Katie Fallon, author of the forthcoming Ruka Press book Cerulean Blues: A Personal Search for a Vanishing Songbird, will give the keynote address at the Brooks Bird Club’s annual meeting on October 22. The Brooks Bird Club, headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia, was founded in 1932. It is an independent, educational, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting “the study and enjoyment of birds and other elements of the natural world.” The club, which has four chapters throughout West Virginia, conducts breeding and migratory bird surveys, takes trips to important bird areas, and publishes a newsletter, the quarterly journal The Redstart, and the Birding Guide to West Virginia.

This year’s annual meeting will be held October 21–23 at Bethany College in Wheeling, WV. Fallon will speak at the club’s banquet on Saturday evening. In addition to discussing the plight of the cerulean warbler, Katie will read portions of her book and show slides from her cerulean adventures, which took her from West Virginia and Tennessee all the way to Bogotá, Colombia, and beyond. Because approximately 80% of the world’s cerulean warblers breed in Central Appalachia, this species is of great interest to the Brooks Bird Club and to other regional bird groups.

If you’re interested in joining the Brooks Bird Club or attending the meeting, visit their website. If you would like Katie Fallon to speak to your group, contact her at katie@katiefallon.com.