Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

12/24/2025

❄️Wishing you peace and warmth this holiday season from all of us at Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. Thank you for supporting wildlife, habitat, and the natural spaces we cherish, today and always.

📸Photo credit: Jim Clark

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

12/23/2025

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 the gift of Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 to 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹. Membership supports local conservation efforts and comes with some great perks, including:

• Special members-only events, including our Annual Meeting celebration each June

• Discounts at local businesses that share and support our mission

• Eligibility to join Northwest Federal Credit Union

• The option to receive our quarterly Habitat Herald publication delivered straight to your physical mailbox.

• The sense of connection that comes from standing alongside more than 1,200 passionate Loudoun County residents united for nature

This year, our 𝟯𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟯𝟬 campaign aims to welcome 300 new or renewed members by December 31st in honor of our 30th anniversary.

🎁𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁: https://loudounwildlife.org/join-renew/

Because of our members, we accomplished some amazing things this year!!!

Help us make an even bigger impact for our natural world in 2026! 🎉

📸 Photo Credit: Gerco Hoogeweg

12/22/2025

🔎𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀

This striking Wilson’s Snipe was photographed by Mike Friedman. With their remarkable camouflage and long bills, Wilson’s Snipes can be easy to miss—making sightings like this especially rewarding. These elusive birds were among the highlights on a recent walk at Dulles Wetlands, where birders also found Hermit Thrushes and Swamp Sparrows earlier this month.
➡️ 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝗻𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:
https://loudounwildlife.org/2025/12/wilsons-snipes-dulles-wetlands/
➡️ Be sure to register early for our 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗪𝗲𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟭. It’s a great chance to explore this special habitat and see what species are moving through this winter. Only a couple spots left:
https://loudounwildlife.org/event/birding-dulles-wetlands-january/
📸Photo Credit: Mike Friedman
Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy eBird

12/21/2025

“𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴.” — Anne Frank

As we celebrate this season of reflection and generosity, we’re also mindful of the challenges facing the natural world right here in Loudoun. The very force that brings us peace and grounding needs our care and protection—now more than ever.

Thankfully, our growing Loudoun Wildlife family of volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters is rising to that challenge like the force of nature we are. From connecting children to outdoor learning to safeguarding the health of our streams, protecting bluebirds, restoring native habitats we cherish, and so much more—we are making a real difference together.

➡️To see just a few inspiring examples of what our supporters made possible in 2025, visit https://bit.ly/LWC-match25. You’ll also find links to make a year-end gift that—no matter the size—will help power even more impact in 2026.

And here’s some especially exciting news: thanks to a group of generous donors who believe deeply in our mission, all gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000 through December 31.

One of our volunteers sums it up beautifully in the video:

“𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧.”

💚Thank you for being part of the good—standing with us for the natural world we love.

𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲-𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗯𝗶𝘁.𝗹𝘆/𝗟𝗪𝗖-𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝟮𝟱

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

12/19/2025

On a recent Sunday morning, 5 dedicated Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝘄 volunteers gathered for chemical monitoring training with Sophie Stern, Water Quality Monitoring Projects Manager with our partner at Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay's 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺.

Sophie made the trip up from Richmond to lead the training, and we're incredibly grateful for her expertise and commitment to supporting our local monitoring efforts.

These volunteers are committing to assist with monthly chemical monitoring at 6 sites around Leesburg, collecting high-quality water data that's made available to the public through the 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲'𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗿: https://cmc.vims.edu/data-explorer?variant=cmc and shared with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. During the training, they practiced the rigorous quality assurance and quality control procedures that help ensure the data meets professional standards.

💚We're so thankful for volunteers who dedicate their weekend time to get trained, certified, and show up month after month to help us better understand the health of our local waterways.

And a big thank-you to our partner at 𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay for making this important work possible.

𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁: https://bit.ly/4apUTUM to find out how you can get involved.

12/18/2025

🎉 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗺𝘆 𝗨𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱!

Join us in congratulating Amy Ulland, our Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Board President and Stream Monitoring Program Coordinator, on completing Wild Virginia’s Clean Water Advocates program!

