Jan and I had another great weekend with wonderful people.
The weekend began with Jan’s Friday afternoon program, Birding Essentials for Everyone.
Following Jan’s program we went to Siriani’s for supper where we met our special friend, Cindy, who later joined us for programs and field trips.
On Friday evening I presented my program, Thrushes of West Virginia.
To me, the thrushes sing the most beautiful songs.
Wood Thrush song –
Veery Song –
Hermit Thrush song (my favorite) –
With that beginning, a focus of the weekend was to hear these 3 thrushes and others. Although we heard only 1 Wood Thrush, we heard many Hermit Thrushes and many, many Veerys.
Early on Saturday morning we began our all-day field trip to Big Run Bog, Olson Fire Tower, and Fernow Forest. At Big Run Bog we saw and heard many different birds.
One of the target birds I was hoping to find was the Northern Waterthrush, a warbler. Some times at the bog I don’t see or hear it, but on this trip it sang, and sang, and sang from the time we arrived to the time we left.
Some of the most interesting plants in all of West Virginia are in Olson Bog.
On our way to Olson Fire Tower we heard and saw some of West Virginia’s most beautiful birds, including the Indigo Bunting.
A few brave people climbed the fire tower.
After lunch at Mill Race Park in Parsons, WV, we took a stroll along the river and looked for swallows under the highway bridge.
Then we went into nearby Fernow Forest. It was late in the day (for the birds) and so there were fewer sightings and songs. One we did hear frequently was the Blue-headed Vireo, sometimes called “the spectacled bird”, because it appears to be wearing eyeglasses when viewed from the front.
The Saturday evening program was presented by the The Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia. They brought several live raptors as part of their education and outreach program which demonstrates the ways birds are important to healthy ecosystems.
Our Sunday morning field trip was to Canaan Loop Road. Our first stop, about a mile along the road, was at a large stand of Red Spruce. There we heard birds expected in that habitat: Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-throated Green Warblers, and Brown Creepers.
A short distance away we found some beautiful and interesting wildflowers.
As we continued along the road, we visited a variety of habitats.
There were Veerys singing at most of the stops we made. The most common warblers we encountered were Common Yellowthroats and Black-throated Blues.
One of the last stops we made was at a large wetland.
There we heard and saw a Swamp Sparrow. In the video below, Willow Flycatchers can be heard in the background.
Jan and I later met some of the participants at Sirianni’s Restaurant for a delicious, fun late lunch. It was one of those weekends that we didn’t want to end. It felt like we were saying goodbye to new family members.
Jan and I hope that in our next nature adventure with a new group of people we will have as great a time as we did at this Mountain State Bird Discovery Weekend. We feel blessed to be doing what we do, and especially blessed to meet and get to know so many delightful people.
Bill Beatty Nature 
Blessed indeed! By so many people, the weather looked wonderful, that incredibly fabulous area, wonderful variety of birds n native plants, Janβs professional level photography and Sirianniβs,too? Oh, yeah – this guy B.B., er uh Bill somethingβ¦. Talks a lot. Seriously – since some of us can no longer be with you in these wonderful excursions, we are so grateful for the photos and narratives. Wonder if kind of videos are close to practical? So grateful for the posts! My soul is still with yβall , every step of the weekend. Thank you so much! Wishing everyone many more wonderful trips!
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“To whom much is given, much will be required.” I’ve been given much and I want to share it with others. It’s the right thing to do. I’m glad you enjoy our blog posts.
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When is your next session ?
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Hi Carla… At this time I don’t know. The main purpose of my blog is to educate about Nature and let others know when and what nature-related classes Jan and I will be teaching. If you become a follower of our blog, you will find out about upcoming classes, workshops, and field trips well in advance. Bill
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