Hello Ohio Birders! Let's go birding! Everyone is invited to two, free, informal birding field trips next Sunday, July 22, at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, sponsored by The Ohio Ornithological Society. The first OOS field trip gets an early start, with a meeting time of 7 to 7:15 am, in the parking lot of Ottawa NWR. From the parking lot, we'll head to a closed section of Ottawa NWR, in search of sparrows, including Henslow's, Vesper, and Grasshopper. Then, we'll search for other birds, wrapping up just before 10 am. The second OOS field trip meets Sunday afternoon, at 2:30-2:45 in the Ottawa NWR lobby, outside of the refuge gift shop. From the lobby, we'll head out for a another hour or two of group birding (destination TBA). OOS thanks Ottawa NWR refuge in advance for accommodating these field trips. Additionally, the auto-tour at Ottawa is open both days next weekend, from 9-4. FYI-Conditions are dry but some great shorebirds are being reported from across northern Ohio this weekend, so it's possible the afternoon field trip next Sunday might venture further afield. Our OOS leaders on Sunday morning include Bill Thompson III (OOS Vice-President & Editor of Bird Watcher's Digest), Dan Sanders (OOS Central Ohio Director), Doreene Linzell (uber-birder), Rebecca Hinkle (OOS Northwest Director and Ottawa Visitor Services Manager), Bob Placier (OOS Southeast Regional Director, bird bander, and Hocking College-Natural Resources Department staff), and more. Our leaders for the afternoon session include Craig Caldwell (OOS Northeast Regional Director and seasonal editor of The Ohio Cardinal), Randy Rogers (OOS Recording Secretary), Jen Sauter (OOS President), Julie Davis (OOS Member-at-Large), and more. Some of the OOS board members, who are leading the Sunday AM field trip, are also meeting for dinner, Saturday evening, July 21, at 7 PM, at McCarty's in Port Clinton (101 Madison Street, 419-732-8800). Join us for a bite or a beer (self pay) and tell us about your recent birding experiences... Sunday evening, also at 7 PM, OOS will 7 meet at Mon Ami Winery, near Port Clinton, for another dinner, welcoming any and all birders to join (self-pay). So, if you are in NW Ohio next weekend, please join OOS at one of these gatherings! We'd love to have you along and hear about your birding adventures. Ann Oliver, OOS Executive Secretary Editor, The Cerulean Newsletter (quarterly publication of OOS) ______________________________________________________________________ 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]