Anyone who will be birding in northwest Ohio this weekend, especially those coming from out of the area to attend the Midwest Birding Symposium, should be aware of the resources for local birding available through the website of Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO). The BSBO main "birding page" includes a link to the latest information. Featured right now is an update on current birding conditions at many of the sites slated for field trips at the symposium, such as Ottawa NWR, Magee Marsh, Toussaint Wildlife Area, East Harbor State Park, and Sheldon Marsh, plus several other nearby sites. This writeup probably will be further updated and expanded during the next couple of days as more info becomes available. The main birding page also has a link to "birding hotspots: directions and maps" to help visitors find and enjoy these sites. For Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve, a fine spot for seeing migrant songbirds (I had 15 species of warblers there last Saturday), we have a brand new "BSBO birding map" -- this is by far the most detailed map of this site available online, and the only one produced with birders in mind. Also check out BSBO's detailed birding maps for Magee Marsh (both an overview of the area and a detail map of the famous boardwalk), Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge (three maps, for overview, hiking trails, and auto tour), and Metzger Marsh Wildlife Area. All of these are in pdf format so you can download and print your own copies for free. (Or if you're at the symposium, stop by the BSBO booth in the vendors' area, where copies of the maps might be available.) For all of this information and more, go to http://www.bsbo.org/birding/ and follow the links for "latest birding information" (at the top of the page) and "birding hotspots: directions and maps." It should be a great weekend of birding, catching up with other birders, and shining a positive light on Ohio. Kudos to Bird Watcher's Digest and Ohio Ornithological Society for undertaking the massive job of organizing the Midwest Birding Symposium. We'll hope to see many of you there! Kenn Kaufman Oak Harbor, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ 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]