Potomac Valley Audubon Society

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Potomac Valley Audubon Society People dedicated to preserving, restoring, and enjoying the natural world through education & action!

PVAS offers a wide range of programs and activities that are aimed at promoting greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world for youth, adults, and families such as field trips to natural areas, summer camps, monthly lectures, school programs and many others.

Trail of Bones was a blast last Friday! Families came out to Cool Spring Preserve to explore the skulls and bones of loc...
10/14/2026

Trail of Bones was a blast last Friday!

Families came out to Cool Spring Preserve to explore the skulls and bones of local wildlife along the trail. Along the way, they stopped at interactive stations led by our educators to learn fascinating facts about wildlife, including raptors and beavers.

The adventure included winding through the Snake Skin Tunnel, trekking down Deer Alley, and sharing a few laughs over skeleton-themed jokes hanging from the trees! There was something fun and educational around every corner.

If you missed this year's Trail of Bones, we hope you'll join us for next year's event.

Fourth grade students all over Jefferson and Berkeley county are beginning their watershed classroom lessons with us thi...
10/14/2026

Fourth grade students all over Jefferson and Berkeley county are beginning their watershed classroom lessons with us this fall!

During lesson 1 of the Watershed Program, students learn all about the scientific properties of water, and the water cycle. Pictured, two students at C.W. Shipley are experimenting with surface tension to try to get a paperclip to rest on the surface of the water.

After being able to successfully "float" the paperclip, students feel a strong sense of achievement. We love bringing hands-on activities to the classroom, and providing opportunities for students to flex their engineering muscles.

Orb-weaver spiders belong to the Araneidae spider family, and they intricately weave webs like the one pictured above. T...
10/13/2026

Orb-weaver spiders belong to the Araneidae spider family, and they intricately weave webs like the one pictured above. They are typically found in grassy habitats and are brilliantly colored, usually yellow and black or red and black. The Orb-weaver spider family, Araneidae, is one of the most diverse spider families in size and appearance. Can you guess how many orb-weaver species there are?

A. Over 500
B. Over 3000
C. Over 100,000

Photo By Wil Hershberger

A nasty reputation. A vital cleanup job. Our Misunderstood Monsters series continues with the turkey vulture! A bald hea...
10/12/2026

A nasty reputation. A vital cleanup job. Our Misunderstood Monsters series continues with the turkey vulture! A bald head and a taste for dead animals might not win everyone over, but these scavengers perform an essential service. By eating carrion, they help clean up animal remains and return nutrients to the food web. Someone has to do the dirty work!

Their surprising superpower? An extraordinary sense of smell! Turkey vultures can locate dead animals hidden beneath a forest canopy. Once airborne, they ride rising air with their wings held in a shallow V, gently tipping from side to side. That familiar wobble is a useful clue for identifying these impressive birds overhead.
Want to look for them at a PVAS preserve? All four PVAS preserves include the Turkey Vulture on our bird checklists. Give feeding and resting vultures plenty of space, and enjoy them from a distance. Have you spotted that signature wobble on one of your walks? Comment and let us know!

The PVAS Auction Committee is busily compiling as many tempting items as we can for our seventh annual online auction (O...
10/09/2026

The PVAS Auction Committee is busily compiling as many tempting items as we can for our seventh annual online auction (October 30th through November 8th).

A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to the auction already! From first edition books to New Orleans-style gumbo dinner, from jewelry to puzzles, we have a lot to offer. And yet, we need more! We only have about 60% of the items we need to make our goal.

If you have something to donate or if you have a question, please contact the auction chair, Jane Vanderhook, [email protected]. We will be accepting donations until October 20th, and items may be dropped off either at Cool Spring Preserve or in Shepherdstown.

Get in the Halloween spirit TONIGHT at our 7th annual Trail of Bones event!Come walk the "Trail of Bones" at Cool Spring...
10/09/2026

Get in the Halloween spirit TONIGHT at our 7th annual Trail of Bones event!

Come walk the "Trail of Bones" at Cool Spring Preserve this evening, Friday, October 9.

While it is still the Trail of Bones you know and love- trails lit with luminaries, stations along the trail to learn about various "spooky" nature topics, a campfire to warm up by, and home-baked goodies to enjoy- there are a few new things this year! Find Halloween jokes among the trees and search for the glow-in-the-dark bones!

Halloween costumes are always welcome! See you tonight!

Pre-registration is required to make sure no time slot gets too busy. Tickets are $12 per person, with kids 3 and under free.

Join us at Cool Spring Preserve this Saturday! From 10am-2pm visit the Case Nature Center to explore the touch table, co...
10/08/2026

Join us at Cool Spring Preserve this Saturday! From 10am-2pm visit the Case Nature Center to explore the touch table, color, craft, and more. Take the adventure outside while borrowing binoculars or an exploration backpack. Then, at 2:30pm, join Bob Thompson for a Beginner Nature Photography workshop. It will be a beautiful day to capture! All camera types (including phones) welcome. Visit the link below to learn more and register for the workshop.
https://www.potomacaudubon.org/event/beginner-nature-photography-workshop-2/

October Outdoor School is all about celebrating the strange parts of nature, and our homeschool students are all on boar...
10/07/2026

October Outdoor School is all about celebrating the strange parts of nature, and our homeschool students are all on board! Pictured here, they are pretending to be millipedes on the massive log in our Nature Playspace after a talk about decomposers. We hope that you will join us in our creepy-crawly joy for a future session, as sign ups are still open for the rest of our October classes!

See more here: https://www.potomacaudubon.org/calendar/category/youth/outdoor-school/

Happy Trivia Tuesday! Pine Warblers are small, yellow-chested songbirds that are often found in pine woodlands. About ho...
10/06/2026

Happy Trivia Tuesday!
Pine Warblers are small, yellow-chested songbirds that are often found in pine woodlands. About how many bones does this small bird have?

A. 100
B. 130
C. 150
D. 200

Photo by Wil Hershberger

Address

PO Box 578
Shepherdstown, WV
25443

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9am - 4:30pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16812521387

Website

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