Birds Reported from West Virginia in May 2006

A nominal total of 181 species was reported by subscribers to the WV-Bird listserv in May 2006; this compares to 181 species in April and 125 species in March. As of May 31, the number of species reported in West Virginia in 2006 stood at approximately 220. May witnessed the first observations in 2006 of 20 species (indicated by an asterisk in the following list), the vast majority of these being late migrants or summer residents returning from southern wintering grounds. Unless otherwise noted, species are presumed to have been present the entire month (parenthetical notes include first and last dates reported, singular observations, high counts, etc.):

Snow Goose (one still present in Canaan Valley on 22nd)
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler (last on 9th in Wood Co.)
Hooded Merganser (last on 13th in Putnam Co.)
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite* (reports from Lincoln Co. & Crown City WA, with high of 19 at latter locality on 28th)
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant (reported through 29th)
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Little Blue Heron* (1 report: Greenbottom WMA on 22nd)
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier (1 report: Pipestem SP on 10th)
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Sora (1 report: Cheat River on 14th)
American Coot (reported through 29th)
Semipalmated Plover* (first on 5th in Jefferson Co.)
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper (last on 24th in Eastern Panhandle)
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper* (first on 15th in Wetzel Co.)
Least Sandpiper (last & high of 32 in Eastern Panhandle on 24th)
White-rumped Sandpiper* (Apple Grove on 22nd, Berkeley Co. on 24th, & Lewisburg on 26th)
Dunlin* (first on 11th near Lewisburg)
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Ring-billed Gull (last on 22nd at Robert C. Byrd Locks)
Herring Gull (last on 22nd at Robert C. Byrd Locks)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo* (first on 8th in Tucker Co.)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Barn Owl
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl (1 report: Tucker Co. on 13th)
Common Nighthawk* (first on 3rd in Morgantown)
Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher* (first on 20th in Preston Co.)
Willow Flycatcher* (first on 13th in Putnam Co.)
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Loggerhead Shrike (1 report: Lewisburg area on 12th)
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Common Raven
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (last on 22nd at Blackwater Falls SP)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush (last on 25th at Coonskin Park)
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
American Pipit (1 report: Apple Grove Fish Hatchery on 22nd)
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler (last on 24th in Preston Co.)
Nashville Warbler (last on 20th in Preston Co.)
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler* (1 report: 3 on 13th in Summers Co.)
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler (last on 13th in Preston Co.)
Bay-breasted Warbler* (first on 6th in Mason Co.)
Blackpoll Warbler* (first on 6th in Cabell Co.)
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Swainson's Warbler* (first on 21st in Summer's Co.)
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush* (first on 5th at McDonough)
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Mourning Warbler* (first on 10th in Lewis Co.)
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler* (first on 13th in Summers Co.)
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager* (first on 6th in Huntington)
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Henslow's Sparrow
Fox Sparrow (last on 20th near New River)
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow (last on 20th in Preston Co.)
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow (last on 15th in Summers Co.)
White-crowned Sparrow (last on 20th at Blennerhassett Island)
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak* (first on 13th in Lincoln Co.)
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink* (first on 13th in Preston Co.)
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird (last on 9th in Tucker Co.)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin (last on 22nd at Blackwater Falls SP)
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Twenty-three species that had been recorded in April were not reported in May, most of these being wintering residents/visitors or early spring migrants that have exited the State (possible exceptions [i.e., potentially overlooked localized breeders] are indicated with an asterisk): Gadwall, Black Duck, Northern Pintail, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Merlin, Virginia Rail*, Upland Sandpiper*, Pectoral Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Forster’s Tern, Marsh Wren, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, and American Tree Sparrow. Ring-necked Pheasant (represented in the State by a localized resident breeding population in the Northern Panhandle) failed to be reported for the second month in a row, though presumably still present. Snow Goose (a lingering migrant), Eastern Screech-Owl (a permanent resident), and American Pipit (winter resident) returned to the list of species recorded in May following an absence of reports in April. Monthly summaries were previously posted for March and April.

Edit of 06/12/2006: Alder Flycatcher, Blackpoll Warbler, and Mourning Warbler were omitted from the original list. With their addition, the number of species reported in May 2006 becomes 181, the number of species reported in West Virginia as of May 31 becomes 220, and the number of species for which the first observations for 2006 were made in May becomes 20.