Yes, eventually the snow and ice will be gone, Songbirds will fill the air and charm our ears, and there will be Spring!

The February Northern Neck Audubon Society meeting on February. 5, Monday, 3:15 pm,  at Lancaster Library - Upper Meeting Room will provide “virtual springtime” (and warmth).  Jeff Wright will lead an interactive presentation on how to identify and attract songbirds.  The session is timely as it will focus on birds that we might see in our yards during the Great Back Yard Bird Count from 16-19 February 2018.  The aptly named songbirds provide the chirps, songs, and occasional “racket” that fill our yards and forests - particularly in the Spring.

Various tools, techniques, and diabolical quizzes will be included in the session to help identify these birds both by hearing them as well as seeing them.  The presentation will include High Definition photos and videos of songbirds.

Wrestling with learning to identify selected thrushes, wrens, finches, orioles, sparrows, grosbeaks, and mimic thrushes on a February day will hopefully speed up the arrival of spring.  Within this group of soulful songsters are hundreds of songbird repertoires to listen to, learn to love, and use to hone bird identification skills.

Refreshments will be served.

The Northern Neck Audubon Society (NNAS) will have a Board Meeting at the Lancaster Community Library on Monday, 12/8/2017 in the downstairs meeting room.

Everyone in the NNAS chapter is welcome to attend NNAS board meetings

In fact, it's encouraged  for anyone who is interested in becoming more active in the chapter, or is considering serving on the Board or as an Officer.

This meeting will be very 'business-y". Jim Wagner will be explaining the function of the Foundation, and the relationship between it and the chapter. The revisions to the NNAS By Laws will be discussed too. If anyone has questions about it all, Monday's the day to ask them.

Our annual Christmas party is coming up on Dec. 4, Monday, 3:15 pm,  Lancaster Library - Upper Meeting Room.  Come with an idea of your spark/spirit bird...the "ONE" that got you started or is the most important to you. You can tell the story to all, or just use it for getting a conversation started. Bring friends, family, someone who may be interested in our group. 

Jeff Wright will  be providing his brand of "quiz", please bring a sampling of your 'experimental' cookies (try them out on us!) if you desire. We'll include a book/magazine swap, and have a raffle, food, music, the whole smash! 

I really hope to see you there!  

Melissa

Kyle Langford will speak at the Northern Neck Audubon Society regular membership meeting and program at 3:15 PM on Monday, November 6, 2017, at the Lancaster Community Library in Kilmarnock. The presentation is a discussion of current birding apps for smart phones/tablets/desktops and the NNAS website, northernneckaudubon.org.

Kyle Langford is a member of the NNAS and serves as a director though 2020. He is also the Web Master/Administrator for the NNAS's website.

After 37 years of working in Information Technology (IT) especially databases at the University of Maryland, Kyle retired/escaped to the nature in the Northern Neck. He still primarily lives in Howard County, Maryland but three years ago Kyle and his wife acquired a get-away house in Heathsville, VA. The house is nestled in the woods on a ridge next to a ravine on Bush Mill Stream diagonally across from Bush Mill Stream Natural Area Preserve. He feels like he lives in a park. You can see his dock from the end of the Deep Landing Trail.  

The thrill of finding and learning about the elusive flora and fauna in our parks, preserves and even our yards is what got him hooked on nature. Though he has retired from IT, He still loves to learn ways to apply old and new IT skills in his life. In this case, how can IT improve conservation, access and understanding of the natural areas of the Northern Neck? He's also an avid photographer, cook, crabber and history buff. 

The library is located at 16 Town Centre Drive, Kilmarnock, VA.