Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

In this episode we talk all about Eastern Box Turtles and answer that question …. why did the turtle cross the road? Box Turtles are great wild neighbors with every encounter being a special one.  Their populations are in serious decline however, so it’s up to us to help them.

The photo above is of a male Eastern Box turtle that has been sighted a few times in our yard - the first time being seven years ago. 

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

In this episode we talk all about skunks - their lives and times, how to get one out of a window well and why they’re a gardener’s best friend.

The photo above is of the skunk that came to our feeder and was quite patient as I inched closer and closer for a shot.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

In this episode we talk all about opossums, their life cycles, behaviors and what to do if one gets in our house.

The photo above is of Stanley the Opossum, who came to our annual meeting one year with wildlife rehabber Peggy Coontz who shared her knowledge of opossums with us.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

For more information about opossums, check out the Opossum Society: www.opossum.org

In this episode we talk about vultures and their lifecycles by sharing a reading from one of John Trott’s articles from The Virginia Naturalist.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

For more information about vultures, check out these additional resources:

Vulture Fact Sheet

Habitat Herald Article, Turkey Vultures

Loudoun’s Vultures: Middleburg and Hamilton (with links to the newspaper articles)

Crossword Puzzle: Vultures

Learn about how communities across the country celebrate the annual migration and return of the vultures:

Wenohah, NJ: East Coast Vulture Festival - Look Alive!

Hinckley, OH: Annual Return of the Buzzard

Kern, CA: Autumn Nature and Vulture Festival

Superior, AZ: Bye, Bye, Buzzards

Chimney Swifts are fast agile fliers that have adapted their nesting behavior to the use of human structures like chimneys and church steeples. They are amazing to watch and appreciate. Chimney Swifts have used our chimney each summer since 1999, arriving in our chimney from Peru on almost the same day each year. In this episode, I share with you a bit about this amazing bird.

For more information, like their flight formations and interesting behaviors, visit our Chimney Swift page on Books and Resources. Driftwood Wildlife Association, a link on our resource page, has great fact sheets all about these amazing birds.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

You can also subscribe through iTunes to have our podcasts delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new audio episode. If you want to subscribe through iTunes (or another podcasting software), copy this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/LoudounWildlifeConservancy and paste the link into the podcasting software. In iTunes this option is located in the “Advanced” menu, listed as “Subscribe to podcast.”

Bats are one of the most misunderstood mammals we know yet they play an important role in our ecosystem and are beautiful to watch. Listen to this episode to learn more about the Bats of Loudoun.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).

You can also subscribe through iTunes to have our podcasts delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new audio episode. If you want to subscribe through iTunes (or another podcasting software), copy this URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/LoudounWildlifeConservancy and paste the link into the podcasting software. In iTunes this option is located in the “Advanced” menu, listed as “Subscribe to podcast.”

In this podcast we give a brief talk about the stages of the lifecycle of butterflies and things you can do to attract them to your yard.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”). You can also subscribe through iTunes to have it delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new episode. If you want to subscribe using iTunes, just do a search on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and it should come right up.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the podcast on your computer or on any mp3 player (like an ipod).

In this episode we talk about one of our local amphibians, the Gray Tree Frog, as a group of them provide a chorus in the background.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”). You can also subscribe through iTunes to have it delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new episode. If you want to subscribe using iTunes, just do a search on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and it should come right up.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the podcast on your computer or on any mp3 player (like an ipod).

Woo Hoo! We’ve lauched our LWC Podcast/Audio Newsletter. Through this new media, we plan to bring you all sorts of interesting news and information that we can’t put in print….like interviews with local naturalists, recordings from the field as well as special species accounts, activities for you and your family to get out into our wild places, and more.

For those who are new to podcasts/audio newsletters, they are simply audio files that are delivered to you via a “feed”. You can download the episode from the blog by doing a “right click” on the link below or you can subscribe through iTunes (or similar service) to have it delivered directly to your computer each time we post a new episode. If you want to subscribe using iTunes, just do a search on Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and it should come right up.

Once downloaded, you can listen to the podcast/audio newsletter on your computer or on any mp3 player (like an ipod).

In this introductory episode, we provide an overview of what to expect from this podcast/audio newsletter.

To listen to this episode, click the play button at the top of this post and it will play now or Right Click Here to Download (select “Save as Target”).