A birder indicates someone who seriously studies birds – identifies species and bird calls , keeps a list of those they ’ ve identified , among other activities centered around birds .
Davis is a member of the Eagle Brigade of Southern West Virginia – so named by Richard Bailey , a state ornithologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources . The group does not hold meetings , but the dozens of volunteers includes those from the Three Rivers Avian Center , Bibbee Nature Club and Hanging Rock Migration Observatory .
The group conducts a winter bald eagle survey in January and a spring count in March , organized by Jim Phillips of Pipestem , a retired naturalist at Pipestem Resort State Park .
A volunteer birder with the Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory in Monroe County , Davis also helps count the migrating raptors in the fall .
When the bald eagle surveys began , the birds were on the endangered list , Davis noted .
Now there are about 300 in southern West Virginia , he said , and they remain on the list of protected species .
“ It ’ s a real success story ,” Phillips said of the eagles ’ recovery .
When he was in high school , Phillips believed he would never see a bald eagle .
“ That ’ s how rare the eagles were in the ’ 70s and ’ 80s ,” Phillips emphasized .
The birds suffered from DDT poisoning , sprayed over the area to kill insects , then washed into the waterways . In turn , the poison was in the fish and other animals that eagles ate .
“ The DDT messed with their calcium ,” Phillips explained , causing the eggs to be so thin as to prevent the hatchlings ’
Jim Phillips and Judy Phillips have been bird watchers for most of their lives . They help lead the annual eagle count in the area .
survival . DDT was banned in 1974 , allowing the eagles to recover , Phillips noted .
Phillips began the eagle surveys in 2006 when eagles were being spotted more frequently around Pipestem State Park area .
The first year , Phillips recalled , four or five bald eagles were spotted along with one or two golden eagles counted in the January survey .
Two years later , he added an eagle count in March , which allowed birders to observe nesting habits .
Bald eagles remain year-round , while the golden eagles migrate in the winter , he said .
The surveys have drawn anywhere from 9 to 98 volunteers , depending on the weather . Over the years , the temperature in January has ranged from 4 to 73 degrees , Phillips said .
Phillips has always been interested in birds . When other children were bringing home dogs or cats , Phillips was bringing home birds . “ I ’ ve been interested since I was big enough to know what a bird is ,” he joked . Both now retired , he and his wife Judy spend their time birding . She taught chemistry at Princeton High for nearly three decades .
The two met at Concord as a result of his interest in birds .
“ She was taking an ornithology class and had missed a class ,” he explained . “ She had to do a pigeon dissection to make up for missing the class and couldn ’ t find the pigeon ovaries .”
She located Jim , whom she knew had already taken the class , to help her find the ovaries .
Did he find the pigeon ovaries ? “ No , it was a male pigeon ,” he recalled with a laugh .
The most unusual bird Phillips has spotted is a painted bunting last spring about three miles from his home .
The painted bunting is smaller than a robin , has a blue head , with a greenish-yellow back , and is red underneath , he said .
“ It ’ s only about the fifth time the bird has been spotted in West Virginia ,” he said .
The most unusual bird Davis has seen is a snowy owl discovered in the Beckley area in 2014 . When the food supply becomes low in their natural habitat of the far north , the birds will travel further south , Davis explained .
At nearly two feet , the huge white bird stops even non-birders in their tracks , according to birders . The snowy owl ’ s visit to West Virginia created quite a stir , he recalled .
One of the least common species he ’ s
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