Snow Birds

When deep winter sets in, it’s prime time for birdwatching.

Temperatures are dipping below zero. A blanket of snow and ice is edging down the hillsides and gathering in the hollows. The world is still, a portrait in blacks and grays, whites and browns. It’s deep winter in West Virginia, and those of us with an affinity for the natural world long for a reminder of spring.

Despite the often-bleak view outside the window this time of year, according to Larry Helgerman, longtime member of the Wheeling-based Brooks Bird Club and state editor of the National Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count, winter is the perfect time to spy some of the state’s most striking and impressive bird species. From the cranberry-red cardinal to the trilling dark-eyed junco, many of these specimens will come to your own backyard with the right setup. “You can find some great winter birds in a residential neighborhood if you have varied habitat,” he says. “And you can attract a variety just by offering seeds.”

West Virginia, with its sheltered valleys, relatively mild winters, and plentiful natural spaces is a prime overwintering location for many species of birds. Some are residents, adapted to every winter challenge. Others are migrators, travelers from as far north as Canada, who find West Virginia winters just mild enough. Still others find their way here out of extreme necessity, either from a disruption in their normal food sources or because they were blown off course on their way to warmer regions. Whatever the reason, if you see birds in winter, chances are their reason for being here is an interesting one.

So grab your binoculars and clean out those bird feeders. With a little knowledge and a little luck, you might glimpse some of West Virginia’s most impressive winter denizens.

The Residents

According to the National Audubon Society, the state boasts more than 9.7 million acres of bird habitat. In winter, only about 50 species of birds, not including raptors and waterfowl, remain in the state, compared to more than 170 in summer. Those that remain and those that find their way here have evolved to be smart, flexible, and adaptable. Winter may look still and lifeless but, for a bird, the pantry is full—if you know where to look. “There is actually quite a bit of food around, depending on the weather. First, there are all sorts of insects that are dormant and spend their winter in leaf litter, in crevices in tree trunks, under bud scales, or cracks and crevices in rocks,” says Sue Olcott, wildlife diversity biologist with the state Division of Natural Resources.

Adapted to seeking out even the tiniest creepy crawlers, the golden-crowned kinglet is one such resident bird with a talent for finding food in the harshest climes. Although most breed in the far north—in Canada and bordering states where temperatures can drop to minus 40—this bird makes a year-round home in West Virginia’s upper elevations. “They subsist on tiny insects that are dormant on conifers, especially on trees like hemlock. Often that is tiny young caterpillars down at the base of conifer needles. These birds spend all day running around looking for them,” Olcott says. Although not a feeder visitor, the hummingbird-sized kinglet is a frenetic hunter, with a distinct golden and black crown of feathers and a high-pitched call you might pick out in the dense coniferous Monongahela National Forest.

But most resident birds don’t bother with bugs once the cold sets in. “Many of our other birds, our songbirds, will eat insects in summer because they are highly nutritious and full of protein and fat. But they will switch to seeds in winter because a lot of those bugs are dormant and harder to find,” Olcott says. Everything from chickadees and cardinals to blue jays and white-breasted nuthatches take advantage of this winter fare. “If you look out into the fields or open areas, you’ll see the grasses heavy with seeds. Buds, small berries dried on the branches—they will be eating them all winter. Then, if people put out seed, it’s just a bonanza for them.”

White-breasted nuthatches are a fun feeder bird to watch, with their striking white chests, clean lines of black, and wash of bluish gray across their backs. They are known for the ability to jam large seeds and acorns into crevices in trees and use their sharp beaks to pry out the seed meat inside—hence the “hatch” in their name. Their song is also easy to pick out. It’s a nasal, almost laughter-like call.

Other amusing feathered residents to watch and listen for at your feeder include red-bellied and downy woodpeckers, impossible to miss with their striking red, white, and black markings, and the musical Carolina wren, in shades of tan and brown, which sings fanciful duets when in pairs.

West Virginia also has a strong population of unique Canada geese—nonmigratory resident geese. You’ll find them hunkered down, resolute along the banks of rivers and lakes. “That’s a little-known natural history fact,” Olcott says. “A lot of the state wildlife agencies across the country introduced Canada geese for hunting that, because of their larger size, don’t need to migrate. If our rivers and lakes remain ice-free, they stay all winter.”

The Travelers

Migrating is less about temperature than it is about food, and a surprising number of migratory species find West Virginia a good bet for their winter vacations.

Although West Virginia loses most of its bird population over the winter—including thrushes, warblers, tanagers, vireos, and even some sparrows— you’ll hardly notice it if you have a well-established feeder in your yard. “Actually, the numbers stay relatively high compared to many other areas,” says Helgerman of the Brooks Bird Club.

Last year’s Christmas Bird Count, a massive international annual citizen science project now in its 118th year, found more than 120 bird species at feeders and in other places across in the state between December 14, 2016 and January 5, 2017.

Among the first migrants you’ll see at your feeder is the charming dark-eyed junco, the unofficial herald of winter. Although juncos are resident in the northern elevations, those at feeders are probably from farther north. “At the first snowfall, they come piling in to feeders. Most are actually birds from the New England states and Canada. They’re looking to find a slightly less rigorous environment to spend the winter, somewhere a little warmer with a little more food,” Olcott says.

Technically a sparrow, this junco, also called a snowbird, is a sight to see in a coat of dusky gray with a pale belly. You might even find them in groups—their metallic, buzzy songs are hard to mistake.

And then there are the irruptive migrants. Like shooting stars, irruptive species can be a birder’s dream find. “Birds like pine siskins and red crossbills are species we don’t see every year. Usually they stay up north in Canada, but if there is an interruption in their main seed source, like birch seeds or seeds from various conifers, they will come down in large numbers,” Olcott says. She recalls an extremely rare irruption of arctic-native snowy owls in the state in 2014, an event captured by West Virginia photographer Steve Shaluta.

Another anomaly to watch for is a waterfowl “fallout.” Helgerman says these events are a big attraction for birders. “Typically, in the state, we don’t have that many ducks that breed. Most of the ducks in North America breed in the prairie pothole region in places like Montana and North Dakota and Canada, where the glaciers scoured the land with what they call potholes,” he says. As these species migrate, some pass over the state. And when they do, there is a chance they may have to stop and rest if the weather is inclement. “Last year in Morgantown, they had a fallout of 10,000 ducks on Cheat Lake for one or two nights,” he says. Keep on the lookout for such an event by watching nearby bodies of water and keeping track of weather patterns in the north. You just might get lucky.

Start Counting

Birdwatching is a great way to contribute to vital scientific efforts. Audubon and other organizations, biologists, and government agencies use the National Christmas Bird Count data to determine the health of bird populations and guide future action; more at audubon.org. The West Virginia DNR’s Backyard Winter Bird Count informs similar efforts locally—see www.wvdnr.gov/Wildlife/ VolBirdCount.shtm. Learn about other citizenscience efforts at brooksbirdclub.org and at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s website, birds.cornell.edu.

written by Mikenna Pierotti
photographed by Steve Shaluta Photography