From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Bristol-Birds] BBC Meets tonight -- Dec. 20 -- at Steele Creek Park
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2005 02:18:25 -0500
Area Birders:
The Bristol Bird Club's December meeting will be held this evening,
Tuesday (Dec. 20) at 7:30 p.m. at Bristol Tennessee's Steele Creek Park
lodge across the driveway and parking lot from the park nature center.
Prior to the meeting at the park, many birders will gather for dinner at 6:00
p.m. (on your own) at the Mad Greek Restaurant on the Volunteer Parkway in
Bristol, TN. We have good turnouts for dinner. It is a great
opportunity to
get to know other birders and get caught up on all that is going on.
This is one of our best attended monthly meetings of the year as excitement
grows and we complete not only count plans but sideline social events which
surround the parties.
The December meeting program is concerned with detailed planning of two of
our BBC sponsored Chriristmas Bird Counts. We present spreadsheets on the
counts, maps, create field parties, designate leaders, set meeting places
and times for field parties and make whatever arrangements as needed.
If you have never participated in a Christmas Bird Count, you are welcome to
come and learn more about counts and, if you wish, be included with a field
party for the count(s) of your choice. You need no special birding
skills to
participate.
Shady Valley-Mountain City, TN CBC, Saturday, Dec. 31 (Compiled by Rob
Biller)
Bristol TN-VA CBC, Sunday, Jan. 1 (Compiled by Richard Lewis)
Richard Lewis compiles the count for his 25th straight year.
Wallace Coffey will be in his same count sector for his 47th consecutive year.
The Bristol CBC was first conducted in 1931.
The Shady Valley-Mountain City CBC was first conducted 1996.
The region high record number of species is 91 on the Bristol CBC in
2004. The 91 species compares to an average of 81.5 species per year for
the previous 10 years and 75.95 for the previous 20 years.
We will also set a date for the compilation of the counts.
Remember that there is a $5.00 participation fee charged by the National
Christmas Count program for each count you go on. Please remember that
payment is to be made to Janice Martin, Treasurer of the BBC. She
will be at the meeting and handle all funds. The payments sent to the
count will be checks drawn on the Bristol Bird Club.
All participants for counts should be registered with the club as soon
as possible.
Anyone in the region who would like to participate in any of these counts is
invited to attend tonight's planning meeting and jump right in.
More than 2,000 counts and 45,000 birders will participate in the 106th
year of the Audubon nationwide Chirstmas bird count. It is the oldest
continuous wildlife survey in North America.
The first Christmas Bird Counts were conducted in 1900 in response to a
suggestion made in the National Audubon Society's magazine Bird-Lore.
More information about CBCs available at:
<http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/birds/cbc.html#intro>http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/birds/cbc.html#intro
See you this evening.......
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
