Wet Birds & Birders

A (wet) male black-throated blue warbler on Sugar Creek Mountain.

The rain came down on a regular basis from Tuesday evening through Sunday morning at the New River Birding Festival near Fayetteville, West Virginia. Wet weather is typical of the Appalachian Mountains in spring—it's one of the reasons the area is so lush and green.

While the bird watchers were undaunted by the precipitation, it was horrible for bird photography. I didn't even bother carrying my camera outside the van on most of the trips I lead. There was no light and nice cameras and wet, humid weather are unhappy bedfellows.

I did manage to get a few non-keeper shots of my favorite warbler: a male black-throated blue warbler which we found on the Sugar Creek mountain trip. There's something about this bird's color scheme that I find incredibly appealing. You can see how wet it was—there are water droplets on every branch in the photo!

More from the New River Birding & Nature Festival tomorrow when I will take you on a tree-top adventure.

WV Warbler Neck

Male black-throated blue warbler—my favorite among these stunning songsters.

When you're scanning for warblers in the treetops here in beautiful West Virginia you need to be mindful of the affliction known as warbler neck.

Birders on my High Country Birding field trip along Glade Creek Road, Fayette County, WV.

This is how it happens. The only solution is to go back to your cabin after the field trip and get into the hot tub. Works every time, as Billy Dee Williams used to say.