[TN-Bird] BBC and Virginia Highlands Festival
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TN-birds" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 19:08:22 -0400
An enthusiastic group of 30 birders turned out this morning under
rain-threatening skies for the annual Virginia Highlands Festival Birdwalk, the
traditional first event of the three-weekend-long festival held in historic
Abingdon in Southwest Virginia.
It was another successful day for birders. Excitement was high as participants
took delight in getting up at dawn to kickoff the great weeks ahead and three
exciting weekends.
The two-hour birding trip began at the Virginia Creeper Trailhead in the
Abingdon historic district to walk and bird the Creeper Trail east of Green
Springs Road. This is Virginia's finest rail-trail, and occupies the bed of
what was once a rugged mountain railroad between Abingdon and the
Virginia-North Carolina border near Virginia's two highest mountain peaks.
The walk is the first of 34 "Great Outdoors" events presented this year under
the theme "From Mountain Streams to Rivers & Lakes: The Waters of Appalachia."
Wallace Coffey was the trip leader for the 13th year and enjoyed the support of
experienced birders Tom Hunter, LaVern Hunter, Ron Harrington and Bill Grigsby.
The Bristol Bird Club opened its first-ever Virginia Highlands Festival booth
on the lawn between the Barter Green (across from Barter -- the State Theatre
of Virginia) and historic Martha Washington Inn, built in 1832 The inn is of
the show-places of the South.
BBC President Bill Grigsby, Ron Harrington and Coffey worked the booth,
greeting festival goers and birders of all ages throughout the day. The trio
handed out detailed literature on birds, birding in the region, and the new BBC
membership and activity flyer.
Birders sought recommendations for purchasing binocular. They had questions
regarding the latest field guides. During the day the BBC group evaluated
birding binoculars for birders and even had word games for children. Our
members shared a photo presentation of bird club activities. Questions were
fielded concerning Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail and publications.
The 57-year old festival is held annually the first two weeks of August in
Abingdon's 20-block Historic District filled with outstanding examples of
Federal and Victorian architecture. The town was chartered in 1778.
The festival draws over 200,000 visitors. National Geographic Traveler last
year labeled it as one of the Top 20 "must see" events of America. The festival
is nestled among shaded, brick sidewalks and in the ambiance of the oldest town
west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is recognized as one of the Top 100 Events
in North America by the American Bus Association and one of the Top 20 Events
in the Southeast.
The Bristol Bird Club Booth will be open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mary
Jane Erwin and helpers will take over duties. If you want to help the BBC learn
how to operate a booth and as we learn the ropes for this new and exciting
endeavor, just show up and make the best of it. This is not perfect but it has
been a wonderful first start on our first trip out. We'll soon learn the ins
and outs, how to best present ourselves and how to spread our club word and
birding among thousands in the years to come.
The booth is located on the Barter Green with the youth tent. It is to the
right of the music tent, which is huge, and can be accessed by going up the
alleyway between the Barter Green and the Martha Washington Inn. Watch for the
signs along the road where the Abingdon High School sports boosters have their
concessions. We are the next booth over, just down from the driveway level.
We are going to learn to be good at this. It holds too much promise for BBC,
birders and birding.
Thanks to Ron Harrington who has put together our first display and has been
carrying us from event to event for the past three years. It all began with our
sponsorship of the Hawk Migration Festival at Mendota, Virginia. It spread to
the annual Earth Day and Arbor Day at Abingdon. Ron has great ideas for
improving our signage and other aspects of the display. His chairmanship of
this effort has been excellent.
Let's go birding......
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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