[Bristol-Birds] Birders Presented Awards for their efforts in 2009
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 03:18:12 -0500
TOM HUNTER NAMED
2009 Birder of the YeaR
Tom Hunter (left in
photo) is shown with
Bristol Bird Club
President Lisa Tyler
Saturday as he was
presented with the
club's recognition as
the region's 2009
Birder of the Year
award. It marked
the 15th year the
award has been
presented by club
members.
The award was one of the exciting highlights of the BBC Annual
Christmas Party which was held at the home of Michele Sparks.
Thirty birders from throughout Southwest Virginia and Northeast
Tennessee were on hand to express their appreciation for Tom's
great year of contribution to birding.
One of his very significant efforts was assuming the coordination
of the Mendota Hawk Watch which BBC has sponsored for several
year. He spent almost every day of each week counting, recording
and compiling the count. In addition he encouraged others to
help and arranged for coverage when he could not be available.
His year was marked with participating in birding events as a
member of the Bristol Bird Club, Russell County Bird Club and
Buchanan County Bird Club. He was active in photographing
birds over a wide region, participated on several Christmas Bird
Counts in the region, was the speaker for the Bristol Bird Club's
annual fall banquet meeting in September and was the leader of
the newly-established tradition of a late-fall field trip to Burkes
Garden. In the past, most eagle field trips to the area had been
conducted in late winter. He was also a leader for the BBC field trip
to Elk Garden/Corn Valley/ Clifton Farms in Russell County. He and
his wife are regular and active members of the BBC and his wife,
Laverne, is president of the Russell County Bird Club.
Dr. John Moyle: BBC James & Mae Musick 2009
Service Award Winner
John Moyle was all over the map
for the Bristol Bird Club as Vice
President of Field Trips for the
past two years.
He was relentless in leading trips
over the region and to the
Cumberland Plateau as well
as Clingman's Dome in the GSMNP.
In addition, he is planning a BBC
summer field trip this year to
Peru. It will be the third South
American field trip he has put
together with BBC in recent
years. One of his more
significant innovations for the
area has been a very large
number of "Beginner Field
Trips" sponsored for new and
developing birders which have been very popular. The
BBC trips have been held throughout the region. The James
& Mae Musick Award is a Service Award for significant
contributions to the club and honors Mae Musick and her
deceased husband who owned Musick's Campground
when it became a birding hotspot many years ago.
Bill & Sandy Lawson presented
Stephen M. Russell Award
Bill & Sandy Lawson were presented the BBC Stephen M.
Russell 2009 Award for outstanding contribution to birding.
The Lawsons were recognized
for a season of carefully
monitoring the first known
Bald Eagle's nest on South
Holston Lake and first for
Southwest Virginia. During
the period they purchased
a spotting scope and almost
weekly hosted birders, students
and clubs to their lake front
home to observe the successful
nesting. They were cooperative
and gracious hosts to many birders and will keep a diary
of the 2009-10 nesting of eagles. The Lawsons have
their permanent residence at Lebanon, VA. The award is
presented in honor of Dr. Russell, a charter member of BBC
as a teenager and retired professor of ornithology at the
University of Arizona. He authored the American Ornithologists'
Union Monograph No. 1 on the Birds of British Honduras.
He served many years as secretary of A.O.U. As a youth,
he was a resident of Abingdon and a graduate of William
King High School.
Mike Sanders Named Best New Birder of 2009 by BBC
A resident of Bristol Virginia, Mike was extremely active
in the area, birding throughout the year in the mountains
of the region. His posts of
birding trips appeared
regularly on the Bristol Birds
Net. Many BBC members
met him for the first time on
the November Burkes Garden
Field Trip. He will soon be a
member of the BBC. Mike
has amazing enthusiasm and
energy for birding.
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