By Greg Jordan, Bluefield Daily Telegraph
HINTON, W.Va. — Numerous living symbols of America were sighted and counted recently when experienced spotters joined volunteers for the 19th Winter Eagle Survey in southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia.
Bald eagles hunt and nest in both Virginias, so volunteers join veteran spotters to count their numbers. Eagle Brigade of Southern WV, which includes the Three Rivers Avian Center, Bibbee Nature Club and Hanging Rock Migration Observatory, joined together last week for the winter survey. The Spring Eagle Survey is scheduled for March 2.
Jim Phillips, the Eagle survey’s organizer, said about 79 bald eagles were counted during last year’s winter survey.
“Actually it was less than what we had last year,” Phillips said Monday. “Last year was a record. The balds we had were 79 last year and this year it was 42. And probably the reason for that was right before we did it we had all that rain and water.”
One golden eagle was sighted, too.
When streams and rivers get high and muddy, eagles cannot see fish swimming below the surface. This reduced the number of sightings.
“We were watching mainly around the water,” Phillips said.
