There's a certain idea most people have in their heads about bird-watchers.  
  Typically, that idea involves an oddly dressed man or woman crouched in a tree, watching birds through a pair of binoculars.
  But, Roger Mayhorn is anything but the stereotypical fan of fowls.
  "People always had the stereotype of the extrinsic person with binoculars," he says. "But, it's actually become quite popular. It's become the No. 1 hobby in the U.S., overtaking gardening."
  As a kid growing up in Freeburn, Ky., Mayhorn was always curious about birds. From their various colors and shapes, he says he loved watching them.
  He went on to teach French at Grundy Senior High School for 32 years.
  Throughout those years, however, he has fed and cared for the birds visiting his Compton Mountain home. But, it wasn't until his retirement in 2000, that he began dedicating more time to the hobby he loves.
  "Since retiring, I've been making my property a lot more bird friendly," he says.
  He and his wife Lynda created a stream for the birds to drink from and last year, he joined Project Wildbird as an experimental citizen scientist.
  He soon discovered he was the project's first participant.
  Project Wildbird is a study of the seed and feeder preferences of wild birds in the United States and Canada. From September 2005 to August 2008, Project Wildbird is in the midst of a scientific study of the feeds and feeders preferred by birds in different eco-regions and seasons.
  Upon completion, Project Wildbird says it will be the most comprehensive study on bird feeding ever performed.
  What this means for anyone who enjoys feeding the birds is that they will then have scientifically substantiated recommendations on the best feeds and feeders to attract various birds.
  Project Wildbird is an inaugural study of the Wild Bird Feeding Industry Research Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable foundation.
  In exchange for free feeders and feed, Mayhorn and other experimental citizen scientists must follow a well-defined monitoring system. The time commitment is larger than that of observational citizen scientists, who are asked to monitor bird activity only twice a day.

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by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor 
  Road improvement plans on Rt. 645 may have to be revised, Virginia Department of Transportation Resident Engineer Conrad Hill told members of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors last week.
  When estimates were completed on the project, Hill said, the prices were higher than originally anticipated. The new estimate anticipates the project will run up to $4.8 million, but to date, Hill said, only $3.8 million has been earmarked for the project.
  “It is a revenue sharing project and at this point, we don’t know if the Buchanan County application will be successful . . . it’s been iffy and I really doubt it,” Hill said.
  Buchanan County had to compete with counties statewide for a share of the funding.
  Hill said before the project can proceed, it has to be fully funded and he suggested that one avenue would be to talk to the coal road committee to see if it was possible to get funding there to get the project back on track.
  He also noted the department had recently received word from the state on funding issues related to the secondary road six-year plan.
  “It’s sparse,” Hill said. “There are no new projects.”
  He said he would have the plan ready for public hearing in March and board members agreed to hold a public hearing on March 5 at 10:15 a.m.
  In other road-related discussion, Hill asked the supervisors to develop a list of guardrail concerns in the county.
  He said as a result of the county’s meetings with VDOT personnel in Richmond, the list had been requested by the commissioner.
  “We need to create a list of locations and then evaluate them and determine cost to see if we can identify funds,” Hill said.
  In other business, Hill noted that the dedication of Rt. 643 as the Julius Hall Memorial Highway has been delayed until this spring when the weather clears and to accommodate members of the Hall family who live out of town and who hope to be present for the dedication ceremony. Hill said he would let board members know when the date is set for the dedication.