signup here.

Nope – it’s for the hummingbirds! And our Ruby-throated hummingbirds….traveling hundreds of miles (including crossing the Gulf of Mexico….600 miles in one non-stop flight!!!) are on their way!

They’re following the route of the Yellow-bellied sapsuckers that are migrating north, making sap wells in trees, and they’ll be flying over our houses any day now (if they haven’t already started!)

Yes indeed, April 15th may be tax day but to lift your spirits from that, it’s also when we can start getting hummingbirds back in our yards!

So, put away the baking flour and oatmeal – it’s time to put that granulated sugar to use for the hummingbirds. You need a hummingbird feeder (which you can get at any pet store nowadays), white granulated sugar, and water. Forget the special mixes they sell at the pet store – you don’t need that and the red dyes are bad for the birds.

The mixture for the sugar water is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.  So, grab the measuring cup and add 1/4 cup of sugar then fill it up to the 1 cup mark with water.  Put that in the microwave to warm up the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. 

Put your hummingbird feeder in a place that you can easily view it, then keep an eye out for the hummers! You’ll see the males arrive first as they start to stake out territory for the breeding season.

Be sure to keep your feeder clean and change the sugar water every few days so it doesn’t get moldy since that can make the birds sick.

Keeping our bird friends happy through the winter is a lot of fun.  Putting out different seeds and different feeders along with water can help birds through tough times (I’m not going to mention our snow storm of last winter…) and, having birds come to feeders gives us a good chance to  learn about their behaviors and appreciate their beauty.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology put together this great tip sheet on winter bird feeding. You can download it hereas a pdf.

You can buy bird seed and different types of feeders locally at the Rust Sanctuary in Leesburg, located at 802 Children’s Center Road.  Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members get a special 10% discount. So if you’re a member, be sure to let them know when you check out. If you buy bird seed like me, you can earn back your LWC annual membership in just a purchase or so ;)

I’ve also found that bird seed treats (like the seed wreaths) and feeders make nice holiday gifts for friends and relatives who don’t need more “stuff.”  They get some wonderful enjoyment out of seeing birds come to the seed wreaths or feeders through the weeks that follow the holidays.

I recently upgraded from a not so smart phone to the Droid — and I have to say, I’m finally getting what all the buzz with apps has been about. I’m not sure you can really call these devices phones anymore but they do make calls so that’s a benefit

Anyway, as I wander through this forest of technology I’ve been coming across some neat tools for us to use in the field. 

One is certainly iBird, which got a lot of attention when it came out for the iPhone. It’s now available on the Droid too and was actually the first app I downloaded.  It’s pretty cool – similar to a portable field guide, with bird calls and you can use it to keep bird lists.

Another is Google Sky Map.  If you see a bright object in the sky, just turn on Google Sky Map and hold it facing the night sky and it shows a map of all the stars and planets. 

There are also some sun, moon and tide apps that are handy – you can even enter in dates in the future, which is handy if you’re planning a trip or field trip or something like that.

I know there are some apps for the iPhone that can help with stream monitoring but they’re not available on the Droid so I haven’t been able to try them out. Here are a couple in case anyone with a mac/iphone wants to give them a try:

- USGS River levels – this one pulls from USGS monitoring stations and provides an easy way to monitor the amount of water flowing in your favorite streams and rivers right from your Dashboard.

- Creek Watch – I really wish this was on the Droid – it looks pretty neat. After you upload a photo, you can check the data here: http://creekwatch.researchlabs.ibm.com/call_table.php and they have it linked to google maps so you can “Explore your Watershed“.

- Virginia Map iPhone app: “Virginia Map,” from the iTunes App Store. It showcases the Virginia Base Mapping Program aerial photography and the Virginia Base Map created by VGIN and now includes a GPS “locate me” capability.

If you’ve found some wildlife or nature apps that you’d like to share, please post a comment and let us know.  We can navigate the forest of apps together!