Lights Out
The fall "Lights Out" campaign started on August 15 and runs through November 15. As part of this voluntary program, we urge property managers, businesses, tenants, government agencies, and residents to join us in helping to prevent night-time bird collisions with building by turning off and/or blocking as many external and internal building lights at workplaces as possible at night to help prevent injury and death of migrating birds, especially from 11 pm to sunrise. Visit https://www.birdsafehr.org/ to learn how you can get involved.
Elections!
Have you made your plans to vote in this year's election? On the ballot are the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Delegate, as well as various municipal offices and ballot initiatives that vary by City. Early Voting is already underway at the local voter registrar offices. Most cities will open additional satellite early voting locations later this month. You can look up early voting locations at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/early-voting-office-locations/. The last day for early voting is November 1st. October 24 is the last day to register to vote, update your address, or request that a absentee ballot be mailed to you. Last day to vote is Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, which would be at your regular polling place, 6 am to 7 pm that day. Get official election information including at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/ or from your local voter registrar/office of elections. Please get out an vote!
Bird Island
Planning is continuing to build a new island in Hampton Roads as a home for the sea bird nesting colony that was evicted from the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel South Island in 2020. The colony was relocated to neighboring Fort Wool island. The more than 20,000 birds in the colony include laughing gulls, common terns, royal terns, black skimmers and gull-billed terns. All are species of conservation concern and the gull-billed terns are on the state threatend species list. While the new colony location has been relatively successful, the site was never intended to be permanent. For one thing Fort Wool is too small and the habitat is augmented with a series of floating barges. For another, the colony relocation necessitated closing the island to historical tours. The Army Corps of Engineers is now finalizing its proposal to build a new island using dredge spoils further to the west of the Hampton Roads Bridge Island. The $15.9 million project would construct a 9.7 acre island especially for the birds. The Corps is working on a final environmental assessment, followed by detailed design work and hopes to start construction in 2027. Read more about this in this story from WTKR https://www.wtkr.com/news/large-seabird-colony-calls-decommissioned-civil-war-era-military-installation-on-hrbts-south-island-home
CLIMATE LECTURE SERIES
- Renewable energy solutions (May 14th);
- Climate challenges (& solutions) facing Virginia's tribes (June 11th);
- Upland solutions - cooling our cities (July 8th);
- Coastal solutions - protecting our shores (Aug 12th);
- Federal and regional approaches to climate change (Sep date not set);
- The impacts of climate on fisheries issues (Oct 8th);
- Climate impacts and the way forward (Nov 12th).
Visit them at the Brock Environmental Center, 3663 Marlin Bay Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23455.
To learn more, visit https://www.cbf.org/events/virginia/brock-climate-lecture-series.html
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICER ELECTION
Elections for Board of Directors and Officers for the 2025/2026 was held at our Annual Meeting on May 21st. Elected for one-year terms were:
- Vice President - Tom "Morocco" St. Andre
- Secretary - Jutta Helm
- Treasurer - Elisa Flanders
- Member-at-Large - Judy Hinch
- Member-at-Large - Mary Jane Hall
- Member-at-Large - Ken Markley
- Member-at-Large - Rogard Ross
- Our President, Patricia Quinn is in the second year of a two-year term and is not up for re-election this year.
AVIAN FLU
- Head shaking
- Unaware of surroundings
- Appearing blind
- Cataracts showing
- Anything beached
- Any bird down with no apparent injuries
If you see any bird with these behaviors, you should:
- Video what you see
- Do NOT touch
- Do NOT try to put the bird back in the water
- Call or text Julie at: 757-592-8453