February 20, 2021
January 10, 2021
Extension to Achieve Initial Certification for Basic Training Class of 2019
In the face of the pandemic and cancellation of many events to earn continuing education and volunteer hours, members of the Basic Training class of 2019 have had difficulty achieving initial certification. The VMN CRC Board has decided to extend the certification timeline for the class through December 31, 2021. Requirements for initial certification are 8 continuing education units and 40 volunteer hours. We are working hard to continue scheduling chapter events to make continuing education hours available through virtual events or small in person events until state restrictions are lifted. There are volunteer opportunities than can be achieved individually either at home or at local parks and trails. If you need ideas for volunteer hours please check the August 2020 newsletter or contact a board member.
July 6, 2020
June 15, 2020
Searching for Feathers
Searching for Sheds, in a recent Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries magazine Virginia Wildlife, highlighted the time of year when White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) shed their antlers and how individuals can walk through the forest on a shed hunt, to collect those shed antlers. Many of us have come upon antlers in the woods and just after reading this article, I was awarded with a find of a freshly shed antler while on a walk in the woods. I leave antlers where I found them as I understand they provide minerals for squirrels and other residents of the woods.
I began to think about other things found on the forest floor including turtle shells, bones, egg shells, and feathers. I realized that I have been feather hunting while in the forest, and I’m not the only one. Like many things on the internet, entire groups of enthusiasts find each other - some are devoted to found feathers.
My interest in feathers began when I photographed a feather and included that observation on iNaturalist. I used the taxonomic class Aves, since I couldn’t determine a species from a feather. I found informed professionals and amateurs in groups formed around feathers - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/found-feathers. I have posted images of feathers that I am unsure to identify and have been helped by folks who really enjoy feather identification. Also, the Fish and Wildlife Service has a nice feather atlas - https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/.
Recently, while walking along the Dahlgren Rail Heritage Trail, I came upon feathers scattered about. I arranged them for one photograph. I was unsure what species produced these black and white feathers. I figured maybe a woodpecker from the colors but also, maybe they were from some sort of small water bird due to the marshy area nearby.
After posting on iNaturalist, I confirmed that these feathers were from a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus).
After a taxonomic suggestion from a “bird person,” a “feather person,” or just someone smarter than me, identification becomes obvious, many times.
I leave feathers where I found them. On this occasion, I oriented feathers for a photograph but most times, they get photographed as they exist. The U.S. Federal Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 seem to prohibit possession of many if not all feathers. I suspect the legal aspects are more nuanced but I follow, don’t collect feathers, just enjoy them where you find them.
Observing, identifying, and documenting feathers can be interesting, fun, and an easy activity. Feather awareness is just another layer of appreciation while on a walk outside.
May 15, 2019
Baby Barn Owl Banding
Photo credit: Corie Smith |
Not
even the threat of downpours could dampen the excitement of a baby barn owl
viewing. Ready with boots, raincoats and umbrellas, chapter members Corie Smith
and Jenna Veazey ventured across the Potomac river to Maryland to support the
Southern Maryland Audubon Society’s (SMAS) banding of baby Barn Owls on May 5th.
Corie
and Jenna joined a group of other volunteers and supporters that met on private
property along the Wicomico River, which the group was instructed not to share
the exact location of…for the safety of the owls. Barn owls are rare breeders
in Maryland and are listed as In Need of Conservation.
Mike
Callahan, who also works as an interpreter at Caledon State Park in King
George, is a member of the SMAS. The group had been closely monitoring an owl
box on private property. Mike said there were only three known nests in Charles
County, Maryland.
Their
best guess was that this nest’s eggs had hatched the end of April. Barn owls
incubate their eggs as soon as they the first one is laid, opposed to ducks,
geese and songbirds which incubate after the last egg has been laid. And when the owlets have grown enough feathers
to maintain their body weight the parents don’t hang around the nest all day
anymore. There appeared to be five owlets, but as siblicide is not uncommon the
volunteers were cautiously optimistic we’d be able to tag all five on the banding
day.
Photo credit: Corie Smith |
Just
as the rain abated, Mike climbed the ladder up to the owl box. He urged everyone
to listen for the owlet’s hissing…which he said had been described as an
espresso machine. Very accurate, indeed! It didn’t take long after the
extraction of the first owlet for the hissing to turn into all-out shrieks. Five
owlets were carefully removed one-by-one and placed into individual cardboard
boxes for safe transport to the pavilion where they’d receive their ID bands. Mike
then called out for an extra box…there was a bonus sixth owlet that had been
hidden in previous observations!
Under
cover of a pavilion, USGS licensed bird bander, Ken Smith was in charge of banding
the owlets. He used size 7A aluminum bands specially gauged for barn owls, each
with their own unique identifying number. He explained the owlets’ legs were
already about as large as they'd get at this age and there was no worry that
the bands would grow too tight over time. As he worked, he also said that while
handling the owlets they had to be especially careful not to break any of their
flight feathers.
Photo credit: Corie Smith |
Mike
pointed out that barn owls have one toe with a pectinate comb, which they use
to groom the feathers on their facial discs.
Kerry
Wixted, Maryland DNR Wildlife Educator and Outreach specialist was also helping
out. She said that, “Barn owls are have been hit hard by habitat loss,
especially in Maryland. Grasslands with abundant voles and other rodents are
important for barn owls as well as open marshes.”
