Late-Winter Birds of West Virginia—Most Frequent

Ever wonder which of the wintering species of West Virginia birds are most widely distributed or abundant? Well, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) provides a handy index for gauging the relative distribution and abundance of West Virginia’s birds in late winter. This analysis is based on 9 years worth of GBBC data (1998-2006), during which 2,763 checklists were submitted from West Virginia by volunteer participants.

The following are judged to be the 10 most widely distributed species in late winter in West Virginia based on their frequency of occurrence on the 2,763 checklists:

Northern Cardinal 73.6 percent
Mourning Dove 68.4
Tufted Titmouse 67.6
Downy Woodpecker 59.4
Dark-eyed Junco 58.8
American Goldfinch 58.2
White-breasted Nuthatch 55.1
Blue Jay 52.3
Red-bellied Woodpecker 47.1
House Finch 43.8

Note that all of these species commonly frequent backyard bird feeders.