Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

This may not have been pre-printed on your calendar but indeed, today is Squirrel Appreciation Day.

In case you’re not sure exactly what to do on Squirrel Appreciation Day, here are some tips that I came across while browsing online as well as a few of the things that I do on this special day:

1) Give a squirrel a treat!  Get some nice tasty seeds, nuts or suet from a local feed store and put those out for squirrels to enjoy.  Places like Rust Nature Sanctuary Shop or Tractor Supply in Leesburg, or Southern States in Purcellville, or The Bird Feeder in Reston all have great selections.

2) Make a peanut butter pine cone and hang it in a tree. Just find a pine cone and smear peanut butter into the crevices.  For extra goodness, roll it in some nuts. The squirrels will love it.

3) Swap out your computer’s desktop wallpaper for the day with a picture of a cute squirrel. To do this, just find a picture you like online, right-click the picture and select “Set picture as desktop background.”

4) Check out some cool squirrel videos on YouTube. This one is just a minute long and is all about squirrels.  In addition to this, people have posted a variety of videos showing squirrel antics:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8B0qy0vJj0&feature=fvw

5) And don’t forget about our flying squirrels!  Smear peanut butter on a tree for a few nights and you may be able to see them.  Here’s our podcast all about Flying Squirrels and the fun you can have with them.

6) Have a Squirrel Party!  Invite a few friends over, play some scrabble or poker or something, put out some assorted nuts for snacks, find some fun squirrel-themed party favors. I know, you just found out about this and didn’t have time to plan!  That’s ok.  The squirrels won’t mind if you celebrate a few days late — they probably don’t even know about Squirrel Appreciation Day (and your friends probably don’t either unless they read this blog post). 

Anyway, have fun. Squirrels can be silly and silly is good!

Winter is a great time for watching raptors – they’re more easily visible with the leaves off the trees, they are often seen sitting on wires hunting for prey, and with the winter hunger, coopers and sharpies are more often seen at our bird feeders (they eat smaller birds after all).

But determining if you have a “sharpie” or a “coops” can be tricky since they look so similar.  Additionally, they don’t sit out in the open too frequently – they are the stealth hunters of the forest with agile bodies that can move like lightning through branches in pursuit of prey.

The Coopers hawk in the photo here was eyeing our platform bird feeder and no doubt has had some success there – I was lucky it stayed long enough for a shot.

But how do you tell the difference between a Coopers and a Sharpie? 

My first inclination is to first look at size and then tail shape. If I’m still stumped, then I inspect further.  Luckily, Cornell Lab of Ornithology has put together a nice side-by-side Coopers vs Sharp-shinned tip page on the clues and markings that can help you figure out which bird it is.

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.

You can be a hit with wildlife by providing fresh water through the winter. Cornell has put together a great tip sheet on how to best integrate a bird bath into your backyard bird habitat.

You can download it here, follow some simple steps and have the birds (and other wild friends) flocking in for a drink!

So this is just too cute not to share.  As you know, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy participates in International Migratory Bird Day each May as a way to not only celebrate the birds but also to gather data on those species that migrate through the county, using it as a stopover, or take up residence during the nesting season.

The organizers of International Migratory Bird Day (which takes place across the Americas) start their planning well before the actual date and they sent out a notice recently about the plans and the theme for 2011.

Included in this notice was a link to a song – very cute and catchy.  You can listen to it and find out about the plans for IMBD 2011 by visiting their site: http://www.birdday.org/birdday/themes/2011-go-wild-go-birding

I first started doing Project FeederWatch in 1999 when I moved to Loudoun, put up a feeder (or 5) and started watching birds.  This was my entry into beginning birding and it was so much fun. 

I had a feeder hung outside our kitchen breakfast area and I would sit at the window with my cat, Puttin, in my lap and a clipboard with the checklist in my hands. I’d sit for an hour or so, sipping my morning coffee, and checking off birds, looking up birds and generally just loving all the new things I was learning.

Project FeederWatch is led by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and is a source of data that they gather on bird populations.  We can also use this data for our Loudoun County Bird Atlas.

Below is information from Cornell on how you can sign up to participate. It’s really fun and if you do participate, please consider providing your data to our Loudoun County Bird Atlas coordinator so we can use your data for that effort as well.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Project FeederWatch!
New season begins November 13

Enhance your bird-watching experience by joining Project FeederWatch. Put up a bird feeder, use our simple instructions to count birds that visit during regularly scheduled days from November to April, and send your data to scientists.

Carolyn Bryant, a FeederWatcher in Maine, said, “I am astonished by how much I can learn just by watching closely. FeederWatch gives me the motivation to stop, watch, and learn, and I am happy to be helping the environment at the same time.”

Based on nearly a quarter-century of FeederWatch data, scientists document fluctuations that could be the result of climate change, habitat destruction, disease, or other environmental factors. Project leader David Bonter said, “These are large-scale changes that we would not be able to see without the massive amount of data from participants. Keeping an eye out in your own backyard can make a difference.”

A $15 fee ($12 for Lab members) helps cover the costs of participant support, data analysis, and materials, including FeederWatcher’s Handbook, a poster, and a calendar. To sign up, visit www.FeederWatch.org.

