A female Rusty Blackbird just showed up, and today's hordes included all the usuals plus Pine Siskins. These are the times when I'm most glad to be here for the birds.
A friend in Canaan Valley had visits from Redpolls and a Fox Sparrow today.
Date: 1/20/26 4:13 am From: Jack OConnell <jack...> Subject: Bald Eagles at Bluestone Dam (Summers Co)
Yesterday was a wonderful day for viewing bald eagles near the Bluestone Dam. With the lake partially frozen and the open water filled with Common and Hooded Mergansers, eagles were taking the opportunity to worry the ducks. I was there for a couple of hours and there was almost never a time that I didn't have at least one eagle in sight. At times I saw up to three immature eagles at once, chasing and interacting with each other. Then an adult would appear and seemingly tell the "kids" to quit horsing around and start hunting! What a fun afternoon of viewing.
Here's a note to ensure all are aware that a Harris's sparrow has appeared in Harrison/Lewis Co (observed crossing county line) in a neighborhood near Benson, WV. The bird is on private property in the homeowner's backyard. He submitted the find to eBird, so please check there for directions and check Mountain State Birders Facebook site for the residents' phone number to call ahead to ask permission to enter. There's no cell signal so please call ahead.
Date: 1/15/26 10:15 am From: MFowler <monty...> Subject: White-headed sparrow is back
Our leucistic white-headed sparrow is back after an absence of several weeks. It's head is now gone completely white where it was formerly kind of a blotchy-beige coloring, and the white is spreading to its back and outer wings. I'm more sure now that it's a female house sparrow, based on the size, breast coloring and remaining wing marklings.
Date: 1/14/26 4:56 pm From: Derek Courtney <derek.dana.courtney...> Subject: WV Bird Records Committee call for Nominees
Hi, all!
The new year is upon us, CBCs are done, and everyone is working on their 2026 year list. The WV Bird Records Committee is preparing for its annual meeting where we put a stamp on the reports gathered from the previous year. Another task at hand is to replace Committee Members who are cycling off at the end of their terms. We will have 3 open positions to fill this year. If you are interested in serving a 5 year term, or would like to nominate another person interested in serving, please contact our secretary Wil Hershberger, me, or any of the other BRC Committee Members. For more information on the Bird Records Committee please see our website: https://www.brooksbirdclub.org/west-virginia-bird-records-committee.html. You will find descriptions of duties, expectations, etc. in our By-laws. You may also feel free to contact any of us on the Committee with any questions you may have. Thanks for your consideration.
Date: 1/14/26 10:45 am From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Jan 14, 2026
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From: <do-not-reply...>
Date: Wed, Jan 14, 2026 at 1:36 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Jan 14, 2026
To: <jimandjudyphillips...>
Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Summers, West Virginia, US
Jan 14, 2026 12:24 PM - 1:00 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.75 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 52 degrees, cloudy
4 species
Bald Eagle 4 adults
Common Raven 1
Eastern Bluebird 1
American Robin 27
Date: 1/14/26 10:45 am From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Mountain Valley Lake, Jan 14, 2026
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From: <do-not-reply...>
Date: Wed, Jan 14, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Mountain Valley Lake, Jan 14, 2026
To: <jimandjudyphillips...>
Mountain Valley Lake, Summers, West Virginia, US
Jan 14, 2026 11:35 AM - 12:04 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.0 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 46 degrees, cloudy
We thought there was a mallard quacking but finally decided it was a duck
hunter up in the woods with a call. I don't think any of the ducks we saw
are quackers.
9 species
Ring-necked Duck 93 they were on the water. counted them through the
spotting scope
Bufflehead 18
Hooded Merganser 37
Black Vulture 35
Belted Kingfisher 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Blue Jay 4
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Date: 1/6/26 9:36 am From: Casey Rucker <autoblock...> Subject: Canaan Christmas Bird Count December 21, 2025
Hi, all,
The 33rd Canaan Christmas Bird Count took place on December 21. Many thanks to the twelve field surveyors and five feeder watchers who helped out this year. We found 52 plus two count week species, which is above our average. The weather was mostly sunny, ranging from a low of 19 degrees to a high of 50, but just to remind us that it was the CBC, it was quite windy for most of the day.
