West Virginia Birds

Atlasing in Big Draft wilderness - Anthony 6

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:20:17 -0500

Hi all,

I had a good day of atlasing this morning in Anthony 6...

Of interest:

- the highest densities of worm-eating warbler that I've personally
ever encountered. It seemed that every suitable location had a singing
male.

- an altercation and counter-singing between a pair of red-breasted
nuthatches. An area of the state where I was

end of non-breeders? and locals

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:24:49 -0500

I haven't encountered any non-breeding passerine species since last Saturday. I walked a 1.5 mile stretch
along Cheat River yesterday, but didn't encounter anything other than what one would expect in a riparian
habitat in this part of the state. The highlights were Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Great Crested Flycathcer
and 2 Yellow-throated Vireos. I heard

Brewster's Warbler

Fri, 25 May 2012 06:45:14 -0500

Sorry for the late post. While doing Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) surveys (Cornell's protocol using playbacks) in Taylor Co., on Wednesday 23May I was fortunate to spot a male Golden-winged/Blue-winged Warbler F1 hybrid calld a Brewster's Warbler. Not great for the GWWAs, but rare and interesting to see.

Raleigh Co: Barred Owl fledglings

Thu, 24 May 2012 22:24:57 -0500

My first observance of the Barred Owl fledglings in our neighborhood was last Friday evening, May 18. Their distinct high pitched cries were what I first noticed, then by aid of lights, visuals were made. Tonight's endeavors produced seeing both youngsters on the same limb, plus an adult perched on

GC Flycatcher babies/Murphy redux - Harpers Ferry

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:15:14 -0500

Two Great-crested Flycatcher fledglings clung to the thin low-hanging
branches of our backyard weeping Linden tree this morning, with Mama close
behind. So precious....This afternoon at Murphy Farm, under the broiling
sun, I found a few birds we somehow missed during yesterday's morning walk:
a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (heard singing); 2 Louisiana Waterthrush chasing
each other

Need information

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:14:01 -0500

I will be in West Virginia over the weekend on what has become an annual trip for me and need some advice on where to find specific species.

I will be staying at Summerville for 2 nights and will go to the Endless Wall Trail and Babcock SP looking for Swainson's

Red-necked Phalarope

Wed, 23 May 2012 20:29:44 -0500

Today, Wendell Argabrite and I found the following shorebirds at R.C. Byrd Locks (Mason Co.) :

Semipalmated Plover - 22
Solitary Sandpiper - 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper - 21
Least Sandpiper - 26
White-rumped Sandpiper - 1
Red-necked Phalarope - 1 (male in breeding plumage)

Yesterday (22 May), we found a late Common Loon at the mouth of

Little blue heron and Hooded merganser still on Shenandoah River - Jefferson County

Wed, 23 May 2012 19:59:27 -0500

I got a glimpse of the Little blue heron sitting on the big log jam near the Route 9 bridge over the Shenandoah River this afternoon. This heron was first reported by Matt Orsie, and it is nice to know it is still in the area. The female Hooded merganser is

Peregrine (Greenbrier) and Golden Eagle (Pocahontas)

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:29:06 -0500

Hi, all,

This morning I was on Brownstown Road near Renick when I saw a Peregrine
Falcon fly to a tree with a largish rodent in its talons, and proceed to eat
it very messily. The gentleman who lives by where I was standing said that
he has been seeing a pair

Dickcissel - Jefferson County

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:49:49 -0500

Tom Masters, a recent graduate of the PVAS Birding class notified me of a singing Dickcissel at the end of Candlewood Dr. We had a number of them last year in those fields. It was still singing away at noon.

Thanks Tom!

Matt Orsie
Summit Point

Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Blackpoll Warblers - PVAS Birdwalk at Murphy Farm, Harpers Ferry

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:43:23 -0500

8 of us (incl. 2 walk leaders) spent a few hours this morning at Murphy
Farm at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The morning fog had pretty
well lifted when we met at 7:30 am, but the heavy clouds stuck around -
which was okay with us. The fields, extra wet with last

Chestnut-sided warbler and Yellow-billed cuckoo in yard - Jefferson County

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:56:26 -0500

This morning was perfect for pulling the last remaining garlic mustard in my woods while birding by ear. Also on my walk around the yard, I heard a Chestnut-sided warbler singing, which was a first for my yard. What a nice surprise. I was able to locate it, and got great looks before

Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Wood- Pewee- Yard- Summit Point