If
you would like to support local barn owl conservation in Maryland, consider
'adopting' an owl or other species through the SMAS program: https://www.somdaudubon.org/adopt-a-raptor/
March 7, 2019
February Chapter Meeting - Upcoming Continuing Education and Volunteer Opportunities
To be certified and maintain certification every year as a Virginia Master Naturalist, volunteers are required to complete 8 hours of continuing education and 40 hours of volunteer work. Here are some great opportunities
Announcements:
Announcements:
Next Board meeting Thursday 3/7 @ Wegman’s 7 pm (open to all members)
Next Chapter meeting Tuesday 3/19 @ church 7 pm
Master Naturalist Volunteer Opportunities:
- 3/9/19: Mott's Nature Center Volunteer Orientation - 9-11 am. Register with Alexa at Fredericksburg Parks and Rec.
- 3/22/19: Friends of the Rappahannock - Rappahannock County Tree Planting Project 9:30 - 1 pm, volunteers needed to plan trees, sign up at Friends of the Rappahannock Events page
- 4/1/19: Homeschool Day at Montpelier (Orange County) - volunteers needed for "Noticing Nature Table and Walks" contact Madelyn from CRVMN
- 4/2/19: Tri-County Aspen Grove Meaningful Watershed Educational Field Day (Rain Date April 4th - contact Mariya at TriCounty Water
- 4/6/19: Spring Forest Stroll at Montpelier (Orange County) - volunteers needed to answer questions during the walk
- 4/13/19: Osprey Festival @ Caledon State Park. Opportunities to volunteer to give talking points/lead bird walk, native plant information, backyard habitat. Chapter can have a booth there. Caledon is coordinating event with Joyce from Colonial Beach.
- 4/22/19: Earth Day at AP Hill volunteers needed Dahlgren has asked that an Earth Day education outreach take place on April 22 at the elementary school on base. It will be from 1-3 pm. Volunteers needed.
- 4/27/19: Earth Day at Old Mill Park on, rain or shine - volunteers needed
- 4/27/19: Earth Day in Orange, VA - volunteers needed - contact Dena from CRVMN
- 5/18/19: Eco Rodeo at Montpelier (Orange County) - volunteers needed for "Noticing Nature Table and Forest Walks" contact Madelyn from CRVMN
- Widewater State Park looking for volunteers for monthly cleanups
- March Saturdays noon-2 pm - Salamander Survey at Jennings Farm - contact Dena with CRVMN
Continuing Education:
- 3/9/19: VA Native Plant Society Winter Workshop - Our Changing Forests: Forest Health, Management and Restoration
- 3/23/19: Friends of the Rappahannock Wild and Scenic Film Festival @ UMW.
- 4/11-12/19: Spring Wildflower Identification Workshop - Blandy Experimental Farm
- 4/13/19: Garden Symposium: Wild about Natives 8:30 - 3:30 pm at Belmont in Falmouth
- 4/27/18: Montpelier - Orange County, VA - Native Plants and Animals in Harmony Exploration Walk - includes walk through the Landmark Forest
- Ongoing - VA Master Naturalists Webinars - Next March 28th on Maple Syrup Productions
February 28, 2019
Paleo Walk at Stratford Hall
Harry P. was able to arrange an opportunity for the Central Rappahannock Master Naturalists to visit the private beach area of Stratford Hall (located in Westmoreland County) to learn about and hunt for fossils. I have to admit this has been on my bucket list for years.
We met fairly early at the Stratford Hall Visitor Center, where we were introduced to our guides. There was a discussion on the types of fossils that have been found, including the favored Megladon teeth and some of the rare finds that have been made. While a ticket to Stratford Hall will allow access to the beach, that access is restricted to a small area. We had received special permission to walk past the ropes and head far up the beach. To provide a more hands on experience the two guides split us into two groups and we heading in opposite directions.
Armed with waterproof boots, bucket, small shovel and an inexpensive plastic colander I followed our guide Theresa. The weather was perfect, a bit cool but not uncomfortable. We walked along the beach at low tide, Theresa pointing out how to look for sharks teeth, bone, fossilized shells and the like. She pointed out the cliffs (you do not want to walk too closely, a large piece fell while we where there) where you could easily see the stratification. Each layer of clay was from a different time period, sometimes fossils or mammal bones were evident in each layer. She spoke of the different animals the fossils came from. At this point I really wished I had thought to write down everything as my memory is not what it use to be. What looked like large gray rocks and boulders on the beach, were in fact compressed clay. Theresa said the fossils would often be found in the clay.
Continuing to walk along the beach and crossing a stream, my fellow naturalists continued to look sharks teeth. I stopped at the stream where it emptied into the Potomac River and decided to use my colander to shift through the silt. One must readily admit, I could have stayed there all day for in a manner of minutes there were some interesting finds. Fossilized top plates from a ray, young whale vertebrae (no protrusions on either end indicated youth), a chunk of clay with fossilized imprints, pieces of tree scallops, and a number of pieces of bone.
Like a small child, I went off to show our guide my finds. She explained what each one was and that all were approximately 5 million years old. As I looked out across the Potomac I could just imagine how different the landscape must of been. A smile spread across my face and I walked back up the beach to my vehicle and left. What a wonderful day.

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Layers of clay with visible fossils |
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Clay layer |

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Fallen clay |
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Denise is searching |
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Sharks Teeth |
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Fossilized impressions in clay |
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Rib bone, bone fragment, whale vertebrae |
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