A Day in WV's High Country--Part II

What a difference a little elevation makes.

Moving up to about 3200 ft elevation on day three of the WV New River Gorge Birding and Nature festival meant the mountain ridges were bare of leaves.  With the blast of cold, it felt more like March than the end of April.  But since I didn't get to prowl around in the woods with experts in March, this turned out to be a real treat for me.  

Meet my first new warbler of the day, the Black-throated Blue.  Heavenly.  One of many new birds for me that left me with a deep feeling of satisfaction.  When it comes to warblers, you can hear their song, see them flitting around in the tops of trees, find them in the field guide, see a wonderful photograph, but nothing compares to seeing these birds up close so you can really wrap your mind around how wonderful they are.  I wish every body could have this experience.  

Below, our guides, as we all wait in silence for a warbler song and watch for his arrival.  And let me tell you, there is nothing as still or as quiet as a group of birders waiting for a warbler!  Left, Will Hershberger; middle in dark jacket, Connie Toops; and far right in dark cap, Keith Richardson.

This was my first opportunity to meet Connie who is also very knowledgeable about plants.  Discovering this was like waking-up a kid inside me, a clear invitation to ask "what's this" a thousand times.  But Connie didn't seem to mind and I had the pleasure of enjoying her botanical expertise for three consecutive field days.    

Above you see a Lousewort or Wood-Betony.  Invariably, there is a fun folk tale to go with an amusing name like lousewort. People once believed that cattle would become infested with lice if they brushed against this plant.  And doesn't that make you wonder what they believed about cattle who ate them?

A beautiful plant with delicate fern-like leaves and muted colors that nearly disappear into the leaves and mosses of the forest floor, these flowers are easy to overlook and I'm glad I didn't miss them.
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Below, a Purple Wake-robin, also known as Stinking Willie or Stinking Benjamin.  There is no mystery to this name, they smell bad.

And right before heading back to camp, we visited a wide spot in the road, a rural pasture land with showy apple trees in their most beautiful stage of bloom.  Our reason for stopping, a nesting pair of Yellow Warblers.  Below, the male gives us one last look before returning back to his nesting site.

And that was, in deed, one of those moments of satisfaction.

At this birding festival, "back to camp" doesn't signify the end of the day.  There is a brief interlude for rest, if you grab it, before rejoining all your fellow birders for a delicious dinner and a presentation from one of our experts.  This was also our opportunity to welcome fellow bloggers who recently joined the festival--people I felt like I already knew, whose faces and names I recognized, but whom I had never met in person before.  And all I can say is, meeting them affirmed everything I knew with some fun additions.  I now have a voice and a laugh and some mannerisms that bubble into my mind, making me smile while reading their blogs.  

Above, left to right, Susan Kailholz-Williams of Susan Gets Native, Murr Brewster of Murrmurrs, and Nina Harfmann of Nature Remains (links provided below).  At the end of day three, Smokey's Restaurant was our dinner meeting spot...

and we packed it with nature lovers!

To see all my posts on the New River Birding and Nature Festival click here.

Links and Resources:
Susan Kailholz-Williams--Susan Gets Native
Nina Harfmann--Nature Remains
Murr Brewster--Murrmurrs
Will Hershberger--The Music of Nature
Connie Toops--Lost Cove Farm
WV's New River Birding and Nature Festival
National Park Service, New River Gorge Website