Wed, 23 May 2012 05:56:41 -0500

Greetings,

For this past few days, I have been having small flocks of Cedar Waxwings coming to feed on the berries that are now out on our mulberry trees. They have become regular yard guests. Yesterday morning, I had a male Baltimore Oriole singing and then feeding in the trees in the

Short-billed Dowitcher - Archer's Rock

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:30:08 -0500

All,
I went to Archer's Rock pond in Berkeley County
(http://www.potomacaudubon.org/shorebirds.html) this morning in the rain
showers and there were a good # of shorebirds hanging out:

Semipalmated Plover 2
Killdeer

Scarlet tanager, Red-headed Woodpecker, Wood thrushes in yard-Jefferson County

Tue, 22 May 2012 19:01:04 -0500

This morning and then again this evening, I was treated to the song of the Scarlet tanager in the backyard. I got lovely looks at the bird when it landed on a dead branch in a tree, and no leaves obscured its view. Wood thrushes continue to return to the yard every

Barbour County - Pleasant Creek WMA (PCWMA) - Confirmed Pied-billed Grebe Nesting

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:35:43 -0500

Hey all,

Prompted by Terry's post about the Pied-billed Grebe (PBGR) search, I followed up with him about some behavior I had observed on 13 May (just two days before the safe date for PBGR). On that day I saw an individual among some emergent vegetation just standing in

Spotted Sandpipers at Teter Lake

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:24:05 -0500

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that there were 3 Spotted
Sandpipers, foraging together at the south end of Teter Lake
yesterday. Not countable until June 5 for the Breeding Bird Atlas,
unfortunately. Maybe someone could check after that date to see if
they are still there?

Also present were 4 half-grown Mallards,

Pied-billed Grebe nesting search--no luck; absence from list

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:34:50 -0500

Yesterday I made an attempt to find nesting Pied-billed Grebes in
north-central West Virginia. I checked both Pleasant Creek Wildlife
Management Area, where 2 birds were present as recently as April 29,
and Teter Creek Lake, which Kyle Aldinger had suggested a few months
ago as a possibility after I found some there in

Re: Common Birds Publication - get them before they're gone

Tue, 22 May 2012 09:14:04 -0500

Didn't they also mislabel the chipping sparrow? Or maybe I've been wrong all these years- just like I have been with the chimney swift? Oh well.......my sparrow hawk seems to be missing as well.

Sent from my iPad

On May 22, 2012, at 9:59 AM, Gary Felton <(email address filtered)> wrote:

> I

Common Birds Publication - get them before they're gone

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:59:43 -0500

I just looked at the corrected version and all I can say is, I wasn't aware that Common Kingfishers
from Asia had taken up residence in WV, but I'll certainly keep an eye out for them. And, I've
discovered that I've definitely been mis-identifying Chimney Swifts all these years. Plus, I think

Monongalia County - Whips Again

Mon, 21 May 2012 21:45:03 -0500

Hi All:

Michael Dietrich and I birded Snake Hill WMA tonight after dark. The highlights were 4 or 5 Eastern Whip-poor-wills and 1 Barred Owl.

John Boback
Morgantown, WV

Re: Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:10:30 -0500

Sorry Donna...I won't participate any more...

-----Original Message-----
From: Audubon birding discussion for WV [mailto:(email address filtered)] On Behalf Of Donna Mitchell
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 12:49
To: (email address filtered)
Subject: Common Birds of WV

The brochure below is an embarrasment to the state and the Deparment of Ag. should be encouraged to withdrawl

Re: Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 18:10:29 -0500

My apologies for forwarding this link...I am a novice and I did no vet the link before I sent it...I just thought it might be useful...please disregard and send any comments to the WV Department of Agriculture...

For whoever is the webmeister of this link, please delete me from the mailing

Fwd: Common Birds Publication

Mon, 21 May 2012 14:06:58 -0500

Here is the Department of Agriculture's reply to the comments I sent.

Willa Grafton
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

> From: "Southern, Beth" <(email address filtered)>
> Date: May 21, 2012 1:28:30 PM EDT
> To: Willa Grafton <(email address filtered)>, Info Distribution Group <(email address filtered)>
> Cc: "Kelley, Chris" <(email address filtered)>,

Re: Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:03:07 -0500

Starting with the typos/misspellings in the table of contents, I hope. ("Tanger", "Rofous", etc). :-)

Sarah Anderson
Canaan Valley, WV
www.sarahanderson.net

-----Original Message-----
From: Willa Grafton <(email address filtered)>
To: WV-BIRD <(email address filtered)>
Sent: Mon, May 21, 2012 1:39 pm
Subject: Re: Common Birds of WV

I sent comments to the WVDA and encourage others to

Re: Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:39:14 -0500

I sent comments to the WVDA and encourage others to do so. Diane Holsinger had a great idea for the booklet in previous state. She suggested using them as a teaching tool, by having students search for the mistakes.

