Embedded Files
The trees of Montebello are inventoried elsewhere on this site. For more ephemeral phenomena, like spring wildflowers and wildlife, we rely on resident observation.
Use the information others have collected
Use the information others have collected
Some Montebello residents have submitted pictures of the wildflowers they have seen and presented them on iNaturalist sites linked here:
Wildflowers by year: 2025 - 2022 - 2021 - 2020 - 2019
With the help of the iNaturalist app, each photo is identified by common name and scientific name. The photos are sorted with the most recent first. You can look at the photos before you go out, so you know what to watch for. The first link shows all observations at Montebello since 2019. A separate link features flower and pollinator observations in Montebello's butterfly gardens. Finally, there are separate links for the current season to date and for previous years, but excluding the butterfly gardens, kept separate to allow viewers to follow wildflowers.
Many of the photos have been reviewed by outside experts who have confirmed the species identifications, and so are considered "research grade", annotated on the photo by "RG" in the upper left corner.
Add your own observations
Add your own observations
If you use a smartphone you can get more intimately involved and get your plant identification help on the fly. The iNaturalist app, available from either Google Play or the Apple App Store, allows you to take a picture of a plant or animal and get help with identifying it through artificial intelligence. Once you save your observation, iNaturalist automatically posts it to the sites listed above.
Using iNaturalist at Montebello is the title of a webinar held May 27, 2020. You can view it as a 50-minute video, including Q&A, or as a slideshow.
You can also learn how to use iNaturalist from tutorials at https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/video+tutorials. Especially recommended for beginners are
#1 Adding an Observation on a Mobile Device
#2 Adding an Observation via the Web
#3 How to Take Identifiable Photos
Tutorial #2 explains how you can upload nature photos from a camera or computer. If your camera does not have GPS, iNaturalist prompts you to find the place where the photo was taken on a Google map.
Butterflies, Bees, and Other Pollinators
Butterflies, Bees, and Other Pollinators
Lepidoptera and Hosts (chart)
Webinar: Butterflies and Other Pollinators at Montebello, (58-minute video), July 2021
Books and websites about pollinators, handout
Birds
Birds
The Grounds Committee sponsors two birding activities most years:
Spring Bird Walk, usually in late April or early May
Christmas Bird Count, in December, in coordination with the National Audubon Society
The bird species observed at Montebello at six birding events 2017 to 2021 are shown in a table.
Webinars about Birds (available on YouTube):
Webinars about Birds (available on YouTube):
Birds of Montebello. In April 2021, George and Cathy Ledec presented a webinar focused on the Birds of Montebello.
A Kaleidoscope of Birds of the DMV. In 2020. Kurt Schwarz presented a broader webinar, A Kaleidoscope of Birds of the DMV,. Both are available here via YouTube.
There are many good resources on the web for learning birding, such as allaboutbirds.org run by the Cornell Labs. Weekly bird walks are held nearby at Dyke Marsh (Sundays) and Huntley Meadows (Mondays). The Northern Virginia Bird Club has field trips.
Other Wildlife
Other Wildlife
Residents are invited to add their own photos of birds, turtles, foxes, woodchucks, squirrels and other wildlife through the iNaturalist program discussed above, and also through the photo contest discussed below.
Annual Nature Photo Contest
Annual Nature Photo Contest
Residents are encouraged to submit their best photos in the Grounds Committee's annual nature photo contest . The 2022 photo contest is already underway. Contest rules are here. You may send up to five photos to GroundsCommittee@Montebello.org no later than November 1, 2022.
To see a wonderful range of nature photos, including the winners of the 2019 and 2020 photo contests, visit our Montebello Nature Photo Contest web page.
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