Friends of Blackwater is happy to announce that we are now offering eco-tours of the Allegheny Highlands! The Allegheny Highlands of West Virginia are a biodiversity hotspot for the entire globe! There are southern species here that reach the northernmost point of their range here as well as northern species that reach the southernmost point of their range! We also have a few species that cannot be found anywhere else in the world like the Cheat Mountain Salamander. We will be leading hikes that will focus on different plants and animals of the region as well as more general ones that will teach you about the watershed and certain ecosystems within it as a whole.
Click the link below to read about our naturalist’s exploration of the Blackwater Watershed
Click the link below to send an email to RSVP! (Required!)
Our first tour was a bird & butterfly hike with Aaron on April 22nd, 2022! Aaron’s goal was to help the group locate the rare West Virginia white butterfly and he delivered, stating that it was the most common species seen that day.
Tree Identification along the Blackwater Rail Trail for Kids
Friends of Blackwater had a great turnout for our tree identification hike along the Blackwater Rail Trail. Prizes were won and everyone learned something new about their local environment! Here are some pics of the day:
Upcoming Tour Dates:
August 6th-9th I will be filling in as the Morning Flight Counter at Dan’s Rock in Allegany Co., MD for a
migratory bird count that will be ran through August 1 st -November 15 th by Maryland Biodiversity Project.
Come visit me at the Dan’s Rock Overlook and check out Maryland Biodiversity Project and the other
counts and events they are running! https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/
August 10th Morning Birding along the Rail Trail
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the Buxton and Landstreet Building at 8 am
Join Friends of Blackwater for a morning of hiking out along the rail trail in hopes to see the first migrant
flocks of the season. At this time of the year many warblers are already moving and can be found
flocking up with chickadees and titmice forming foraging flocks that work through the trees and shrubs
in search of a bite to eat. In addition to the variety of warblers we could run into many of the species
who breed along the rail trail will still be hanging around their territory as different birds move at
different times. Wear attire appropriate for hiking along a well-maintained trail.
August 13th Butterflying at the Beall Tract
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the Beall Tract lot at the end of Beall Lane on Canaan Valley NWR at 11 am
Join Friends of Blackwater for a trip out to see some the areas butterflies! The old hayfields and wood
edges offer excellent pollinator habitat where we will hope to see a variety of Swallowtails, Northern
Pearly-eye, Appalachian Brown, Common Ringlet, a variety of grass skipper, and perhaps specialties such
as Pink-edged Sulphur. We hope for some up-close views of these species on the areas wildflowers and
might have the catch to net a few individuals to see them in hand. This site also offers a variety of
grassland breeding birds to encounter such as Savannah Sparrows, Grasshopper Sparrows, and Northern
Harriers. If time allows, we might check some other spots in the valley for butterflies and grab lunch
somewhere after. Wear appropriate gear for hiking.
August 18th Butterflying and History Tour to Kempton
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the Buxton and Landstreet Building in Thomas at 10 am
Friends of Blackwater is offering a trip to go and explore the North Branch Wetlands in Kempton,
Maryland. While out on the site we will join the field crew who is working on the reclamation of these
wetlands on one of their butterfly surveys along the wetland. Potential butterfly species that could be
seen are Atlantis Fritillary, Appalachian Brown, Black Dash, and Delaware Skipper, all found on this
survey route last summer. We hope for good views of the butterflies we can find out here and hope to
net a few to offer up close looks. While here, the field crew will explain what they are doing to help reclaim this wetland complex from the effects of previous coal mining operations and how they affected
the area long term and how they are still affecting the wetlands today. Wear appropriate attire and
sunscreen to be out walking along the gravel road here.
August 19th Morning Birding at Pendleton Lake in Blackwater Falls State Park
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at Pendleton Lake Nature Center Parking lot at 8 am
Join Friends of Blackwater in association with Blackwater Falls State Park for a morning of birding around
the trails around Pendleton Lake as we look for flocks of migrating warblers mixed in with the resident
birds of Blackwater Falls. Late August is peak migration for several species of warblers and this riparian
and younger forest type habitats makes it a perfect location to look for many of these species such as
Ovenbirds, Black-and-White Warblers, American Redstarts, Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Canada
Warblers and some more uncommon migrants like Blue-winged Warbler and Mourning Warbler around
this date. Wear appropriate hiking gear for being out on the maintained trails around the lake. Grass will
still likely be wet from the morning dew so plan accordingly.
We have included several Dolly Sods Morning Flight sits as different days might have different winds and
each day offers the new possibility of seeing different species. Be there so you do not miss anything
flying by! This could be used as a workshop for those who are interested in better learning their fall
plumaged warblers or for those interested in learning how to identify birds in flight.
August 25th Morning Flight at Dolly Sods
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the parking lot across from the Red Creek Campground on Dolly Sods at 7 am
Friends of Blackwater is offering a chance for the public to watch migration of birds happen right before
their own eyes. The geography at the Allegheny Front Bird Observatory sets up a funnel that sets a
spectacle under the right conditions of thousands of songbirds including flycatcher, vireos, warblers,
sparrows, and finches. This type of stationary count counts the entirety of identifiable birds coming by
where the banding station only catches what comes low, giving a better understanding of the magnitude
of birds that truly come through here. In late August several species are entering their migratory peak
and several rarer migrations can and have been found during morning flight counts at the Sods such as
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Mourning Warbler. Bring a chair and stay to watch
the beginning of the raptor movements as the morning progresses. I will be there at dawn so feel free to
come earlier. This is a stationary count and will be standing at the same spot, about 0.1 from the parking
lot.
August 26th Morning Flight at Dolly Sods
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the parking lot across from the Red Creek Campground on Dolly Sods at 7 am
Friends of Blackwater is offering a chance for the public to watch migration of birds happen right before
their own eyes. The geography at the Allegheny Front Bird Observatory sets up a funnel that sets a
spectacle under the right conditions of thousands of songbirds including flycatcher, vireos, warblers,
sparrows, and finches. This type of stationary count counts the entirety of identifiable birds coming by
where the banding station only catches what comes low, giving a better understanding of the magnitude
of birds that truly come through here. In late August several species are entering their migratory peak
and several rarer migrations can and have been found during morning flight counts at the Sods such as
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Mourning Warbler. Bring a chair and stay to watch
the beginning of the raptor movements as the morning progresses. I will be there at dawn so feel free to
come earlier. This is a stationary count and will be standing at the same spot, about 0.1 from the parking
lot.
August 27th Morning Flight at Dolly Sods
Leader: Aaron Graham
Meet at the parking lot across from the Red Creek Campground on Dolly Sods at 7 am
Friends of Blackwater is offering a chance for the public to watch migration of birds happen right before
their own eyes. The geography at the Allegheny Front Bird Observatory sets up a funnel that sets a
spectacle under the right conditions of thousands of songbirds including flycatcher, vireos, warblers,
sparrows, and finches. This type of stationary count counts the entirety of identifiable birds coming by
where the banding station only catches what comes low, giving a better understanding of the magnitude
of birds that truly come through here. In late August several species are entering their migratory peak
and several rarer migrations can and have been found during morning flight counts at the Sods such as
Olive-sided Flycatcher, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Mourning Warbler. Bring a chair and stay to watch
the beginning of the raptor movements as the morning progresses. I will be there at dawn so feel free to
come earlier. This is a stationary count and will be standing at the same spot, about 0.1 from the parking
lot.