Willa Grafton
Sent from my iPhone

On May 21, 2012, at 12:49

Common raven, Baltimore oriole

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:37:10 -0500

While working in the garden this morning heard a raven calling as it flew through. First one I have heard in about a month.
Yesterday my husbond was saying that the Baltimore orioles calling outside the open window were very noisy. I have seen

Re: Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:56:52 -0500

Donna's right.

A better link: http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Birds.pdf

Looks like they got some images messed up, no?

BILL

P.S. Please "Like" our new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HiltonPond for timely updates on nature topics.

=========

On May 21, 2012, at 12:49 PM, Donna Mitchell wrote:

> http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Birds.pdf
> Donna MitchellBarbour County

=========

RESEARCH PROGRAM
c/o BILL

Common Birds of WV

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:49:02 -0500

The brochure below is an embarrasment to the state and the Deparment of Ag. should be encouraged to withdrawl it's availability. This is one for the recycle bin.http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Birds.pdf
Donna MitchellBarbour County

return to Planening Mill road

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:16:48 -0500

Curious what I'd get if I got to Planening Mill Road earlier in the day, I birded around the top
of the road this morning from 6:30 to 9. Present yesterday, but not encountered today were
Willow Flycatcher and Blue-winged Warbler. Hopefully the warbler was a migrant and
moved on. Certainly nothing to

We need your help! (badly) Blockbusting events in June, join us!

Mon, 21 May 2012 09:10:10 -0500

Hi all,

I would like to invite you to participate in two blockbusting events
in June! These efforts are very important in our efforts to complete
the WV Breeding Bird Atlas in a timely manner, and are a great way to
see and bird in new parts of the state!

As an added incentive, we

FOS Nighthawk

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:27:21 -0500

While sitting at my computer Sunday evening I caught a movement in the
darkening sky through the skylight, and saw our FOS Nighthawk twisting
and banking above our upper pond.

John Snyder
Nicholas County

Nighthawks in Huntington

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:14:50 -0500

Between 1pm & 7pm on 5/20/12 Dee & I obs 4 Nighthawks around Vinson Middle
School (in Westmoreland-the Wayne Co part of Huntington) where they have
nested since 1982, 2 flying around 5th Street west & 9th Avenue, 2 in
downtown Huntington flying over 10th Street &

Prickett'sFort update

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:08:16 -0500

Had 51 species at the park on Sunday morning in just over an hour...........

Had a lone female Ring-necked Duck.....

Lots of nesting and babies...........
13 baby woodies
lots of geese
2 speckle-chested bluebirds

Found nesting Chipping Sparrow, Mockingbird, Orchard Oriole, and a female
Yellow Warbler building..........also Cedar Waxwings building.............
Baltimore Orioles all over...........

There are 2 young Red-shouldered

Summersville Lake area birding

Sun, 20 May 2012 22:36:13 -0500

Hi all,

I birded a good portion of the day around Summersville Lake and
environs. Wonderful day to be outside. Nothing terribly unexpected or rare.
I believe the totals for the day came to just under 90 species for the
immediate lake area and trails. Full totals and more

Preston County - Golden-winged Warbler & Henslow's Sparrows

Sun, 20 May 2012 18:12:16 -0500

Our paths didn't cross, but I was also at the spot this morning that John described.
In addition to Golden-winged Warbler, I also had Blue-winged, Common Yellow-throat,
Prairie, Yelllow-breasted Chat, Wild Turkey, Black-billed Cuckoo, Great-crested Flycatcher,
Willow Flycatcher, Baltimore Oriole, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, Indigo Bunting,
several Field Sparrows and other common species. An earlier

111 Red-eyed Vireos, 71 Ovenbirds - Hardy County

Sun, 20 May 2012 17:39:19 -0500

All,
Chuck Parker and I hiked about 12 miles today in extreme SE Hardy
county within the George Washington National Forest. The weather was
stunning and so were the amount of Red-eyed Vireos and Ovenbirds. Other
good birds with double digit count were noted as well. 15

Preston County RH Woodpecker, Alder Flycatcher, Grasshopper Sparrows, fledglings

Sun, 20 May 2012 16:56:43 -0500

This morning I birded for the WV Breeding Bird Atlas in Bruceton
Mills-6 block, which includes the town of Bruceton Mills and
surrounding territory. I was able to add 22 new species, but the new
total of 37 is still less than half the 88 found in the first Atlas.

