The Bristol Bird Club – J Wallace Coffey Chapter TOS / VSO

The Bristol Bird Club was founded in Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia (USA) in March 1950 to promote the enjoyment, scientific study and conservation of wild birds.

We generally meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. We have both in-person meetings and a Zoom Video option. Our meeting place is in the Ascent Room of The Summit at 1227 Volunteer Parkway in Bristol, TN. The Zoom invitations are emailed to members or guests who request a link.

Our members are from a large area in Virginia and Tennessee. Everyone is welcome to join.

Regular activities include monthly field trips, an annual picnic, banquet and Christmas Party. Additionally, we sponsor three Christmas Bird Counts annually (Bristol, TN/VA; Glade Spring, VA; and Shady Valley/Mountain City, TN). We also sponsor an email listserv called Bristol-Birds that you may join to receive info on recent sightings. To join free listserv, visit https://www.freelists.org/list/bristol-birds and enter your email address next to “User Options: Your email address:”. To finish the process, make sure the action is set to Subscribe and click Go.

If you have questions or would like to participate in one of the aforementioned Christmas Bird Counts, send us an email at: BristolBirdClub2022@gmail.com

The Bristol Bird Club is part of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and an affiliate member of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. The club is a nonprofit organization under the auspices of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. The purpose of the Bristol Bird Club is to foster and support scientific study, enjoyment, and conservation of wild birds, including educational activities and to promote fellowship among the membership. The chapter name of the Bristol Bird Club is the J Wallace Coffey Chapter.  J Wallace Coffey was a vital member of the club for most of his life.  He dedicated his life to the conservation and record keeping of wild birds in the East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia and was the heartbeat of the club for many decades. What is important to our chapter is building our membership in order to continue a leadership role for all things nature.  We encourage young birders so that our club will continue to be healthy and active for future generations of birders.  We want our club to be active in conservation efforts and a strong membership makes that effort even more reachable. Our club strives to be active and to partner with other local clubs in all types of activities.  We have a special interest for programs in our local parks such as Jacob’s Nature Park in Johnson City, TN, and Steele Creek Park in Bristol, TN.

The next Bristol Bird Club meeting will be on Tuesday, Nov 19 at 7:00 PM. We will meet at The Summit at 1227 Volunteer Pkwy. in Bristol, TN.   The presentation will be by Ryan Rice from Above Ground Media. We will also be discussing the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts for Bristol (TN/VA), Shady Valley/Mountain City(TN), and Glade Spring (VA).

The period for 2025 membership dues for the Bristol Bird Club is from late fall through the end of February. Dues owed to the TOS are sent by March 31 of each year (TOS membership is $18 per year for single memberships and $22 for family memberships).  Ten dollars per year goes to our local (BBC) chapter.  The membership fees are for one year, January 1 through December 31.

BBC membership rates including TOS membership:

• Family $32
• Individual: $28
• Sustaining: $40
• Associate: $10
• Student (K-12): $15
• Individual Life: $450 (TOS only)

Please make checks payable to the Bristol Bird Club and send to the BBC Treasurer. You can pay at meetings January – February, but no later than March 15.

Anne Cowan
108 Stonecroft Circle
Bristol, TN 37620

Please include your name, mailing address, phone, and email and make checks payable to the Bristol Bird Club and send your fees to the BBC Treasurer.  You may pay at meetings or mail them to the address given above.

Bristol Bird Club Waterfowl Field Trip  – Saturday, Nov 23

Debi Campbell, Club President

If you have membership questions, email us at: BristolBirdClub2022@gmail.com 

Richard Phillip Lewis: November 13, 1951 – May 8, 2024

It is with great sadness that the Northeast TN birding community received news from Rack Cross that Master Bird Bander Richard Phillip Lewis of Bristol, TN passed away on May 8, 2024, following a brain cancer diagnosis several months ago. He was 72 years old. He was a long-time member of the Bristol Bird Club and the Tennessee Ornithological Society. He earned his master’s degree and worked as a software engineer before retiring. He also taught biology as an adjunct professor at Virginia Highlands Community College. Richard was a Master Bird Bander for the United States Geological Survey and the State of Tennessee. He was the Eastern Mountain Editor for the TOS Migrant Journal for several decades and compiler for the Bristol, TN Christmas Bird Count since its beginning until last year. He operated a MAPS Banding station on his property collecting data for several national studies and academic programs. He (along with Rack Cross) participated in 27 Bird Banding events at Bristol, TN’s Steele Creek Park’s Annual Wildlife Weekend much to the delight of birding enthusiasts. He was a patient and readily available mentor and friend to Rack Cross and many others. Richard will truly be missed by all who knew and loved him.

The Bristol Bird Club was founded in Bristol,Tennessee, Bristol, Virginia (USA) in March of 1950.  We are the J. Wallace Coffey Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society and an associate member club of the Virginia Society of Ornithology. We are located at Bristol TN-VA, USA.