Volunteer spotters are being sought to take part in the annual Southern West Virginia winter eagle survey on Saturday at Bluestone Lake and along the Bluestone, New and Greenbrier rivers and several tributary streams in the vicinity of Bluestone and Pipestem Resort state parks.
Novice bird watchers will be paired with experienced birders to help spot and identify eagles as they fly past survey observation sites.
"Surveys are special days," said Jim Phillips, retired naturalist at Pipestem, who organized the first Southern West Virginia eagle survey 11 years ago. "I've been involved with eagle and migratory bird surveys for more than 40 years and, when we have new folks join us, it is even better."
This winter, "the eagles seem to be doing strange things, maybe because of the unusually warm weather," Phillips said.
Bald eagles observed along the New River near the Virginia border are already mating, and "one eagle pair has started a third nest at a site. Six bald eagles have been observed along W.Va. 122 the week of Dec. 6 and 10 golden eagles were observed at Hanging Rock (in Monroe County) in one day during the week of Dec. 11."
Volunteer spotters are organized into survey teams led by experienced birders. The number of observation sites to be used will depend on how many volunteers confirm their participation in the survey. The survey will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m., after which observation teams meet in Hinton to compare and compile notes.
Last year, 56 bald eagles and 2 golden eagles were spotted during the winter survey.
To register to help with the survey, email Phillips at jim@tracwv.com, or call Julie McQuade, naturalist at Pipestem Resort State Park 304-466-1800, or send email to her at Julie.A.McQuade@wv.gov. Those contacting McQuade will meet at 9 a.m. at the Pipestem Nature Center, and from there, will car caravan to the Pits area along Bluestone Lake and be in place by 10 a.m. to begin the survey.