Gail and I had such a great time at this event last year that we decided to come again this year. It’s fun meeting up with several people we met here last year who also decided to return. And no wonder we are all back here, as it is one of the premier birding events in the country. It is held at the peak migration time for many tropical birds on their way to northern breeding grounds. And it is held at the New River Gorge National River because of the diverse local habitats that attract over 300 species of birds.
The bridge was completed in 1977, and until 2003 it was the longest arch bridge in the world. Now there is a bridge in China that is a little longer, but the New River Gorge Bridge still has the longest span for this type of bridge in the Western Hemisphere! To give you an idea of the height, you could fit the heights of the Washington Monument plus two Statues of Liberty under the arch of the bridge! In other words, this is a deep, deep gorge.
We are here to see sights like this beautiful Indigo Bunting we photographed yesterday.
More pix to come, and Gail will have more on her blog, too! 🙂
The gorge is awesome, and I know how much you two enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing the pictures. Going to Princess Gail’s blog right now.
Thanks, Pam! We’re still in WV. Gail will post stuff sometime next week! 🙂
cool,thanks for taking me along with you.
You’re welcome to come anytime, Mike. You’re easy to “travel” with! LOL
Looks like a great spot for a bird event. A local group has been working to build the reputation of the West Michigan Birding Festival. We get lots of migrating waterfowl, and I think last year’s was pretty good. I was minimally involved.
It’s a fabulous spot, Joan, because of the variety of habitats. People come from all over the country for this event. There were even a few from Canada this year. And the guides are world class.