On January 3rd, 18 people participated in the #126 Huntington Christmas count.It was partly cloudy with temperatures ranging from 22 to 35 degrees.
We had totaled 74 species. We had a flyover of 18 Sandhill Cranes, which was only the second occurrence on this count. We observed a Merlin and 13 Duck species.
We had tied records for Common Raven,Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ross’s Goose,Common Merganser, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon.
David Patick,
Compiler
Huntington ,WV.
Sent from my iPhone
Date: 1/3/26 2:37 pm From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Water birdy day
Today turned out to be a water birdy day. On the way to the P.O., found 2 gadwalls, 3 hooded mergansers & 2 ruddy ducks on a local private pond. Along the lower Greenbrier River, we found Canada geese, common & hooded mergansers & a Bonaparte's gull. Finished the day with 2 long -tailed ducks on Bluestone Lake. Also for the day we had a belted kingfisher, 2 red tails, 3 kestrels & 6 bald eagles. Jim & Judy Phillips Summers County Pipestem, WV
Date: 1/3/26 9:11 am From: maggi perl <0000009d44cb01bc-dmarc-request...> Subject: Wow!
Great walk this morning! First bird sighted was a Hermit Thrush the 3 Eastern Bluebirds and there was a robin, too. Field sparrow and also a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker on a poplar tree riddled with sapsucker holes.maggi perlLincoln County
The annual Oak Hill Christmas Bird Count (WVOH CBC) for the National Audubon Society was held Saturday, December 20, 2025. Sixteen volunteers took to the roads and trails, and five monitored their yard feeders for a combined total of 43.75 hours and 117.15 miles of birding. The volunteers observed 64 species and tallied 1746 individual birds.
The American Crow took the top spot for abundance this year with 333 individuals, though that wasn't a high record for the species. Other consistently abundant species included the American Goldfinch at 149, and Dark-eyed Junco at 124.
Record-breaking tallies came from two species with "Common" in their name, but they proved to be anything but ordinary during the 47th year of the WVOH CBC: the Common Merganser with 5 individuals counted, and the Common Raven with 30 individuals counted. In the count's 47-year history, the Common Merganser had been observed only four times, and the Common Raven more than doubled its previous high record. Interestingly, and a spectacular sight for anyone, this Common Raven count included an early morning flock of 21 in-flight, in a wingtip-to-wingtip, single-line formation. Ravens sometimes fly with wingtips touching during aerial bonding behaviors and are known to congregate to roost.
An unexpected data point was the absence of Mallards. Since 1990, the WVOH CBC had recorded between 5 and 92 Mallards annually. This year marked the first time since 1989 that this species was missing from the report.
What a beautiful morning I awakened to…white snow, blue sky, and abundant sunshine…my FOY bird was my all=time favorite bird a Song Sparrow ! The one bird that always brings me so much joy !
Happy New Year to all…and good birding to you.
Date: 1/1/26 1:36 pm From: Wendy Perrone <wendy...> Subject: Re: 1st bird of the new year
I have a conundrum about which was my 1st of the year bird. I am pretty
sure it was a goldfinch from the color and size, but I didn't have my
glasses on and therefore cannot be 100% sure.
If that doesn't count, when I got my glasses on I saw a mixed flock of
male & female cardinals, mourning doves, titmice, chickadees, juncos and
a grackle.
--
Wendy Perrone, Executive Director
Three Rivers Avian Center
2583 Brooks Mountain Road
Hinton, WV 25951- 5621
304-466-4683 land line
304-575-5024 mobile
www.tracwv.org
visit us on Facebook & YouTube at "Three Rivers Avian Center"
Caring for West Virginia's wild birds since 1990
Donations are gratefully accepted on our websitewww.tracwv.org Thank you!