After 8 weeks of training and a graduation ceremony in Charlottesville this November, Amy is equipped with enhanced tools to protect Virginia's water quality-from understanding regulatory processes to writing effective public comments and engaging with decision-makers.

💚A big THANK YOU to Wild Virginia for offering such an impressive 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 program. The engaging curriculum, knowledgeable guest speakers, and thoughtful focus on environmental justice brought together a wonderful community of people who care deeply about clean water.

Amy is excited to put what she learned into action. She plans to keep growing her advocacy work by using data from our stream monitoring program to inform regulatory decisions and empower our community to protect the waterways we all depend on. Here’s to turning good data into meaningful change for clean water!

12/18/2025

Congratulations Class of 2025!

12/17/2025

📸𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧!!
Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy & professional photographer/photography expert for National Geographic -Jeff Mauritzen at the Brambleton Library for an exciting 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽!
🕰️7pm
📩RSVP & we look forward to seeing you there!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Join professional photographer Jeff Mauritzen to learn how to tackle one of the most challenging aspects of photography! Whether capturing sports, wildlife, pets, or life’s various special moments, documenting a quickly unfolding moment in sharp detail can be frustrating. For the last 12 years, Jeff has been guiding and lecturing as a photography expert for National Geographic Expeditions. This program takes place at Brambleton Library and is co-sponsored by the Loudoun County Public Library and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱: https://loudounwildlife.org/event/action-photography/

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀? Contact [email protected]



https://www.facebook.com/jeffmauritzen

12/16/2025

🪶 𝗙𝗼𝗴, 𝗙𝗼𝘅 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗻

A soft morning fog made Sweet Run feel extra magical as 6 birders set out for the monthly walk. It did not take long for the stars of the show to appear. 6 Fox Sparrows were busy rustling through the leaves, showing off their rich colors and giving everyone wonderful looks.

From there, the morning turned into a steady parade of surprises. Hermit Thrushes called from the understory. Winter Wrens zipped around. A Golden-crowned Kinglet flashed its bright yellow stripe. And a juvenile Bald Eagle cruised overhead twice, stealing the spotlight in classic eagle fashion.

There were so many great birds to watch that the group never even made it around the Farmstead loop. By the end of the morning, 39 species were recorded and plenty of smiles to go with them.

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽: https://loudounwildlife.org/2025/11/fox-sparrows-sweet-run/

𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁: https://ebird.org/checklist/S285620423

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: https://loudounwildlife.org/event/birding-sweet-run-january

📸 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁: Dennis Utterback

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird

12/15/2025

🎄🐦 Central Loudoun 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 🐦🎄

Join Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy on Monday, December 29th as we take part in the National Audubon Society’s annual 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁. This long-running community science project began in 1899 and continues to help track winter bird populations across North America.

Our count circle spans 177 square miles of beautiful Loudoun countryside, from Waterford to Aldie and Ashburn to Purcellville. New birders are teamed with experienced leaders, and every observation adds valuable information to this important effort.

The 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 is a great reason to get outside, enjoy winter wildlife and help us finish 2025 on a high note. You can participate for a couple of hours or spend the entire day in the field.

📅 Registration required by December 26th

🔗 Sign up: https://bit.ly/48zzyqE

📩 [email protected] or [email protected]

12/12/2025

𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 is developing a 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, and this is an important opportunity for our community to weigh in. The county is asking residents to share their perspectives on how to protect our land, water, and wildlife—now and into the future. YOU can help shape the direction of this plan.

Survey responses are anonymous, and it should take about 10–20 minutes to complete. The deadline to participate is December 31, 2025.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲:
1️⃣ Click this link to get started: https://bit.ly/48mys1r

2️⃣ Review the Natural Resources Strategy: https://www.loudoun.gov/NaturalResourcesStrategy

3️⃣ Take the online survey & share your thoughts: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N92TVVZ

Your feedback will help guide the future of conservation in Loudoun County.

Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy Loudoun County Government

County is in the process of developing a Natural Resources Strategy and wants to hear from the community. Consider taking a few minutes to complete an online survey about how to protect the county’s land, water and wildlife resources. Find details here: https://bit.ly/48mys1r