Handlan Chapter, Brooks Bird Club

Handlan Chapter, Brooks Bird Club We are a group of people, based in the Kanawha River Valley, who enjoy meeting to go birding and learn about birds and nature.

Come out to see us today at the Nitro Living Memorial Park for Boomtown Days!
09/12/2026

Come out to see us today at the Nitro Living Memorial Park for Boomtown Days!

09/07/2026

Brooks Bird Club, Handlan Chapter

September-October 2026 Events

Saturday, September 12, Nitro Boomtown Days
The Handlan Chapter of the Brooks Bird Club will have an information table at Nitro Boomtown Days, to be held at Living Memorial Park in downtown Nitro from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Also featured are live music, an antique car show, craft booths, and a parade.

Monday, September 14 Ice Cream Social
Please join us for this fun, annual tradition that kicks off our program year. It begins at 6:00 PM at Little Creek Park in South Charleston, Shelter 2. The shelter is on the left, just beyond the basketball courts and shortly after you enter the park. Come early to do some birding!

Saturday, September 19 Hike in Ward Hollow
Chuck Wirts and Martha Hopper will host a hike in Ward Hollow to see a variety of birds, including waterfowl. Meet at 9:00 AM. Here are directions:

From Kanawha Turnpike in South Charleston, turn into the Bridge Valley Community and Technical College, 2001 Union Carbide Drive.
Go straight in. At the tee intersection, turn left toward Bridge Valley
School. Follow the road about 3/4 mile. The road will circle around the large
glass-covered building on the left (Bridge Valley School). You will pass a large building on the right (BLDG 6000). Make a right into the parking area. The Ward Hollow entrance gate
is in back of the parking area. The gate is locked and we will
enter as a group. You will need to sign a waiver if you have not done
so before. Call Chuck (304-389-731) if you have any questions.

Sunday, October 11 Founders Day
Our chapter will also have an information table at Founders, Feathers, and Flora Day at Spring Hill Cemetery Park and Arboretum. The event time is from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Featured are historic reenactments, horse-drawn carriage rides, bee-keeping demonstrations, and, of course, scenic views of our historic city.

Monday, October 19 Chapter Meeting (please note this is the third Monday)
Donna and Ron Graham will share photos and stories from their trip to South Africa and Zimbabwe in June 2025. They saw a number of birds, from small sunbirds to a bateleur eagle. The meeting begins at 6:30 PM at the South Charleston Public Library. The board meets at 6:00 PM and all are welcome.

05/07/2026

From Sheila McEntee, President

Upcoming events:

Saturday, May 9
Century Count
Choose a birding spot—woods, park, riverside, or your own backyard—and record the species you see. No need to record numbers, just the species. Bird all day or just a few minutes. Our range for this count is the Kanawha Valley and the New River Gorge area. Can we reach 100 species?? We’ll find out! Report your findings to Doren Burrell at [email protected]. We’ll also share our lists at our end-of-year picnic on Monday, May 11.


Saturday, May 9
Osbra Eye Memorial Spring Nature Walk
Kanawha State Forest
Enjoy a nature hike and record the birds you see and hear for the Century Count! Registration begins at 9:30 AM and the hikes begin at 10:00. Meet at the Nature Center. This is always a fun learning event!

Monday, May 11
Annual Bird Club Picnic
Little Creek Park
Please come and share a bit of birding, a potluck dinner, and your recent bird sightings. We’ll also approve our slate of officers for next year. Please bring a dish to share. We’ll meet at Shelter 2 in Little Creek Park, located not far from the entrance to the park, on the left side, just up the hill and beyond the basketball courts. Hope to see you there

04/20/2026

From the “semi-regular” newsletter from the Handlan Chapter of the Brooks Bird Club.

APRIL AND MAY EVENTS
--------------------------------

Spring Hill Cemetery History Day
Saturday, April 25, 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Charleston, WV

On Saturday, the Spring Hill Cemetery will host a history day, featuring presentations, information tables, and historical recitations. These will be scattered around the cemetery to form an easy, walking tour. The Handlan Chapter will have a table there to introduce ourselves to the public.
Several of our regular members will be unavailable to attend, so if you have a couple hours to greet people here, please contact Michelle Platt at [email protected] to let her know that you can help. If folks are still around at the close of the event, there will be a bird walk to see what birds may be about.

Global Big Day/Century Count

Saturday, May 9th, is this year's Global Big Day, also known as the International Migratory Bird Day. Anyone with an interest in birds may participate in this event by going out and looking for birds on this day. The idea is to contribute to a worldwide effort to collect observations on birds wherever one may be. This year, we also will revive our annual Century Count in which our members will try to tally as many species as we can through the day, with a goal of finding 100 species of birds in the course of the day. Take some time to look for as many birds as you can find and submit your results to eBird. Our search area for this effort will be anywhere within Kanawha, Boone, Clay, Fayette, Jackson, Lincoln, and Roane Counties.

