Great memories from years past at Burke's Garden: March 1991 = Fred Alsop's party finds Short-eared Owl perched on fence post in the open near Gose Mill. Two Golden Eagles and two Rough-legged Hawks. January 1992 = Three Golden Eagles soaring and Rough-legged Hawk perched near road. Red Fox sprinted along road through field for a quarter mile. February 1993 = "The event drew birders from a wide area and the birds cooperated. Two Golden Eagles, a light phased Rough-legged Hawk and a Red-headed Woodpecker were stars of the show. One Golden Eagle soared for 15-20 minutes and passed low over the group, drawing applause and cheers." February 1994 = "Twelve birders turned out for the rain trip February 5. Those that stayed all day enjoyed seeing two light-phased Rough-legged Hawks. Those who went enjoyed seeing 52 Evening Grosbeaks in Tazwell, Va. .....the two Rough-lgged Hawks were seen in the late afternoon. One was perched and hunting near the community store and the second flying over a field." January 1995 = "During mid-afternoon, sleet began to fall and we had to hustle to get over the snow-covered road on the mountain and escape south out of the winter weather which was quickly moving in. It was a good trip for all and we'll be back next year." January 1996 = "The best bird of the day was a Long-eared Owl which was found dead. The bird had evidently become entangled in a fence and was impaled by one wing. Three Golden Eagles were spotted, including one immature bird at extremely close range on the road near the airstrip. It was the first time in six years that the Rough-legged Hawk was not found. The wind chill factor was zero or less." January 1997 = "Wallace Coffey and two Knoxville biders (David Trently and Joel Keebler) were at the garden on Jan 5 (not BBC field trip) and found four Rough-legged Hawks with three being seen in the air at one time." February 1998 = "A record-tieing 33 birders turnout out and so did the Golden Eagle (1), Rough-legged Hawk (5) and Red-headed Woodpecker (1)." February 1999 = "The aerial acrobatics of four Golden Eagles brought thrills, chills, shrills, whistles and delight to 21 birders......The Golden Eagle parade all came in our first hour in the lovely, high-mountain valley. Two Rough-legged Hawks put the powerful punctuation on a pleasant day for all involved......The temperature was just over 50 but the windchill was unmerciful.....One of the Rough-legged Hawks was seen at very close range, sharing the dramatic plumage of a ligh phase. What a touch to winter! At one point the Golden Eagles flew three at a time and challenged for airspace and bragging rights. They dove at one another, reach out to clutch talons and even landed on the ground, perched just up ridge on a great log, landed in trees on the hillside. There were smiles on our faces, scopes galore, and, for some, the thrill of a new tic on the life list chase.....Nine Red-tailed Hawks soared on the wind and defended territory from intruders. Thier threatening screams and daring dives drove away other unwanted (passage) Red-tails.....25 Green-winged Teal.....20 Black Ducks....Fox Squirrels and Red-headed Woodpeckers visting treetops." Let's hope for more great memories this year....... Let's go birding..... Wallace Coffey Bristol, TN ************************************************* BRISTOL BIRDS NET LIST Bristol Birds Net Photo Gallery located at: http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jwcoffeyy/album?.dir=/efd5 This is a regional birding list sponsored by the Bristol Bird Club to facilitate communications between birders and bird clubs of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee. -------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to Bristol-Birds. To post to this mailing list, simply send an email to: bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe, send an email to bristol-birds-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the one word 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. -------------------------------------------------- Wallace Coffey, Moderator wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (423)764-****