The 106th Christmas Bird Count(CBC) starts this Wednesday all over the Western Hemisphere "from the high Canadian and Alaskan Arctic to southern South America." The count runs from Dec 15, 2005 to Jan 5, 2006. This important count is helping to determine patterns in the bird kingdom. I have recently found and read some interesting data concerning what we learn from the Christmas Bird Counts. If you go to the website listed here ( http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/ )and scroll down to the bottom pull down window entitled "What We're Learning," there are many articles concerning data collected on the CBCs. For instance, the first article is about the Evening Grosbeaks. I have noticed over the past few years the absence of this bird from our area (at least in ETN/WNC). The article listed gives some clues to why this is the case. Also, the Pine Siskin has an article showing see saw patterns in East Vs West comparison. When one is spiking the other is not. You can also access the Audubon Summaries for the past 8 years! That would be in the middle of the above listed web page. Neat Stuff! All due to volunteers getting out there once a year, on a collective basis, to do what we do best. From the novice to the most advance birder, the CBC needs everybody it can get. If everybody reading this email participates in at least one count, think of the data we could collect for Tennesee and SW Virginia (for those border dwellers - Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina). If you can't get into the field, you can still participate by filling your feeders and counting the birds on or around your feeders. Just find out who is the compiler for that particular count and get them the info. Here are the compilers that I know of in Northeast Tennessee / Southwest Virginia: Bristol TN/VA CBC - Richard Lewis Glade Springs VA CBC - Ron Harrington Elizabethton TN CBC - Rick Knight Roan Mountain TN/NC CBC - Rick Knight Shady Valley TN CBD - Rob Biller I have signed up for 4 - How about you? (not a poll to reply to :) ) Rob Biller Elizabethton, 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-****