Camp Out in Your Backyard!

Camping is a great way to establish a love for the outdoors and to learn to appreciate wildlife.  Parents, consider taking your kids camping this weekend.  Kids, if you can’t get to a campground, plan a camping trip to your backyard!  While you probably won’t hear as many nature sounds in your backyard as you would at campsite in the forest, camping in your yard is a great way to get used to sleeping in a tent, cooking your food over a fire and learning to identify those eerie nighttime noises.  Here are some things you’ll need to gather.
• Tent
• Sleeping bag or other bedding
• Sleeping pad or air mattress
• Warm clothes
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Insect repellent
• Bottle of water

If you don’t have a tent, try making one using a tarp attached to a tree, the side of your house, or a clothesline.  If you aren’t able to fashion a tent, check the weather report and consider sleeping out under the stars- at least for a little while.  The advantage to camping in your backyard is that the comforts of home are just a few steps away.

Here are some things you might want to bring for fun, whether you’re going on a longer trip or just into your backyard.
• Checklist of animals and plants that you might see or hear
• Playing cards or games
• Something to read
• Musical instruments and song books
• Camp chairs
• Snacks
• GPS device
• Binoculars
• Camera

If you’re lucky, while you set up your site you might see birds, butterflies, squirrels and wildflowers.  As it gets darker, look for fireflies and bats and listen for rustling birds and owls calling whowhoo.  Remember to have fun, respect nature and keep an open mind.

Make a Wildlife Collage

You’ll need:
- a base: construction paper, cardboard, poster board
- old magazines, newspapers, pictures
- scissors
- glue or paste
- items you’ve collected, respectfully with permission, from the outdoors

A collage is a piece of artwork or a poster that is made of many different images or objects.  To make a wildlife collage, first choose a theme, animal or habitat.  Try Red Fox, Birds of Virginia, or Forests.

Now, search old magazines and newspapers for pictures related to your theme.  Cut them out and arrange them on a piece of construction paper, cardboard, or poster board. 

To make your project more exciting, collect things outside that might relate to your theme.  Make sure to respect nature and only collect things that you find on the ground or in your own yard. 

Creatively glue your pictures and other items on your base.  You might decide to arrange objects on your base so they form the shape of a raccoon, you might glue dried leaves on a poster about caterpillars, or you might find lots of pictures of birds and arrange them by colors.

If you want to go more in depth with your project, choose an animal or plant and think about the ecosystem they are part of.  If you are interested in Northern Ringneck snakes, for example, a little research will tell you that they live in hardwood or pine forests.  Glue on some pinecones!  These snakes eat voles, carpenter ants, and copperheads.  Try to find a picture of their prey or cut out the shape of an ant and affix it to your poster.  Attach some paper coils to represent the Northern Ringneck snake’s defense mechanism of coiling its tail when threatened.  They are also nocturnal, so you might choose a black background or paint your poster before you attach your items.

For more collage theme ideas check out the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Habitat Herald Archives to read a short article about something that interests you before you get started.  Be artistic with your science!

Dave Thomas had a wonderful experience this past spring and was kind enough to write up his observations for us here. I’ll include a few of the photos in this post but will put the full album of the 20 photos on our Facebook Album. It’s a wonderful visual chronology!

Red-shouldered Hawks Nesting at Lansdowne, March — June, 2010, by Dave Thomas

In February, a few residents of our condominium in Lansdowne (part of Leisure World of Virginia) noticed a pair of hawks being very active around a tall oak tree behind the rear parking area of our 11-story building.  For those who know the area, the oak is less than 100 yards from the property boundary with our neighbor, Landsowne Resort.

The hawks took over a squirrel’s nest nicely located at a large tree fork opposite the ninth floor. They then greatly enlarged the nest and drove off squirrels that occasionally came back to look.

During March the pair evidently mated and settled in.  Even before the trees leafed out, however, the interior of the nest was impossible to view, so we could not be sure when and how many eggs were laid.  Much later, it became clear that one young hawk was being raised.

The twenty photographs and captions capture a fragmentary “natural history” of the story as it unfolded.  Even though the photography was difficult, and still distant despite a good telephoto lens, it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for us.

The photographs are selected from well over 1000, most of them sequences at six frames per second to capture fleeting moments. 

For example, the snake was visible in successive photos both approaching the nest and being fed to the young hawk. Unfortunately, sharp focus is often difficult to achieve, but the events were faithfully recorded.

I thank many neighbors who watched developments carefully and kept me informed, and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy members who identified the hawk species and nesting behavior.  Finally, I have greater awe than then ever of the remarkable work done by dedicated and talented nature photographers. –Dave Thomas

Happy Summer Solstice! This is the day of the year when we have most number of hours of daylight…longest day of the year here in the northern hemisphere, while it’s the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere.

If you’ve been doing a photo journal of nature through the seasons, today is the day to go back out to your special nature spot and get your picture. We started this last fall with the Autumnal Equinox, so if you did each season you should now have four seasonal views of your nature spot.

I think its pretty neat to take a look at a place from this perspective – all the changes – the sights, the sounds, the smells – yet with the familiar at the foundation. Have a happy day.