Since Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s foundation in 1995, this region has seen a great transformation. From a largely rural area, Loudoun County has grown and changed to a county that encompasses not only hills, farmland and open areas but also increasing suburban development as the population grows.
Change brings with it a greater responsibility to preserve and protect important elements of what makes this area so attractive – the habitat and the wildlife that live among and beside us. That is the role of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.
Cool temperatures and overcast skies prevailed last Saturday morning (June 19) when four people participated in a guided Forest Bathing Walk at the Turkey Hill Farm area of Morven Park. Forest Bathing Walks are gentle sensory-opening walks that reconnect or deepen our connection with the natural world. Through a series of invitations/prompts we explore our […]
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s Stream Team conducted 12 stream health surveys around the county this spring. These surveys use a protocol developed by Virginia Save Our Streams to collect, identify and tally the benthic macroinvertebrates living in a riffle at the stream site. Benthic macroinvertebrates (“macros”) are aquatic organisms living on the stream bottom that vary […]
Great Crested Flycatcher On a sunny Father’s Day, 16 birders visited Bles Park led by Allison Gallo and Bryan Henson. In just a couple of hours, we found 46 species of birds, five species of butterflies and seven species of dragonflies and damselflies. Indigo Buntings decorated the tops of trees with their lovely blue colors […]
Animal welfare and rehabilitation organizations in the area, including the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, have recently been receiving an increase in the number of calls regarding sick birds with eye issues, as well as numerous dead birds. Although initially reported to affect only Blue Jays and Grackles in the DC and Northern Virginia area, this […]
The Planning Commission is hosting a public hearing on Tuesday, June 22nd at 6:00 pm at the Government Center Board Room in Leesburg to listen to comments on proposed “enhancements” to Bles Park. Loudoun Wildlife’s full comments to the Planning Commission can be found here. We strongly encourage you to require modifications to this application […]
We have been following the CDC and the Commonwealth of Virginia guidelines and updates on COVID recommendations, and we will keep you informed of any changes or impacts to our programs. For now, we’ll be operating in much the same fashion as we have been, and we’ll still be hosting small outdoor nature walks and […]
Sixteen dragonfly enthusiasts visited the wonder that is Bles Park on June 13. With its unique mix of aquatic habitats (a pond, a marsh, a creek and a river) not found anywhere else in Loudoun County, it provides an ideal setting for a dragonfly walk. Dragonflies and damselflies species vary based upon the aquatic habitat […]
Crawfish on the trail.Photo by Michael Sciortino While the cicadas were (relatively) quiet at the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve, probably because of the two days of cool weather, the birds fortunately weren’t. Eight participants joined leaders Joe Coleman and Michael Sciortino on the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy’s monthly bird walk on June 12. There were plentiful […]
The Larkolinks met at 8:30 on the morning of May 17th to begin our Birdathon search. Since most members are residents of Lovettsville, we decided to bird our own patch, walking Rehobeth Church Road and Ash George Road. The area contains woods, fields and a lovely pond, where we were lucky enough to see both […]
The Grumpy Old Men birdathon team (Paul Miller, Dave Van Tassel, Phil Daley and Ernie Carnevale) withered under clear skies and high temperatures on May 18 and 19, but had a lot of fun despite the heat. On our first day out we covered most of our favorite locations in western Loudoun, spending the morning […]