Bald Eagles in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia

While sitting in a meeting room at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC)--located near Shepherdstown, West Virginia--this afternoon, I and several colleagues witnessed an adult Bald Eagle soaring up and down the adjacent Potomac River. One adult was seen on two different occasions about 30 minutes apart, so it is difficult to say if our sighting involved 1 bird or 2, but even one is exciting!

Earlier in the year, during the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park Mid-Winter Bird Count on January 20, I observed an adult Bald Eagle flying down the Potomac River at a point just east of Williamsport, Maryland. Shortly after I spotted it, the bird veered away from the river into Berkeley County, West Virginia, in the vicinity of Falling Waters. This locality is perhaps 10-15 miles upstream from NCTC.

(Note: A modified version of this was posted to the WV-Bird listserv on 03/08/2002.)