Hi all,



Saturday, May 16 is the date of the Ohio Ornithological Society's annual
conference, and even though the conference is officially only one day,
there'll be plenty of great opportunities on the days that bookend it. Our
pattern has been to hold the annual conference in a location for two years,
then seek new ground. The first two were in Shawnee State Forest, and the
last two were in Mohican State Forest.



This go 'round, we are very excited to be moving to the Oak Openings, which
is inarguably one of Ohio's most ecologically important regions. More rare
plants and animals occur within this 130 square mile area, just west of
Toledo, than any other comparably sized place in the state. This is our only
stronghold for Lark Sparrows, and the Oak Openings harbors breeding Summer
Tanagers, Blue Grosbeaks, Whip-poor-wills, Blue-headed Vireos and much more.
The date of the conference will be good for catching late migrants such as
Connecticut Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher as well. Should be a
fairly gargantuan list compiled over the course of the weekend!



We are pleased to have as speakers Kim Kaufman, Director of the Black Swamp
Bird Observatory, and Jim Berry, President of the Roger Tory Peterson
Institute. Both are outstanding presenters and you won't want to miss them!
After Saturday evening's dinner, I'll give a program titled Oak Openings:
Desert of Diversity, based on twenty years of visits to this fascinating
place documenting its rare flora and fauna.



We've provided a list of outstanding regional sites to visit on Sunday, and
expert birder/naturalists will be at each of them. The conference should
provide an excellent opportunity to become more familiar with the Oak
Openings and its unusual habitats and inhabitants. Our base of operations is
the spectacular Holiday Inn-French Quarter in Perrysburg, which is only a
short drive from the best Oak Openings habitats, and an easy drive from such
iconic western Lake Erie birding locales as Magee Marsh Wildlife Area and
its legendary bird trail. The French Quarter has given us great rates for
the weekend.



For the complete low-down and registration info, visit the OOS website at:
http://www.ohiobirds.org/calendar/annual_meeting/meeting.php



If the Oak Openings is new to you, and you'd like to see a few photos of the
place and read a bit more, visit my blog - address in my signature line
below.



Hope to see you there!



Jim



Jim McCormac

Columbus, Ohio

Like nature? Visit my blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com/

Like birds? Join the Ohio Ornithological Society: http://www.ohiobirds.org






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