West Virginia flora and fauna

 

Babcock State Park and its legendary gristmill. Mills are popular photo fodder but few if any are photographed as frequently as this one. I made this image LATE in the day on May 6 - so late it was hard to see the mill through the darkness. The photograph necessitated a 30-second exposure at ISO 2500, at f/9.

As every year (other than two Covid off years) for the last nearly 20? years, I spent a week in southern West Virginia to participate in the New River Birding & Nature Festival. Along with a star-studded cast of characters (present company perhaps excluded), I help lead trips to local hotspots each day, and give a talk one evening. The event is a blast, and if you want to have a good time and see LOTS of interesting flora and fauna, GO HERE for more information.

Another area highlight is Cathedral Falls. Scenery such as this is commonplace in the area.

As I'm generally too engaged in leading groups and focusing on helping people find things and learn during the week, I (horrors!) don't generally even bring a camera in the field. To atone for that, I always stay about two days after the festival ends and engage in some epic dawn to dusk shooting. I do have the advantage of having scoped out lots of places in the preceding six days, as well as being privy to intel from other guides. Following are a few more images from southern West Virginia, taken on either May 6 or 7.

A Red Eft (Notophthalmus viridescens), the juvenile form of the Red-spotted Newt. This species is quite common, as are many other species of salamanders. Efts epitomize aposematic coloration: bright colors that warn of toxicity. And efts are quite toxic, being infused with tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin also found in pufferfish.

The flora of the region is diverse and often spectacular. On this trip I saw at least a dozen species of violets, without special effort. One of the most conspicuous species is this one: Marsh Blue Violet (Viola cucullata). It favors soggy soil and can grow in abundance in and around the numerous springs and seeps in the region.

A closer view of Marsh Blue Violet flowers.

Always a coveted sighting by birders, a male Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia) sings from a favored perch at spot high in the mountains of Pocahontas County. It had just arrived on territory and was quite busy establishing its invisible fences.

A Pink Lady's-slipper (Cypripedium acaule), a truly striking orchid. It seems to have boom and bust years, and this year was more of the latter. Nonetheless, a hotspot in Babcock State Park produced dozens of flowering slippers, including this beautifully backlit specimen.

A colorful adult male Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus) appears to have been dipped in raspberry juice. Its song is an extraordinary extended warble full of flourishes and accent notes that totally lives up to the singer's appearance. This one was a local breeder near Cranberry Glades Botanical Area - one of the festival's field trip destinations.

Another stunning violet, the Southern Wood Violet (Viola hirsutula). It's small, with little round leaves that are often variegated in deep purple. Adding to the charm is its propensity to grow in profusion in mossy beds. The overall effect is that of a naturally occurring terrarium.

Quite exciting was a trio of Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) that popped into some lichen bedecked trees outside the Cranberry Glades Visitors Center. If you follow Red Crossbill taxonomy and their compartmentalization into "types", this bird and the other local crossbills are of Type 1. They specialize on the abundant Red Spruce (Picea rubens) in the high Appalachian Mountains. Who knows, maybe someday it and other types will be split into separate species (one already has). In this area Red Crossbills are quite local and one never knows if they will be seen. I had heard flying groups twice earlier this morning and felt fortunate indeed to be able to view these birds well.

I have WAY more imagery from the whirlwind two days following the festival, most of which will likely never make its way to this blog. But I wanted to offer a brief taste of some of the plants and animals to be found. If you would like to be a part of next year's New River Birding & Nature Festival, we would love to have you.