Virginia Osprey Festival celebrating a birding mecca

by jenny grimes

two of the Livingstone children. That Fall the Livingstone Family all left for the annual migration to South America.

In 2019, Joyce Reimherr started the Colonial Beach Osprey Festival to celebrate the annual spring return of the Ospreys to the town. Joanie was enamored by the Ospreys and wanted to know everything about them. She started emailing with, probably the world's leading authority on Ospreys, literally the guy who wrote the book (or two books) Dr Alan F Poole brought down the chicks so that Ken could attach the bands and then replaced them in the nest.

When Joanie Millward retired, after working for 22 years as Clerk of Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Downtown Fredericksburg, she and her husband Barry retired to Colonial Beach. Joanie has always loved being close to the water. The beautiful Potomac River, five miles wide at that point, is just four blocks away from Joanie's front door, and from the back door, just a few yards away, an Osprey nesting platform behind the volunteer fire department.

That spring Joanie watched Mr. Osprey bring sticks for the nest. Watched him court Mrs. Osprey and bring her food as she incubated her eggs. Town residents suggested a naming contest. Joanie won, naming the Osprey family after the side street close to the nest - Livingstone Street. Dr David Livingstone and his wife Mary seemed an obvious choice, the two chicks who fledged from that nest were christened Thomas and Elizabeth after

In 2021 Joanie was invited to help with the 2022 festival. Joanie volunteered to organize the programs and exhibits for the festival. Dr. Poole offered to zoom in for a live keynote presentation. Mike Callahan , chief ornithologist at Caledon State Park presented Raptors Rule and brought live raptors from the Nanjemoy Creek E n v i r o n m e n t a l Education Center in Maryland. Shannon Carlin from W e s t m o r e l a n d State Park and Lisa Benoit from Wren and Sparrow in Downtown Fredericksburg were among the presenters. The festival was a resounding success.

Post Festival Joanie organized the first banding event in town. Ken Smith, a federally Licensed Bird Bander, came down from Maryland to band four Osprey chicks. A Dominion Energy employee in a bucket truck

The 5th Annual Virginia Osprey Festival in Colonial Beach will be held on Saturday, April 15, 2023 on Town Hill from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. A complete schedule of programs and events can be found on the festival website at virginiaospreyfestival.org. All events held on Town Hill are FREE. Tickets are required for presentations at the Fisheries Building and for trolley and golf cart nest tours, $10 Single and $15 for a "Full Nest". Children 12 and under are FREE and must be accompanied by an adult. Early bird tickets are available online. Ticket prices increase by $5 on day of event.

Keynote speaker for 2023 is Dr Brian Watts from the Center for Conservation Biology, who will address "Osprey of the Potomac". Mike Callahan will be back with live Raptors and to talk about Raptors in Colonial Beach. Senior Park Naturalist at Patuxent River, Greg Kearns will discuss how our friends in

Maryland are protecting our Ospreys on the Patuxent River. An interesting side note here. In 2021 local photographer, Cable Risdon photographed the band number on the leg of one of our Ospreys and established that she was banded 21 years ago in Maryland by none other than Greg Kearns. Exhibitors include Virginia Institute for Marine Science, International Osprey Foundation from Sanibel Florida, VA DWR, Potomac Riverkeepers, Awesome Possumz from Downtown Fredericksburg and many more.

While the festival is a one-day event, visitors are encouraged to spend the weekend and participate in the many pre and post festival events. Including: The 2nd Friday Art Walk featuring bird themed art by local artists; Saturday evening, Colonial Beach Brewing will host the Grand ole Osprey Concert; Sunday morning the "Soar Like an Osprey" Kite flying event on the beach; Master Naturalists and Audubon Society will lead bird walks at Westmoreland State Park and James Monroe Birthplace Park.

Passion, dedication and affection describes Joanie's feelings about Colonial Beach and its residents both human and feathered. She wants everyone to learn about and experience the Osprey, Virginia's abundant wildlife and ecosystems, her small town and its unique relationship on and with the Potomac River.

5th Annual Virginia Osprey Festival in Colonial Beach Saturday, April 15, 9a-44p A complete schedule of programs and events can be found on the festival website at virginiaospreyfestival org

8 plants & how to kill them: pt 2

By Meghan budinger & elyse adams

A love of gardening doesn't necessarily translate into a green thumb. In fact, sometimes the greatest lovers of the flora are actually serial murderers when it comes to the plants in their care. Buckle up for the exciting conclusion and to learn from Meghan and Elyse's mistakes!

Aloe - E

My grandmother had so many of these she would repot them and give them away as gifts whenever she had the chance. She taught me to "soak" the plant once a month, i.e., just leaving them in the sink for 20 minutes with water running to get them nice and hydrated without worrying about spillage. When they are finished dripping, you put them back in their plant hangers and voila, a happy aloe plant with heavy leaves that grandma would break off to use on your sunburn after a day in the pool. After killing several of my own aloe plants this way, I attempted to water them in a regular manner. When that didn't work, I tried full on neglect, which interestingly, has kept them alive the longest! I still have some hanging on for dear life in too-small pots and I can't remember when they were last watered. I'm scared to even touch them.

Fig Tree - M

Anyone who has ever walked the grounds at Historic Kenmore has probably noticed the huge fig trees that grow there. Those trees are a favorite of mine, so I decided to try growing one. 7 years later, I had produced exactly one fig. And while the tree was not actually dead, it was tiny and very close to its end. In this case, I know exactly what the problem was: groundhogs A family of them moved in under my garden shed, and apparently they love figs as much as I do. Not so much the fruit, but the leaves and even the branches. I tried building a fence, then a cage, then covering in netting. Nothing could dissuade these furry invaders. But they sure are cute. So in the end, it was my soft spot for cute animals that killed my fig tree.

Philodendrons - E

This one is embarrassing, on multiple levels. One big, beautiful philodendron was gifted to me by a friend who had several and wanted to pare down. This plant was in great shape. I thought, "You know, such an established plant might be able to survive my brown thumb, let's give it a shot". That was until I left it outside for some rain and sunshine in August like good plant parents do. However, good plant parents usually don't leave them out there until November.

Sorry Judy…

In conclusion: If you aren't killing plants, you aren't gardening hard enough! If at first you don't succeed…

Meghan Budinger and Elyse Adams are shameless plant murderers and do not work at Downtown Greens for obvious reasons.

It is time for the 3rd Annual Downtown Runaround! This Virtual 5k runs from March 4th-118th Sign up is open now through the last day of the race! The Downtown Runaround helps us raise the funds we need to continue our mission! Headover to our website www downtowngreens org for more information and to sign up to secure your awesome race tote!