Potomac Valley Audubon Society

11/01/2026

What a picture-perfect day at our Fall event, Fall Rhythms, last Sunday! 🍂✨

The afternoon was filled with beautiful fall colors, educational trail walks, delicious food, and lively jazz by The B Flats!

A massive thank you to Peggy Bowers and David Plummer for opening up their stunning home and bed and breakfast, Sundogs Bed and Breakfast, and to Bob Schwartz for leading insightful forest ecology walks highlighting local conservation and restoration efforts.

We are also beyond grateful to our generous donors and volunteers who contributed amazing soups, sides, pepperoni rolls, cookies, and raffle prizes—including framed photos by Jane Gamble, sourdough loaves by Carmen Slater, and gift baskets from the Eastern Panhandle Beekeepers Association and Shepherdstown Bee City. And a big thanks to our sponsors, Potomac Bank and Mountaineer Popcorn.

🎉 Together, we raised nearly $16,000! 🎉

100% of the proceeds directly support the Potomac Valley Audubon Society's mission to preserve, restore, and enjoy the natural world. Thanks to your support, we can maintain nearly 600 acres of preserved green space and continue providing environmental education programs for thousands of children and adults each year.

Thank you to everyone who joined, donated, and volunteered. We can’t wait to see you at our next event or on the trails! 🌳🦜

10/31/2026

The Auction is Live!

Our annual auction is now open! With over 420 items and experiences, there is something for everyone! You can find delicious food, fine art and photography, unusual collectibles, jewelry, kitchen items, and even an inflatable kayak!

Click here to browse the auction now! https://new.biddingowl.com/PVASAuction

Get your bids in before it closes on Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 pm!

10/30/2026

Calling all Wee Naturalists! Join us next Wednesday at Yankauer for a class all about creatures of the night. We'll learn which nighttime creatures call Yankauer home and head out on a nature hike to investigate where they might hide and rest during the day. To finish our adventure, each child will create their very own nocturnal animal mask to take home!

Registration can be found here:

Session Theme: Nocturnal Animals   PVAS Host: Amy Thomas $12/child (PVAS members receive a 10% discount). The program is designed for children ages 3–5, but welcomes curious and adventurous two-year-olds to join in the nature-based fun. Each registered child must be accompanied by a parent or gua...

10/29/2026

Thank you USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center! On October 23rd, PVAS members had the honor of attending a tour with presentations by Theodore Castro-Santos' about his research on migrating fish and fish ladders at the S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Lab, David Ziolkowski's waterfowl reproduction research, and Jeffrey Sullivan's avian influenza research at the Patuxent Research Center. A special thank you to Heather Walsh and the EESC team for leading a wonderful tour of the Eastern Ecological Science Center at Leetown, giving PVAS members a peek behind the curtain into their catfish research and laboratory spaces. Kids attending the tour were able to test out their scanning devices used in telemetric data collection, and everyone got a special look into their BSL 3 lab. We are so grateful USGS welcomed us into their Eastern Ecological Science Center and want to also thank PVAS members for their continued support and interest in local environmental science happenings!

📸 Caylyn Stamm, Anna Monson, AmeriCorps service members

10/27/2026

PVAS Online Store- Open until Friday, October 30!

You asked for merch, and it's finally here! Share your love of PVAS with our official PVAS-branded apparel. We're offering 100% cotton standard t-shirts, women's cuts, polos, and hoodies- but the online store is only open until Friday, October 30th.

Order yours today and choose between direct shipping right to your door (you pay for shipping) or free pickup at Cool Spring Preserve outside of Charles Town, WV. Click here to grab your gear before the online shop closes: https://undergroundshirts.com/groups/pvas-merch-store

10/27/2026

The Chesapeake Bay is home to the Great Blue Heron, the largest heron in North America.

What is the length of its wingspan?

A. 5.5-6.5 feet
B. 4-5 feet
C. 7-8 feet

Photo Credits: Evan Lipton via Macaulay Library (ML27670171)

10/26/2026

It’s hard to believe it’s time for the 45th Annual PVAS Birdseed Sale!

We’ve once again partnered with Sunny Meadows Garden Center to bring you the freshest, highest-quality seed to keep our feathered friends happy and well-fed all winter long. Every purchase supports PVAS’s educational programs, conservation initiatives, and nature preserves!

Join us for our upcoming sales from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sunny Meadows:

🐦 Saturday, November 14
🐦 Friday, December 11
🐦 Friday, February 5

Each sale will also feature a special lunchtime chat packed with bird knowledge to help you make the most of your birding this winter.

November 14: Best Seeds and Feeders for Backyard Birds
Join Sarah Law to learn which seeds attract your favorite feathered visitors and how to choose the best feeders to keep them coming back for more!

10/26/2026

Join us for Turtle Time tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM at the Case Nature Center to meet our amazing Animal Ambassadors! Get up close and personal with each of our turtles and some of our invertebrates. You’ll discover their unique stories, learn fun facts about these incredible creatures, and even get the chance to help feed our aquatic turtles! This event is great for the whole family. Registration can be found here: https://www.potomacaudubon.org/event/turtle-time-at-cool-spring-preserve-34/
We hope to see you there!

10/26/2026

Spooky reputation. Remarkable neighbor. Our final Misunderstood Monsters spotlight celebrates the little brown bat, a species documented around here in Berkeley County! Beyond the Halloween decorations, these bats are busy hunting moths, beetles, and other insects around our forests and waterways. Fun fact: despite their small size, little brown bats can live for more than 30 years. That’s a lot of nights on insect patrol!

But, these remarkable neighbors need our help! Little brown bats are among the species hardest hit by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that disrupts hibernation and causes bats to burn through the energy reserves they need to survive winter. Research has documented declines exceeding 90% in affected populations. These losses make protecting the food, shelter, and undisturbed winter resting places of surviving bats especially important.

This Bat Week, October 24–31, help make your neighborhood more welcoming to bats. Grow native plants that support their insect food supply, reduce unnecessary pesticide use, and protect woodland and streamside habitat. Respect cave closures and leave resting bats undisturbed, especially during hibernation. Always admire bats without handling them. These actions won’t cure white-nose syndrome, but they can help surviving bats find the resources they need. Our misunderstood neighbors deserve care long after the Halloween decorations come down.

10/25/2026

Week at a Glance

Here are our events for the next week.

Click the link to check out our calendar and register!
www.potomacaudubon.org/calendar/