Highlights included:
KILLDEER--2 half-grown fledglings

Preston County - Golden-winged Warbler & Henslow's Sparrows

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:30:30 -0500

Hi All:

This morning I checked on the Golden-winged Warblers that breed on Planeing Mill Rd. I slowly walked the road until I heard then spotted one male Golden-winged singing from a prominent perch.

And since I was in the area, I also checked on the Henslow's Sparrow colony out Beech

Monongalia County - Whips

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:15:05 -0500

Hi All,

I finally made it out to Snake Hill WMA to look for Eastern Whip-poor-wills. I arrived at 5:10 this morning and immediately heard one calling down a gravel road behind a locked gate. Over the next ten minutes I gradually stalked the calling bird until I was very close.

Tucker County birding

Sat, 19 May 2012 17:37:46 -0500

All,
I spent time in Tucker county focusing on the first couple of miles
of the Middle Ridge Trail as it comes from A-Frame road (Northern end of
Canaan Valley NWR) and also hiked a mile on Cabin Mtn Trail (from the
end of A-Frame road). I then

Master Naturalist Class at NCTC (Blue-winged Warbler)

Sat, 19 May 2012 12:31:41 -0500

Nancy and I taught the Master Naturalist Class on birds this morning at NCTC. We began the class with a two hour walk through the various habitats found there. The highlights included good looks at Baltimore and Orchard Oriole, with the latter perched near its nest; good looks at the

Rte. 2 Shorebirds Etc.

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:49:00 -0500

Wendell Argabrite and I birded this am along Rte. 2 , mainly in Mason county, looking for shorebirds etc.We visited flooded farm fields at Gallipolis Ferry and by M & G Polymers at Apple Grove, in addition to RCB Locks and Dams at Apple Grove.The temp was 56 degrees starting out

Yard Birds

Fri, 18 May 2012 17:44:56 -0500

Finally had my first male Indigo Bunting show up in the birdbath this afternoon. I'd been hearing it while walking the dog and also in my yard today. Right now the pair of Catbirds is taking a bath.

Earlier today one of the male Orchard Orioles came to the

Doddridge County atlasing in Center Point area--17 new species

Fri, 18 May 2012 16:50:53 -0500

I birded the Center Point-6 block today from 8:30 am to 2:40 pm for
the WV Breeding Bird Atlas, and found 17 new species to add to the 35
previously found for a total of 52, still 12 short of the first Atlas
total. I found at least 8 more whose safe dates

Atlasing at RCByrd Locks & Dam & Green Bottom WMA--5/18/12

Fri, 18 May 2012 13:28:50 -0500

I started birding at the Locks & Dam area at 630am ending at 1030am. Saw
all of the shorebirds that Mike Griffith & Wendell Argabrite obs on 5/14
(except no Wh-rumped or Western Sandpipers). However, I did obs:3
Dickcissels & 1 Willow Flycatcher at the

Some Common Birds of WV

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:54:59 -0500

http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/Literature/Birds.pdf

Chestnut-sided, Blackpolls, Prothonotarys - Harpers Ferry

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:35:13 -0500

Caught sight of a CHESTNUT-SIDED warbler this morning at Bolivar Heights
Battlefield - first time seeing one, memorized the golden crown and
yellow-wash over the wings, the bright white cheek patch, and when I
returned home, dove into my Warblers book to figure out who he was. Funny
thing, I did not notice a

PVAS Stauffer's Marsh bird walk - 5/17/12

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:16:21 -0500

Greetings,

Yesterday morning, Sandy Sagalkin and I led a PVAS sponsored bird walk at Stauffer's Marsh in Berkeley C ounty for 14 students and their chaperones from Wind Dance Farm. The weather was perfect, with beginning temperatures in the low 50s, low humidity, a slight breeze and plenty of sunshine. The

Great Blue Heron

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:08:28 -0500

Birded Clover Run off Rt 38 for the Great Blue Heron Nest
Found it & saw one young in the nest may have been more but
just saw one head bobbin

Kingfisher
L Waterthrush & lots of Oven birds

What a beautiful road to bird on

It sure was a birdy day

Diane