On 1/1/2026 8:50 AM, James Phillips wrote:
> Judy's was white-breasted nuthatch.
> Mine was red-bellied woodpecker.
> Jim & Judy Phillips
> Summers County
> Pipestem, WV
Date: 1/1/26 12:40 pm From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Jan 1, 2026
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From: <do-not-reply...>
Date: Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Subject: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Jan 1, 2026
To: <jimandjudyphillips...>
Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Summers, West Virginia, US
Jan 1, 2026 1:45 PM - 2:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.75 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 35 degrees, cloudy
Lunch with a river otter. As we ate our lunch, we watched a river otter eat
3 fish. It was about 2 feet from the bank.
8 species
Bufflehead 5
Common Merganser 17
Mourning Dove 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Bald Eagle 3 immatures
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Kestrel 1
Common Raven 1
Date: 1/1/26 8:24 am From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Knob Ridge Road, Pipestem, WV, Jan 1, 2026
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From: <do-not-reply...>
Date: Thu, Jan 1, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Subject: eBird Report - Knob Ridge Road, Pipestem, WV, Jan 1, 2026
To: <jimandjudyphillips...>
Knob Ridge Road, Pipestem, WV, Summers, West Virginia, US
Jan 1, 2026 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM
Protocol: Traveling
0.25 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 32 degrees, windy with half inch of new snow.
Tracks in the snow - rabbit, mouse, squirrel, skunk and songbirds.
19 species
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 17
American Crow 3
Carolina Chickadee 4
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Sparrow 1
House Finch 6
Purple Finch 1
American Goldfinch 20
Fox Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 7
White-throated Sparrow 5
Song Sparrow 1
Eastern Towhee 1
Northern Cardinal 10
Date: 1/1/26 4:52 am From: Paul Mckay <paulmck57...> Subject: Happy New Year and FOY
Hey All, Happy New Year! First birds of the year were 3 Cardinals at the feeder. Yesterday, under our feeder with the white throated sparrows was a Fox Sparrow. Third time I have seen them this winter and second time at this feeder. Looking forward to a good year. Paul and Debbie
Paul Paul M. McKay, Esq. 4404 Oglebay Drive Wheeling, WV, 26003 304 780 0557
On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 11:34 AM, Ross Brittain<rossalanbrittain...> wrote: Hello Birders,
The Tygart Lake CBC occurred this past Sunday (12/28) , 9 field
participants and 1 feeder/yard participant. Thanks to the efforts of these
volunteers, we found 2152 individual birds from 72 species, a count high in
species numbers!
Highlight species include the first time count species: Common Loon, Tundra
Swan (juvenile), American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup and an unidentified Tern
(seen by Cheyenne Carter at the dam - Common or Forster's but positive ID
was not possible). Other highlights were a count high of 4 Great Horned
Owls, 2 Winter Wrens, 2 Rusty Blackbirds, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Wilson's
Snipe and 1 Merlin. The most abundant species was American Crow (509)
instead of the usual European Starling (211) with Canada Goose a
close third (193).
Here are the counts:
Species Total
Common Loon 1
Great Blue Heron 5
Tundra Swan 1
Canada Goose 193
Mallard 128
American Black Duck 8
Gadwall 7
American Wigeon 1
Ring-necked Duck 10
Lesser Scaup 1
Bufflehead 2
Hooded Merganser 13
Common Merganser 35
Turkey Vulture 2
Coopers Hawk 2
Northern Harrier 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 8
Red-tailed Hawk 21
Bald Eagle 10
American Kestrel 9
Merlin 1
Wild Turkey 4
Killdeer 6
Wilson's Snipe 1
Tern (Sterna sp.) 1
Rock Pigeon 4
Mourning Dove 40
Eastern Screech Owl 6
Great Horned Owl 4
Barred Owl 5
Belted Kingfisher 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7
Red-headed Woodpecker 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker 24
Downy Woodpecker 12
Hairy Woodpecker 7
Northern Flicker 17
Pileated Woodpecker 15
Blue Jay 77
American Crow 509
Common Raven 10
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Carolina Chickadee 70
Brown Creeper 7
Tufted Titmouse 29
White-breasted Nuthatch 39
Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 21
Winter Wren 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 33
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6
Eastern Bluebird 27
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 37
Northern Mockingbird 16
Cedar Waxwing 13
European Starling 211
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Northern Cardinal 38
Eastern Towhee 20
Field Sparrow 31
American Tree Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 42
Swamp Sparrow 6
White-crowned Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 62
Dark-eyed Junco 98
Rusty Blackbird 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 5
House Sparrow 52
American Goldfinch 25
House Finch 13
Individual Total 2152
Species Total 72
Thanks to my co-organizer Matt McKinney, Cleo McMahan, Micah Brittain, Nate
Rees, Cindy Mullens, Cheyenne Carter, Laura Ceperley (and her friends Kylie
and Sara whose last names I do not know) for dedicating their time and
skills to helping make the count a success. We could not do all this work
without your help!
