Old Town Hall Waverly Park – May 18, 2025
On a beautiful May Sunday, a small group of birders, including several ABAS board members, explored the White River Greenway Trail in Morgantown. We met at 8:00am at the trailhead parking lot and as most birding trips go, we spent a good bit of the first half hour just in the parking lot. The warblers were singing in chorus. The trail is largely shaded with good size canopy trees, and there are benches and picnic tables throughout the trail.
We walked about a mile down the trail and picked up several more migrant warbler species, as well as orioles, tanagers, grosbeaks and vireos. At one point, I was reminded there was a quarry on the opposite side of the trail from the river, and the leaves were of just the right size to be able to still see through the trees to the quarry. There we picked up three Double-crested Cormorants.
On the river itself, we didn’t see as much as I would have thought. No Great Blue Herons, no eagles or hawks, just one Turkey Vulture and a quick glimpse at a species of swallow. We did not see any Canada Geese on the river either. All the Canada Goose observations were actually vocal confirmations, we never actually saw any.
Then came a point on the hike where our Merlin apps were picking up an Indigo Bunting. I don’t like baiting birds, but we did have one photographer in the group, and I figured the group would enjoy a closer look, so I did use Merlin to call one in- just one round of song. As is often I find with Indigo Buntings, they fall hook, line, and sinker for this trick. So, we did get a real nice look at one and then I decided we had harassed it enough and it was time to move on.
We then walked the mile back, picking up a lot of the same species we got on the way out. We got 43 species on our trip that day. There’s a small pioneer village on the other side of the park with some interpretive signage about the village. There’s a short trail through the woods, with a nice array of wildflowers on that side as well. There’s also an old church that still holds services and an old bank building that is used for special events. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot to do in this hidden gem of a park in Morgan County, so if you’ve never been, it’s worth checking out and making a day of it!