Hi all, Black Swamp Bird Observatory and the Ohio Ornithological Society are partnering to put on a seminar on raptors, to be held on September 27 & 28. Base camp will be the Maumee Bay Resort and Conference Center, right on the shore of Lake Erie, just east of Toledo. And there couldn't be a better place or time for such an event, as staggering numbers of migrating raptors funnel around the western end of Lake Erie on their way south. Field trips will visit some of the premier hawk-watching sites, such as Lake Erie Metropark, Magee Marsh, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and others. This weekend is generally the peak of overall numbers and diversity of raptors. Stupefying numbers of Broad-winged Hawks can pass through this region; the one-day record was an estimated 20,000 in 2002! With good weather, we should see most of the regularly occurring Ohio species, and most in numbers. We are pleased to have Brian Wheeler as keynote speaker, presenting his program Wings over America. Brian is one of North America's foremost raptor experts, and author of the acclaimed Raptors of Eastern North America guide. Brian's photography is nothing less than dazzling. Other presentations will feature eagles, local raptor migration patterns, and breeding raptors in the nearby Oak Openings, one of Ohio's most interesting ecosystems. There's more, so please visit the Ohio Ornithological Society website at: http://www.ohiobirds.org/ or the BSBO site at: http://www.bsbo.org/default.htm for the entire scoop and registration info. 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 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]