Date: 12/30/25 8:34 am From: Ross Brittain <rossalanbrittain...> Subject: Tygart Lake CBC results
Hello Birders, The Tygart Lake CBC occurred this past Sunday (12/28) , 9 field participants and 1 feeder/yard participant. Thanks to the efforts of these volunteers, we found 2152 individual birds from 72 species, a count high in species numbers!
Highlight species include the first time count species: Common Loon, Tundra Swan (juvenile), American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup and an unidentified Tern (seen by Cheyenne Carter at the dam - Common or Forster's but positive ID was not possible). Other highlights were a count high of 4 Great Horned Owls, 2 Winter Wrens, 2 Rusty Blackbirds, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Wilson's Snipe and 1 Merlin. The most abundant species was American Crow (509) instead of the usual European Starling (211) with Canada Goose a close third (193).
Here are the counts: Species Total Common Loon 1 Great Blue Heron 5 Tundra Swan 1 Canada Goose 193 Mallard 128 American Black Duck 8 Gadwall 7 American Wigeon 1 Ring-necked Duck 10 Lesser Scaup 1 Bufflehead 2 Hooded Merganser 13 Common Merganser 35 Turkey Vulture 2 Coopers Hawk 2 Northern Harrier 1 Red-shouldered Hawk 8 Red-tailed Hawk 21 Bald Eagle 10 American Kestrel 9 Merlin 1 Wild Turkey 4 Killdeer 6 Wilson's Snipe 1 Tern (Sterna sp.) 1 Rock Pigeon 4 Mourning Dove 40 Eastern Screech Owl 6 Great Horned Owl 4 Barred Owl 5 Belted Kingfisher 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 7 Red-headed Woodpecker 7 Red-bellied Woodpecker 24 Downy Woodpecker 12 Hairy Woodpecker 7 Northern Flicker 17 Pileated Woodpecker 15 Blue Jay 77 American Crow 509 Common Raven 10 Black-capped Chickadee 2 Carolina Chickadee 70 Brown Creeper 7 Tufted Titmouse 29 White-breasted Nuthatch 39 Red-breasted Nuthatch 3 Carolina Wren 21 Winter Wren 2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 33 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 6 Eastern Bluebird 27 Hermit Thrush 6 American Robin 37 Northern Mockingbird 16 Cedar Waxwing 13 European Starling 211 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Northern Cardinal 38 Eastern Towhee 20 Field Sparrow 31 American Tree Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 42 Swamp Sparrow 6 White-crowned Sparrow 12 White-throated Sparrow 62 Dark-eyed Junco 98 Rusty Blackbird 2 Brown-headed Cowbird 5 House Sparrow 52 American Goldfinch 25 House Finch 13 Individual Total 2152 Species Total 72
Thanks to my co-organizer Matt McKinney, Cleo McMahan, Micah Brittain, Nate Rees, Cindy Mullens, Cheyenne Carter, Laura Ceperley (and her friends Kylie and Sara whose last names I do not know) for dedicating their time and skills to helping make the count a success. We could not do all this work without your help!
