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 ______________________________________________________________________ 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]