Just a reminder...... Tyler Audubon and TOS are sponsoring an East Texas Adventure on February 27 and 28, 2015. There will be no classes or meetings, just daily field trips. A block of rooms has been held at Comfort Inn & Suites located at 6702 Broadway Ave, Tyler, TX 75073 Phone: 903-561-0863 <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/html/compose/static_files/blank_quirks.html#> at a rate of $80 King or $90 2Queen/night. Check in will be conducted from 4-6 pm at the event hotel on Feb 26 and 27. The cost for the East Texas Adventure is $75/person. There may be additional state park and Corps of Engineer park entry fees for some of the field trips that are not included in the event cost. Trips are limited 15 participants. Participants can pick from four field trips each day as follows: 1) Richland Creek WMA, Freestone and Navarro counties, led by D.D. Currie and Dell Little, going from 7:30 am to approximately 3 pm. The trip will focus primarily on ducks and shorebirds, but wintering sparrows and other landbirds will also be seen. Participants need a limited public use permit to enter the WMA. Permits cost $12 and can be purchased from any location where hunting and fishing licenses are sold. Food and restrooms are not available in the WMA, so participants should be prepared. 2) Lake O' the Pines, Marion and Upshur counties, led by David Brotherton, going from 7:30 am to approximately 3 pm. The trip will focus primarily on ducks, loons and other waterbirds, with some piney woods birds in the parks around the lake. 3) Lake Tawakoni, Van Zandt, Hunt and Rains counties, led by Richard Kinney and/or Ross Rasmussen, going from 8 am to 2-3 pm. The trip will focus on ducks, loons and waterbirds, as well as a variety of wintering landbirds at Lake Tawakoni State Park. Participants will visit the Van Zandt county boat ramp, several marinas and Lake Tawakoni State Park. 4) Smith county hotspots, led by Mike Bloodsworth on Feb 27 and Peter Barnes on Feb 28. We will leave the conference hotel at 6:30 am and visit a variety of locations in Smith county, including Camp Tyler, the Lake Tyler dam, Pleasure Acres, fields and ponds south of Tyler, and Bellwood Lake. The trip will go as long as any participants are interested and can end in the late afternoon, looking for Sora and Virginia Rail at Bellwood Lake. Expect to see 60-80 species if we are not hampered by rain or high winds. To secure you spot for this event contact Jim Hailey at irasciblej@xxxxxxxxx. Once you have made this contact and your spot confirmed please send a check made out to Jim Hailey at 110 Lavaca Lane, Georgetown, Texas 78628. Include your preference of which trip listing them in order of preference. They will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Contact D. D. Currie at ddbirder@xxxxxxxxx or 817-919-8587 <https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/html/compose/static_files/blank_quirks.html#> if you have questions. Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner