Members of the Arlington Regional Master Naturalist (ARMN) chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalist Program:
provide, promote, and facilitate volunteer service to sustain natural areas in our communities using sound natural resource management and conservation practices,
offer and support environmental education and outreach to encourage understanding and respect for our natural environment, and
engage in a wide range of citizen science activities that contribute to greater knowledge of local streams, plants, animals, and local habitat.
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The 2019 City Nature Challenge is Almost Here! Anyone can participate.
Click HERE to sign up for one or more of the events!
With its distinct red feathers, or plumage, its deep orange
beak, and a crest that resembles a well-groomed mohawk, the presence of the
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in Northern Virginia is unmistakable.
The Northern Cardinal is Virginia’s state bird. I tagged along with part-time Arlington
County Park Naturalist Yolanda Villacampa on Sunday, March 24, 2019 at Long
Branch Nature Center to learn more about this bird as a part of her Virginia
State Symbols program series.
Adult Male Northern Cardinal, Outside Long Branch Nature Center.
At the beginning of the program, Yolanda shared some interesting
facts about the Northern Cardinal:
While the Northern Cardinal is the state bird of
Virginia, it is also the state bird of six other states: Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.
When you see a bright-red cardinal with a black
patch at the base of the beak (or bill), you’re looking at an adult male
Northern Cardinal.
Adult female Northern Cardinals are tan but
share characteristics of the male: the pronounced crest, the short but big
orange bill, and some red feathers.
Juvenile Northern Cardinals (both male and
female) look like the females but with a grey beak.
The bird’s diet is primarily seeds and berries,
but it is also known to snack on insects.
The bird has several calls, they are easy to
identify when the male and female call back in forth in the same song.
Before heading out on the trail from Long Branch Nature
Center to Glencarlyn Park,
we listened intently to a recording of the bird’s several calls so that we
could identify the cardinal by ear on the trail. Click here
to listen to calls and responses of male and female Northern Cardinals. (Credit:
Larry Arbanas/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML466840).)
We also learned how to use a field guide to identify other
birds that we were likely to encounter on the trail and received a quick
tutorial on how to focus our binoculars and, quietly, alert others in the group
to the location of a bird.
During our walk, we heard several Northern Cardinal duets
and observed one male Northern Cardinal. We also saw and identified three
White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta
carolinensis) and two Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens). One White-breasted Nuthatch was defending its
territory on a tree from a nearby squirrel by extending its wings and swaying
back and forth.
Glencarlyn Park, Convergence of Four Mile Run Stream and Long Branch Creek.
Virginia Symbols
Programs
Join Yolanda on her next Virginia Symbols program!
Program Name: Virginia Wildlife Symbols: The Eastern Oyster
Date, Time, and Location: Sunday, June 23, 2019, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM. Meet at Gulf Branch Nature Center
Website and Additional Information: During this program, we will learn about the Virginia coastal two-shelled mollusk resident. The program will include a shell activity. The program is geared towards families ages 7 and up—children must be registered separately and must be accompanied by a registered adult. Stay tuned to the Arlington County Parks and Recreation – Nature & History Program webpage to register for this program. The cost of registration will be $5/participant.
Learn more about the Virginia Symbols program leader, Yolanda
Villacampa, a part-time Arlington County Park Naturalist and ARMN member in the
2018 blog post, ARMN:
Getting to Know Yolanda Villacampa.
Be a Birder!
You, too, can watch the Northern Cardinal and other birds!
While early March till early May are ideal times to observe courtship rituals
and migratory species that pass through the region before the onset of summer,
Northern Virginia is home to many native birds that you can see year-round!
Learn about the courtship ritual of the male American Woodcock in a companion
ARMN blog piece, “Sky Dancer: The American Woodcock.”
Whether you’re a beginner birder with a basic interest or a
pro, consider joining either of the weekly bird walks at the nearby parks or
with groups listed below. Make sure to check ahead before you venture out for
information on where to meet, updates, weather-related cancellations, and other
birding events. Happy birding!
