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
---------- Forwarded message ---------
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
---------- Forwarded message ---------
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!
When I went out to the car to fetch the bag of cat kibble this afternoon, a black vulture came out from behind the car. It didn't fly off, but just walked away. Judging by the size, it appeared to be a young one. So odd. No injury that I could see, such as limping or dragging a wing. I felt bad because I had nothing to offer it to eat. I do have some pumpkins out there that the deer have been eating on.
On our dogwalk this morning, I saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A flock of Cedar Waxwings and some Robins were gobbling up the fruit of a Bradford pear tree. The light wasn't great, but you can't mistake that profile of the Waxwings.
A cute little Carolina wren is roosting in the Williamsburg bottle house by the front door. That means when I enter the house after dusk/dark I have to go around the house and use the back door so as not to disturb it. A couple times I forgot and it came flying out. Made me feel guilty. I added some dried white pine needles in late fall, making it warmer. Just checked, and I can see the fluffed feathers of the little munchkin.
A Brown Creeper visited twice today. It was going up the walnut tree trunk but didn't stop at the suet. Just lucky to look out the patio door at the right time.
The Pileateds still regulars at the suet and add welcome color to the landscape.
On Wednesday, I drove by a nursery in Winchester that sells a ton of Christmas trees. They had closed for the season, but I was thrilled to find they had put some unsold Fraser Firs outside the gate. Very nice of them. I loaded four of them into my Subaru. Tied to the nest box posts they will be additional places for the birds and green up the yard.
Date: 12/23/25 4:19 pm From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: 54th Pipestem Area CBC
The Pipestem Area Xmas Bird count was held Saturday, December 20, 2025. Eighteen observers located 62 species for the day. Highlights include: Northern Harrier, 8 Bald Eagles, a Red-headed Woodpecker(last on the count as count week in 2018 and last count day was in 2000), record numbers of Common Mergansers and Northern Mockingbirds. Jim Phillips Summers County Pipestem, WV
Date: 12/23/25 3:37 pm From: David patick <000001fa8e5261f0-dmarc-request...> Subject: Ona Christmas Count
On December 22, sixteen people participated in the Ona Count #126.It was partly cloudy with temperatures ranging from 32 to 42 in the afternoon.
We saw 8 duck species.We had our first Greater White-fronted Goose.We had record numbers for Red-belled Woodpecker(64) and Red-shouldered Hawk(34).
We saw a House Wren, Catbird and had 1 Short-eared Owl.
We had no luck with getting a Barred Owl.
David Patick,
Compiler
Huntington,WV.
Sent from my iPhone
On Saturday, December 20, Morgantown held its Christmas Bird Count under reasonably nice weather for late December. I think we will likely set a record for participant numbers on Count Day, but I am still awaiting final information from several groups.
We keep bumping right up against that magical 100 species barrier for Count Day. So far, we have tallied 97 species on Count Day, with 1 additional species awaiting possible confirmation. We have added 2 Count Week species thus far as well!
Surprising misses were few, as one might imagine, but no Common Loon or Ruddy Duck on Count Day were unfortunate. Still, no one can complain with this wonderful effort by a really amazing group of birders and families.
Highlights included likely record numbers of Bald Eagles and Short-eared Owls. We killed on Sparrows with 13 species (14 if you include House Sparrow)! Blackbirds continue to give us trouble, but feeder watchers came through for us adding Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle to our tally. We had hoped for more of the irruptive winter finches, but that didn't really materialize for us. No new species have been added to our Circle's history this year ... yet! But the possibility remains.
I want to thank everyone who volunteered their time to support us this year. Team Leaders did an amazing job! I hope everyone had a great time. Please consider joining us next year for the Morgantown CBC which should take place on Saturday, December 19, 2026!
Happy Holidays to you all. I hope everyone gets a chance to join in a Christmas Bird Count this season. Definitely consider it, if you have never participated before ... It would make a great New Year's resolution too :)
Date: 12/16/25 7:51 am From: James Phillips <jimandjudyphillips...> Subject: Fwd: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Dec 15, 2025
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <do-not-reply...>
Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Subject: eBird Report - Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Dec 15, 2025
To: <jimandjudyphillips...>
Bluestone SP--Mouth of the Bluestone, Summers, West Virginia, US
Dec 15, 2025 1:23 PM - 2:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
0.75 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: 23 degrees
17 species
Canada Goose 34
Bufflehead 5
Hooded Merganser 30
Common Merganser 180
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 18
American Herring Gull 1
Great Blue Heron 4
Bald Eagle 5 2 adults, 3 immatures
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
American Crow 3
Common Raven 1
Eastern Bluebird 5
Dark-eyed Junco 6
Song Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 2
