"On the road again. We're on the road again." Bristol Bird Club's 16th Annual Burke's Garden Golden Eagle Field Trip Saturday, February 25th, 2006 Yes, oh yes ! Finally the weatherman has given us something to cheer about. President Bill Grigsby, Dave Worley and Wallace Coffey agree it's time for the BBC to "get on the road again." Let's go birding to the beautiful high-mountain valley of Burke's Garden. We are going to Tazewell County, Va. this Saturday. Meet at ETSU-Bristol Campus at 7 a.m. We will meet other birders at the Abingdon First Bank & Trust parking lot on U.S. 19 just off West Main at 7:30 a.m. Our final check for meeting birders will come between 8 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. at the Food City Store just off U.S. 19 at Lebanon, VA. in Russell County. Dave Worley will meet birders at the Hardee's in the town of Tazewell before going up the mountain and through the gap to Burke's Garden. The Bristol group will meet at Hardee's with Dave Worley's group. After a brief breakfast and restroom stops, we'll head over the mountain into the garden. Grigsby notes that the local forecast for the Tazewell/Burke's Garden area is: Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 28. West wind 5 to 7 mph becoming south. Saturday: A chance of showers after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 30%. The weather is as good as we will get. The season is getting late. We need to move on. This is a field trip that is all by car. No hiking. Too large of an area to cover. Wear all kinds of layered clothing. Don't be fooled by that 45 degrees. The wind can reduce you to an ice cube. Bring your "family radios" so you can listen to the communications between members of our party in cars stretching along the beautiful roads. You will be front row on all the great Golden Eagle and Rough-legged Hawk finds. This is a great tradition for the Bristol Bird Club. You are invited to join members of the BBC for one of the region's most anticipated annual field trips. For nearly two decades our birders have made this exciting day trip to Burke's Garden to search for Golden Eagles and Rough-legged Hawks. In addition we often see wintering Red-headed Woodpeckers, Horned Larks and waterfowl. Throw in several gorgeous Fox Squirrels and the beauty of this great valley and you have a day afield equal to none other in the region. Here is birding in this almost volcano-like valley, surrounded by high mountains with northern spruce. You and fellow birders will go afield at 3,000 feet in the Allegheney Mountains. We buy our lunch at a country store and visit a U.S. Post Office that is lost in a time warp. Let's go birding..... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN