Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (1)

So far, I have shown you pictures of the scenery, the wildflowers, and the people you might see at the New River Birding and Nature Festival. This week, I give you a list. My Trip List of the birds that I saw when I was there in 2007. Of course, there are no photos of these birds, but I hope to come back with plenty of pics this year!

Great Blue Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk (Life Bird, with BT3)
Red-tailed Hawk

Wild Turkey
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper (Life Bird)
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo (Life Bird)
Barred Owl
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch

Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling

Blue-winged Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler (Life Bird)
Cerulean Warbler (Life Bird)
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Worm-eating Warbler (Life Bird)
Swainson's Warbler (Life Bird, with Zick)
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler (Life Bird)

Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow

Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total for the week: 90 species, including 19 warblers, and 8 Life Birds. I am especially proud of the Black-billed Cuckoo, which I identified by its call while birding on my own. There were 8 species I saw nesting, including both Blue-headed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher on Opossum Creek property.

Here's hoping to break 100 when I Flock to West Virginia next week!

Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (2)

People you might see at the new River Birding and Nature Festival in 2 weeks:

Mark Garland

Jim McCormac
(listing and eating)

Bill Hilton (and friend)

BT3
Bill Thompson III

Liam
(Bill Thompson IV)

Jeff and Geoff
Jeff Gordon, Geoff Heeter

Connie Toops, Mark Garland,
"Tiny" and Julie Zickefoose

and me
(photo by my sis)

Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (3)

Scenic views of the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. Rocky streams and huge boulders are only some of the beauties of this area.




The Old Grist Mill at Babcock State Park. Birders who take the High Country trip will have their lunch break here.


I visited Babcock on my own during some free time two years ago, and am looking forward to going back.

General Lee tree -
the spot where General Lee met his famous horse, Traveller.
You'll see this on the High Country trip, too.

Kanawha Falls
You'll pass this spot on Rt 60
from Charleston to Fayetteville

And of course, the New River Gorge bridge, the highest vehicular bridge in the USA, and for years the longest single span bridge in the world. The bridge is on Rt 19 between Fayetteville and Opossum Creek.

Someone hold Susan's hand when driving over this bridge.
She has bridge issues.

Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (4)

Birder-Blogger Roll Call - Who's coming to the New River Birding and Nature Festival this year?

The Flock:
Susan W. from Susan Gets Native
Nina of Nature Remains
Hasty Brook's Lynne
Laura, from Somewhere in New Jersey (What's that smell?)
Mary of Mary's View
Sycamore Canyon's Kathie (as in Kathiesbirds)
Wren, aka Jane, from Wrenaissance Reflections
Susan M. of Lake Life
From the Faraway, Nearby - Tim, our token male
the quiet one, Kathy D, also from SW Ohio. You might know her as the commenter "Denapple." Check her out at Life, Birding Photos, and Everything
and Beth, former lurker, Hasty Brook's groupie, and our newest birder-blogger. You can find her at My Life with Birds

Have I forgotten anyone?

Oh yeah, and me.

Trip leaders, expert naturalists, and all-round party people:

Our idol, The Zick herself, Julie Zickefoose! (Better watch out; you'll be mobbed by fans yelling "Blog!") And her side-kick, Chet Baker (It's all about the dog, Jules.)

Her hale, hearty, handsome, and helpful hubby,
Mr. Bill Thompson, III

from beautiful downtown Columbus, Ohio, ODNR's own
Jimmy Mac, Jim McCormac

anticipated, but maybe not coming (Say it ain't so!)
Jeff Gordon

Just 4 more weeks till the beginning of the Festival -
I can't wait!

Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (5)

Five weeks till the New River Birding and Nature Festival! [April 27- May 3, 2009]

Do you like wildflowers? Then, you'll love the hillsides of West Virginia.

Bluets (a little washed out)

Partridgeberry

Squawroot - a Life platnt!

Wild Stonecrop

Wild Geranium

Bellflower
Love the perfoliate leaf!
(Flower stem pokes right through leaf)

Little Brown Jug
(a bad photo, but also a Lifer)

Hi, Jack!
(Jack in the Pulpit)

Solomon's Seal
(not to be confused with...)

False Solomon's Seal
(aka Solomon's Plume)

And, one of the sweetest wildflowers of all,

Violets

Countdown to the New River Birding Festival (6)

A reminder: It's six short weeks till the New River Birding and Nature, which starts April 27.

What might you do there?

Why, you might Bird by ButtConnie Toups

or Bird by BoatMark Garland (standing), Jim McCormac
and New River participants

or Band a Brown Thrasher.

Or, if you are very lucky, you might go Birdin' with Bill.

And Liam!

Bird Banding at New River Gorge

One of the favorite events at the New River Gorge Birding and Nature Festival is the banding demonstration, held on both Monday for the full week group and those doing the first half of the week, and on Thursday for those coming in for the second half of the week. These days are designated as "Birding by Butt," but plenty of us stood on our tiptoes to see this handsome Brown Thrasher displayed by bander Bill Hilton.


Mist nets are set up to catch whatever birds happen by. Here, a Tufted Titmouse thinks evil thoughts while receiving its band.

"As soon as you turn my bill loose,
I will bite you where it hurts, Human."

Notorious biters, everyone groans when a Northern Cardinal becomes ensnared. It takes a minimum of two grown men to extract one cardinal from the mist net.


Bill's special passion is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, as he let us all know by his T-shirt.


While many people are licensed to band birds, relatively few are allowed to handle hummingbirds, which are so small they can't manufacture bands for them. The bander has to hand-make each piece of hummingbird bling, and sometimes has to create homemade tools to help him get the job done.


A hummingbird waits its turn in a tube made of a rolled-up 3"x5" card. To take measurements, you slide the appropriate part of the hummer out of the tube.

Measuring the wing length of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird.


Banded hummingbirds are paid for their appearances with a nice long drink of nectar.


A banded hummingbird rests in the palm of a hand before taking off to continue his daily business.


No hummingbirds were harmed in this process.

So, if you weren't hooked on the New River Birding Festival already, here is one more reason to attend.

West Virginia Waterfall

Calling All Flock Members

[You know who you are.]

OK, I know I'm only an honorary member, since I didn't get to go to the Inaugural Meeting of the Flock at Cape May last fall, but Susan has graciously given me a guest pass. I hear the Flock is planning to migrate to Fayetteville, West Virginia for the New River Gorge Birding and Nature Festival in the spring of 2009.

I went in 2007, and here is just a taste of what you might see:

Bill Hilton, banding hummingbirds

gorgeous West Virginia scenery

Extraordinary trip leaders

from left to right:
Connie Toops, Mark Garland, "Tiny"
(Anybody recognize that chick on the right?)

Wildflowers

Squawroot

Solomon's Plume

Wild Geranium

Wild Stonecrop

Bill Thompson, III, working hard

and hardly working.

Jeff Gordon's legs

and Jim McCormac's hands
worm snake Jim found along the New River

Oh, yes, and birds! Including more warblers than you can shake a stick at.

Meet you at the bridge in 2009!

The New River Bridge