Hi all, Many of you may be interested in the upcoming Wildlife Diversity Conference, slated for Wednesday, March 12th at the Aladdin Shrine Temple in Columbus. The event is a big one; last year there were about 900 participants. It's a great way to meet like-minded people from all quarters of the state, tour all manner of interesting exhibits and displays, and hear great talks. This year's theme is "Back in Black", and features keynote speaker David Wagner. Wagner, a lepidopterist, authored the "Caterpillars of Eastern North America", an amazing book that details many of the species found here. Caterpillars are much more than mobile bags of protein. Without them, forests would be much quieter places, as so many songbirds depend on the larvae of moths and butterflies as staple food sources. There is much more of interest in the realm of the caterpillar world, and Wagner is an engaging and dynamic speaker who understands the bigger picture of nature and ecology. Other talk subjects include cormorants, black vultures, Blanding's Turtles, Lake Erie Water Snakes, and dragonflies. For more information and to register, visit: http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resourcessubhomepage/mastercalendar /WildlifeDiversityConference/tabid/19517/Default.aspx Jim McCormac Jim McCormac Ohio Division of Wildlife 2045 Morse Rd., G-3 Columbus, Ohio 43229 614-265-6440 614-262-1143 fax ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]