HINTON, W.Va. -- As Brian Hirt prepared to launch his canoe into Bluestone Lake, a flash of white could be seen rising from near the surface of the lake's Bluestone Arm.

As he turned to look, Jim Phillips, standing nearby, raised his binoculars and tracked what turned out to be a large bird with a white head and tail, as it glided over a small waterfall at the edge of the lake and then perched on a bare limb overlooking the placid, rain-dappled water.

"We have an adult bald eagle perched at the mouth of Bluestone," Phillips said into the microphone of a small portable radio he pulled from his coat.

The March edition of the 2009 Winter Eagle Survey had barely begun, but already one eagle had been tallied, and hopes were high that two-dozen volunteer observers would spot several more before the four-hour watch period ended. An even higher hope was to spot an occupied eagle nest, confirming a long-held conjecture that eagles are reproducing in this part of the state.

Phillips, the naturalist at Pipestem Resort State Park, has been coordinating the winter eagle surveys since 2006, after observing nesting behavior by the majestic birds of prey in the Bluestone-New River section of Southern West Virginia for several years.

There's plenty of evidence to suggest that eagles are nesting here, as they are along sections of Potomac and Ohio rivers in the northern half of the state.

In mid-February, during a Pipestem Resort State Park-sponsored Backyard Bird Count event, eight eagles - five bald and three golden - were spotted along the New and Bluestone rivers in Summers and Mercer counties.

In early January, during the first leg of the 2009 Winter Eagle Survey, nine bald eagles and two golden eagles were spotted in the event's observation zone, which stretches from Sandstone Falls in the north almost to the Virginia border along the New River, and includes a section of Bluestone Gorge.

Phillips said a pair of bald eagles had been seen around the shore of Bluestone Lake on a number of occasions in January, but in early February, only one of the two eagles could be seen at one time.

"My thought is that one of them may be on a nest while the other is out looking for food," said Phillips. Given the number of eagles seen in the area during nesting season, "we're pretty sure some eagles are nesting," he said.

"In 2002, one nest big enough to be used by eagles was seen along Bluestone Lake, not far from a campground. Another nest was spotted this year on private property along the Bluestone River. But no one has been able to see eagles using either one of them, so we can't say for certain that nesting is happening."

During last year's survey, nine bald eagles and two golden eagles were observed. In 2007, seven bald eagles and one golden were spotted, up from the four bald eagles and one golden eagle tallied the previous year.

During each of the eagle surveys, immature as well as adult eagles were spotted. Care was taken to compare sighting times and locations, to make sure individual eagles were not counted twice.

HINTON, W.Va. -- As Brian Hirt prepared to launch his canoe into Bluestone Lake, a flash of white could be seen rising from near the surface of the lake's Bluestone Arm.

As he turned to look, Jim Phillips, standing nearby, raised his binoculars and tracked what turned out to be a large bird with a white head and tail, as it glided over a small waterfall at the edge of the lake and then perched on a bare limb overlooking the placid, rain-dappled water.

"We have an adult bald eagle perched at the mouth of Bluestone," Phillips said into the microphone of a small portable radio he pulled from his coat.

The March edition of the 2009 Winter Eagle Survey had barely begun, but already one eagle had been tallied, and hopes were high that two-dozen volunteer observers would spot several more before the four-hour watch period ended. An even higher hope was to spot an occupied eagle nest, confirming a long-held conjecture that eagles are reproducing in this part of the state.

Phillips, the naturalist at Pipestem Resort State Park, has been coordinating the winter eagle surveys since 2006, after observing nesting behavior by the majestic birds of prey in the Bluestone-New River section of Southern West Virginia for several years.

There's plenty of evidence to suggest that eagles are nesting here, as they are along sections of Potomac and Ohio rivers in the northern half of the state.

In mid-February, during a Pipestem Resort State Park-sponsored Backyard Bird Count event, eight eagles - five bald and three golden - were spotted along the New and Bluestone rivers in Summers and Mercer counties.

In early January, during the first leg of the 2009 Winter Eagle Survey, nine bald eagles and two golden eagles were spotted in the event's observation zone, which stretches from Sandstone Falls in the north almost to the Virginia border along the New River, and includes a section of Bluestone Gorge.

Phillips said a pair of bald eagles had been seen around the shore of Bluestone Lake on a number of occasions in January, but in early February, only one of the two eagles could be seen at one time.

"My thought is that one of them may be on a nest while the other is out looking for food," said Phillips. Given the number of eagles seen in the area during nesting season, "we're pretty sure some eagles are nesting," he said.

"In 2002, one nest big enough to be used by eagles was seen along Bluestone Lake, not far from a campground. Another nest was spotted this year on private property along the Bluestone River. But no one has been able to see eagles using either one of them, so we can't say for certain that nesting is happening."

During last year's survey, nine bald eagles and two golden eagles were observed. In 2007, seven bald eagles and one golden were spotted, up from the four bald eagles and one golden eagle tallied the previous year.

During each of the eagle surveys, immature as well as adult eagles were spotted. Care was taken to compare sighting times and locations, to make sure individual eagles were not counted twice.

After the initial Winter Eagle Survey sessions are held in January, follow-up events are held in March, when chances are better that nesting activity will be spotted. While spotting an occupied nest is the ultimate goal, watchers also are on the lookout for eagles carrying sticks used to build nests, or carrying fish for long distances.

"If the eagles are here at this time of year, they're residents," said Ron Perrone, Three Rivers Avian Center's education director, who was among a group Winter Eagle Survey volunteers scanning an expanse of Bluestone Lake from a roadside pull-off just south of Bluestone Dam.

If the resident eagles are sexually mature, like the one observed by Phillips and Hirt, there's a good chance they're nesting, since it's that time of year, added Perrone's wife, Wendy, the avian center's executive director.

A pair of bald eagles nesting along the Potomac on the grounds of the National Conservation Training Center near Shepherdstown have produced three eggs, at least one of which has hatched (viewable by Webcam at www.fws.gov/nctc/cam).

"If they're nesting and laying eggs in Shepherdstown," Perrone said, "they would be doing the same thing here."

Hirt, a former Cross Lanes resident who now lives in Covington, Va., has taken part in several previous eagle watches. He brought his canoe to this year's event to try to get a closer look at any eagles spotted, and to scan the Bluestone's shoreline for possible nests.

He did manage to take several photos of the eagle spotted near the launch site before it flew across the lake to a perch visible to eagle-watchers assigned to an observation post in Bluestone State Park. After paddling along several miles of shoreline south of the W.Va. 20 Bridge, though, no nests and no additional eagles were seen.

Rainy weather, following a fairly heavy snowfall, kept airborne eagle activity to a minimum during Saturday's eagle survey. Only one additional eagle - an immature bald - was seen by 2 p.m., the standard quitting time for the four-hour event. At 2:03 p.m., a mature bald eagle swept past the observation point manned by the Perrones and other participants.

Phillips said that eagle appeared to be of a different size than the mature eagle spotted earlier in the day, but he couldn't be certain, so it wasn't counted as a separate individual.

"The weather was just too miserable for eagles to be out and about," said Phillips.  "Even the vultures weren't flying much. We saw one big bunch of them riding the thermals when it stopped raining for a little while, but then the rain started up and they had to come back to roost and dry out."

Phillips remains hopeful that bald eagle nesting activity will eventually be confirmed in Southern West Virginia.

"We keep seeing more and more eagles along the New and Bluestone rivers around here," he said, "and since we're seeing them in February and March, the time frame is right for birds to be on the nest. I think we'll see an active nest some time - it just wasn't today."

Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com">rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.