Thanks to Rob Beaton, Cohort 8, for sharing about this fascinating phenomenon! The Eastern monarch butterfly migration is one of the most impressive natural events in the world. Every year, monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) undertake a long and arduous journey, traveling thousands of miles from their summer breeding grounds in the northeastern US and Canada…
Ticks are active year-round in Virginia As Virginia Master Naturalists, it is important to know that every season is tick season in Virginia, and winter weather doesn’t necessarily determine how bad the spring and summer tick seasons will be. April through September are generally considered prime tick months but May is National Lyme Disease Awareness…
Thanks to Stephanie and Sandy for both sharing their reflections on the HMN Book Group’s first selection! It sounds like a winner. And thanks to Peggy for facilitating and hosting the group. Stay tuned for the next selection. Books and bats enthusiasts gathered at the home of Peggy Plass on the afternoon of Sunday, February…
Rare MacGillivray’s Warbler graces DWR’s Lake Shenandoah Pollinator Trail! We think of pollinator plantings as hosting, well, pollinators: bees, butterflies, moths, and other insects. Some birds, such as hummingbirds, do of course serve as pollinators though we generally don’t connect pollinator plantings with birds. But wait! By late fall, with their elegant flowering days in…
HMN David Forrer, Cohort VI, on a collaborative effort to curb invasive plants in Virginia: All of us HMNs are painfully aware of the many invasive plants that are taking over landscapes and forests around us. In addition to the stiltgrass, garlic mustard, and other invasives we see and do battle with in the forest,…
Virginia Master Naturalist Headwaters Chapter 