Club Meeting
Monday, May 11th
Little Creek Park

The club meeting will be held at Little Creek Park in South Charleston. This will be a potluck picnic; bring a dish to share with the group. The club will provide cups, plates, and utensils. Come early and join others for a bit of birding around the grounds in the vicinity of the shelter. We will have our picnic at Shelter #2 which is located just beyond the basketball and tennis courts near the park entrance on the right.

OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST

Tour of Avian Rehabilitation Facility
Three Rivers Avian Center
Saturday, May 2, from 1:00 - 5:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------
The staff of the Three River Avian Center invites the public to tour its facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of raptors and other wild birds. Visitors may meet some live raptors, view some educational displays, and learn about the tools and techniques for returning injure raptors back to the wild. Admission is free.

Mining History in Kanawha State Forest
--------------------------------------------------
Dale Porter will give a slide presentation and then lead an interpretive walk in Kanawha State Forest on May 3rd, beginning at 2:00 PM, at the KSF Nature Center. He will tell vignettes and details about miners' lives, mining techniques, and mining history in the State Forest area. The interpretive walk is optional and visitors may choose to attend just the slide presentation/lecture.

Bald Eagle sitting on its nest. Elk River, Kanawha County, WV.This is the first observed nesting of a Bald Eagle in Kana...
04/09/2026

Bald Eagle sitting on its nest. Elk River, Kanawha County, WV.

This is the first observed nesting of a Bald Eagle in Kanawha County in more than 60 years.

04/06/2026

From the semi-regular newsletter from the Handlan Chapter of the Brooks Bird Club.

April 2026 Events

Monday, April 13 Chapter Meeting :
Birding in Senegal and The Gambia
----------------------------------------------
The featured talk for the April meeting of the Handlan Chapter of the BBC will be about birding in Senegal and The Gambia. Doren Burrell will give a presentation about his recent tour of those two countries in West Africa. The Meeting will be on Monday, April 13th, at 6:30 PM in the South Charleston Public Library.
We will also talk about our plans for the Global Big Day on May 9th, for which we plan to renew our annual Century Count.

Bald Eagle nest in Kanawha County.
--------------------------------------------
A pair of Bald Eagles have built a nest along the Elk River in Coonskin Park in Kanawha County. Last year, a pair built a nest in roughly the same location, but they abandoned it before any eggs hatched. This year's pair have been sitting on the nest and we hope that chicks may soon appear. If so, this would be the first eagle hatch in Kanawha County in several decades.

UPCOMING BIRD WALKS
:
Friday, April 10 Ward Hollow Wildlife Habitat, South Charleston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chuck Wirts will lead a walk at this wildlife area, beginning at 9:00 AM

Directions to Ward Hollow:
From Kanawha Turnpike in South Charleston, turn into the entrance to Bridge Valley Community and Technical College, 2001 Union Carbide Drive.
Go straight in. At the tee intersection, turn left toward Bridge Valley
School. Follow the road about 3/4 mile. The road will circle around the large
glass-covered building on the left (Bridge Valley School). You will pass a large building on the right (BLDG 6000). Make a right into the parking area. The Ward Hollow entrance gate
is in back of the parking area. The gate is locked and we will
enter as a group. You will need to sign a waiver if you have not done
so before. Call Chuck (304-389-731) if you have any questions.


Saturday, April 11, Walk on the Wild Side
Saint Albans City Park
----------------------------------------------------
This is an annual event that includes a self-guided loop hike with nature and history interpreters along the way.
Interpretive walks run between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., but you can hike the trail on your own anytime the park is open. Although this is not structured as a bird walk, it should be a good opportunity to see recent arrivals of migrant species.
Info is at this website: https://www.facebook.com/springnaturehikes

Saturday, April 18, Coonskin Park, Charleston
---------------------------------------------------------
Doren Burrell will lead a walk along the Elk River Trail at Coonskin Park. If we are fortunate, we may see some activity in the eagle nest along the Elk River.
Meet at 8:30 AM in the parking lot beyond the duck pond and near the start of the lower Elk River Trail. NOTE: This is NOT our usual meeting point for Coonskin walks.
Call Doren at 304-553-8592 if you have any questions.

OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST

Tour of Avian Rehabilitation Facility
Three Rivers Avian Center
Saturday, May 2, from 1:00 - 5:00 PM
--------------------------------------------------
The staff of the Three River Avian Center invites the public to tour its facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of raptors and other wild birds. Visitors may meet some live raptors, view some educational displays, and learn about the tools and techniques for returning injure raptors back to the wild. Admission is free.

Mining History in Kanawha State Forest
--------------------------------------------------
Dale Porter will give a slide presentation and then lead an interpretive walk in Kanawha State Forest on May 3rd, beginning at 2:00 PM, at the KSF Nature Center. He will tell vignettes and details about miners' lives, mining techniques, and mining history in the State Forest area. The interpretive walk is optional and visitors may choose to attend just the slide presentation/lecture.

Explore the Meeks Mountain bluebird trail.
03/31/2026

Explore the Meeks Mountain bluebird trail.

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Charleston, WV

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