The Russell County Bird Club, a local chapter of the Virginia Society of Ornithology (VSO), was founded in 1997 in Lebanon, VA.  We meet on the 4^th Tuesday of the month from January to May as well as October and November in the Lebanon Community Center.  In August, we have a picnic at Laurel Bed Lake on the 4^th Saturday.  The September meeting is a banquet meeting at a local restaurant celebrating the founding of the club.  In December, we participate in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count on the first Saturday after Christmas.  The Club supports the VSO Principles of Birding Ethics.

Club officers are:  President Jerry Thornhill;  Vice-President Janice Martin;  Secretary/Treasurer Peggy Herbert.

In addition to the annual picnic, banquet, and Christmas Bird Count, the club conducts several field trips through the year and leads a Bird Walk as part of the annual Redbud Festival.  You do not have to be a member to come to a meeting or participate in an outing.  Everyone is welcome.  A schedule of events is available here.

RCBC member, Tom Hunter, was again the coordinator for the Mendota Fire Tower Hawk Watch in 2010.  The results were impressive.  The number for Broad-wings was down slightly from last year, but many species were ten year highs.  This year a total of 217.75 observer hours were logged.  The final report for 2010 is here while a summary of the past ten years is here.  Congratulations on a great year, Tom!  For additional information about the history of the Mendota Fire Tower as a hawk watch site, see this web page.

The 15^th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held February 17 - 20, 2012.  You can check out details by clicking on the image below.

To print a checklist for your location, go here and enter the information for your location.

Last year's final results are available by clicking on the picture below.  Virginia was 9^th among states & provinces in number of checklists submitted, Virginia Beach was 7^th among cities in submissions, the Northern Cardinal is the most frequently reported bird having appeared on more checklists (45,538) than any other bird, and the European Starling had the most individuals (1,377,271) of any species.  A total of 596 species and 11,340,127 individuals reported.

Check out these amazing Ivory-billed Woodpecker pictures from the September, 2010, Smithsonian, the magazine of the Smithsonian Institute.

VSO 2011 annual meeting info is here.

Send suggestions for additions, corrections, or comments to webmaster.  Members and friends of the Russell County Bird Club can have an e-mail address @rcbirds.org for free!  Click here for details.

Russell County Bird Club Annual Picnic 2010 (Photo by Richard Kretz)
Members & Guests
Front Row (Kneeling):  Janice Martin, Kelley Spicer, Peggy Herbert, Ashley Hayes, Danielle Henry
Back Row: Fred Martin, Mary Erwin, Jennifer Kennedy, Parker Kennedy, Marcia Prunner, Pam Kretz, Laverne Hunter, Tom Hunter, Jane Thornhill, Jerry Thornhill, Judy Roach, Dave Worley, Diana Worley, Christian Martin, Jeanne Montgomery, Bob Montgomery, Richard Kretz, Mary Anne Spicer, Bob Riggs