Handlan's annual spring Century/Migration Count was held on Saturday, May 13th. Despite a discouraging forecast, the weather turned out to be fine. We collectively identified 120 species, which is believed to be one of our highest totals in recent years. (Unfortunately, records for this count have not been as meticulously maintained as they have been for the Christmas Count.) We found 24 species of warblers and all 6 possible swallows. The two longest lists were turned in from Kanawha County and Putnam County. Kanawha State Forest was the best spot for warblers, and a Ruffed Grouse was flushed there as well. The Putnam County list had good variety, and included a Whip-poor-will, a Willow Flycatcher, and a Hooded Merganser. Observers at Greenbottom WMA and the Byrd Locks and Dam found 6 species that were not on other lists: Great Egret, Blue-winged Teal,

Lesser Yellowlegs,

 

 

Semipalmated Plover,

 

Grasshopper Sparrow, and Bank Swallow. Observers at the Mud River Dam in Lincoln County found four good birds that no other group found: Blue Grosbeak, Bobolink, Black-billed Cuckoo, and Northern Bobwhite. Donny Good produced the only owl for our list by using his voice to call in a Barred Owl at the entrance to Coonskin Park.

 

        Even though 120 species is a solid total, it does not approach what John Smith believes to be the Handlan record of 146 species, which was reached in both 1962 and 1971. There were more observers in the field those years, and the Kanawha Valley had more undeveloped habitat. It is interesting to consider whether we could reach, or even exceed, those totals if Handlan and the Leon Wilson Bird Club joined forces to aggressively cover the Kanawha Valley and lower Ohio River Valley areas. (Handlan members in the past included Greenbottom WMA and McClintic WMA as part of their count area.) Last year, Handlan sponsored a two-day count covering these two valleys that turned up 141 species, which indicates that the birds are still out there, and that high one-day totals are still possible as long as we have enough birders to cover a wide variety of habitats in a single day. It would be fun to try!

 

        Below is a list of the birders who participated in our 2006 count, followed by a complete list of the species they found.  Participants: Wendell Argabrite, Cindy Ellis, Donny Good, Hullet Good, Mike Griffith, Bill Hall, John Harper, Kim Kazmierski, Alice Knight, Karen McClure, Maggi Perl, Jim Waggy, Jerry Westfall, Russ Young.

 

Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Blue-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Ruffed Grouse, Wild Turkey, Northern Bobwhite, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper,

 

Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Black-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Barred Owl, Common Nighthawk, Whip-poor-will, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker,

 

Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow,

 

Blue Jay, American Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, House Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Swainson’s Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Cedar Waxwing, European Starling, White-eyed Vireo, Solitary Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo,

 

Blue-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow Warbler, Magnolia Warbler,

Black-throated Blue Warbler,

 

 Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler,

Blackburnian Warbler,

 

Yellow-throated Warbler, Pine Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Black and White Warbler, American Redstart, Prothonotary Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat,

 

Summer Tanager, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Towhee,

 

Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow,

Bobolink,

 

Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.