Birding spots

Best Birding Spots in West Virginia

By species reported, the top birding spots in West Virginia are Pricketts Fort State Park, Fairfax Pond / Rehe Wildlife Management Area, and Pleasant Creek Wildlife Management Area. Pricketts Fort State Park has the longest list (183 species), and its best season is spring.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	County	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
Pricketts Fort State Park	Marion County	183	2,639	70	160	100	130
Fairfax Pond / Rehe Wildlife Management Area	Preston County	181	1,150	73	151	97	136
Pleasant Creek Wildlife Management Area	Barbour County	179	873	75	137	100	131
Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge	Wood County	169	1,994	81	145	93	127
Dam Site Seven Park	Grant County	167	383	64	108	88	127
Core Arboretum	Monongalia County	161	1,214	76	144	75	96
McClintic Wildlife Management Area	Mason County	155	227	52	126	76	89
Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area (west)	Cabell County	148	374	65	109	63	72
Green Bottom Wildlife Management Area	Cabell County	146	430	53	120	79	82
Wade Spring	Monongalia County	145	401	50	128	74	96
Byrd Pool Recreation Area	Mason County	142	455	55	99	65	79
Town of Masontown Water Supply D Lake	Preston County	141	800	49	110	82	105
Brushy Fork	Nicholas County	140	365	39	116	91	76
Maple Shade Farm Spring	Jefferson County	139	1,259	58	120	89	91
Little Indian Creek Wildlife Management Area	Monongalia County	139	492	38	111	67	116
Marmet Pool Recreation Area	Kanawha County	138	1,535	67	100	69	89
McDonough Wildlife Refuge	Wood County	138	542	30	130	84	102
Middle Island	Pleasants County	136	270	51	98	64	77
Tygart Lake	Taylor County	134	541	44	79	76	89
Deegan Lake	Harrison County	132	718	48	91	73	94
Glenwood Recreational Park	Mercer County	131	420	61	99	64	85
New Hill	Monongalia County	130	666	45	88	87	96
Byrd Pool Recreation Area (Hogsett)	Mason County	130	318	51	73	69	66
Pedlar Wildlife Management Area	Monongalia County	130	253	39	107	75	80
Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge	Tucker County	128	872	15	93	105	71
Dillan Creek	Preston County	128	487	60	89	58	81
Hulls Lake	Preston County	127	446	50	104	70	80
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park	Jefferson County	124	533	47	97	73	103
Fairfax Grant Farm Springs	Jefferson County	124	441	55	107	72	101
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (Klein Spring)	Jefferson County	124	369	31	119	63	60

By county