Birding Notes from the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia

Yesterday morning (Saturday, October 5, 2002) at Altona Marsh, Jefferson County, proved productive for birders--I encountered six of them: Diana and Gary Cummins and four friends (including a couple visiting from New Mexico). The following list includes 37 species seen at Altona Marsh, plus an additional 15 species seen in Berkeley County (B) or elsewhere in Jefferson County (J). Highlights include an immature Double-crested Cormorant on the Shenandoah River, an impressive dawn flight of Tree Swallows (with numbers probably greatly underestimated), a fallout of 9 Swamp Sparrows at Altona Marsh (where none were seen last weekend), good numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds, and an absence of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (coincident with a drastic decline in nectar-producing flowers).

Double-crested Cormorant 1(J)
Great Blue Heron 3(J)
Green Heron 1(B)
Canada Goose 67(B) 14(J)
Mallard 5(B)
Turkey Vulture 3(B) 3(J)
Cooper’s Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Northern Bobwhite 1
Killdeer 8(B) 5(J)
Lesser Yellowlegs 1(J)
unidentified “peeps” 7(B)
Mourning Dove 6
Rock Dove (B,J)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 1
Great Horned Owl 1
Chimney Swift (B)
Red-bellied Woopecker 4
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 11
American Crow 4
Fish Crow (B)
Tree Swallow 605
Tufted Titmouse 3
Carolina Chickadee 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Carolina Wren 8
Eastern Bluebird 5
American Robin 37
Gray Catbird 5
Northern Mockingbird 8
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 117
Cedar Waxwing 15
Magnolia Warbler 1
Black-throated Green Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 2
Northern Cardinal 11
Eastern Towhee 1
Song Sparow 22
Swamp Sparrow 9
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Red-winged Blackbird 180
Common Grackle (B)
House Finch (B)
American Goldfinch 38
House Sparrow (B,J)