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In This Section:
2005 OOS Conference a Success!
Those of us involved with the Ohio Ornithological Society’s inaugural conference considered the event a smashing success, and the evaluations that we received overwhelmingly verified those sentiments. After all, as those who attended saw, there couldn’t be a much finer place to be in late April than Ohio’s Shawnee State Park and Forest.
A big debt of gratitude is owed to all of those who helped with the conference; trip leaders, speakers, planners, and everyone who assisted with a multitude of tasks to make everything run smoothly. A special thanks to the staff of Shawnee State Park, particularly manager Kevin Bradbury, and Shawnee State Forest manager Ben Hamilton, for so graciously working with us to make the 63,000 acres of woodland as accessible as possible. Also, kudos to the Ohio Division of Wildlife for helping to support us via the Wildlife Diversity Fund. Of course—and anyone involved with this event will bear this out—Jen Sauter was the glue that held everything together and deserves special tribute.
The 200 attendees were treated to a stunning array of biodiversity, and were guided by some of the most knowledgeable experts in the region. While birds were obviously the focus – nearly 160 species were found during the weekend – many other elements of flora and fauna were detected. Shawnee is well known for harboring some of the rarest plants and animals in Ohio, and we got to see a great many of these. Stunning and unexpected was the discovery of a Piping Plover and Kirtland’s Warbler! Never know what might turn up when 200 sets of eyes are out scouring 63,000 acres of wilderness area! In addition to the avian finds, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, was found in a remote part of the forest, for the state’s first record of a wild population, and another addition to a long list of Appalachian disjunct plants in the area.
We are already thinking about next year’s conference, and promise to make it even bigger and better, with some special surprises. Mark your calendars for April 28, 29, and 30, 2006, as those will be the dates, and Shawnee State Park & Resort will again be the place. After next year, we will move the conference to a new locale and region of Ohio. We haven’t yet made the decision as to where to hold it yet, but have some very exciting possibilities in the works.
Thank you again to everyone who attended this event, and made it such a great time. I think that I speak for many when I say it was truly a pleasure to see so many birders from all quarters of our state assembled in one area. One of the OOS’s core missions is to help unify Ohio’s birding community, and events like this certainly help to do that. In addition to our conference, you can expect other interesting birding events throughout the year, hosted by the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Yours in Birding,
—Jim McCormac, President
Ohio Ornithological Society
Following are some photo highlights from the first annual OOS conference:
(Bill Thompson, III introduces Jim McCormac on Friday evening.)
(Ethan Kistler receives a scholarship from the OOS to attend the American Birding Association’s Convention in Tucson, Arizona this July. The OOS aims to organize and promote fellowship among enthusiasts in the study and enjoyment of wild birds, recruit new members among young and beginning birders.)
(Jim McCormac speaks after dinner Friday evening on the biodiversity of Shawnee State Forest: Ohio’s Little Smokies.)
(Greg Miller speaks after dinner Saturday evening on his Adventure and Stories of his "Big Year.")
(We would like to extend our gratitude to all of our field trip leaders. They donated their time and shared their extendable knowledge with all of us. They were the cornerstones of our conference, and we are deeply grateful to all of them!
1st Row:
Brad Sparks, Doug Overacker, Rob Harlan, Dave Riepenhoff, Ned Keller, Kevin Bradbury, Greg Miller, Mark Zloba & Bernie Master
2nd Row:
Jim McCormac, Su Snyder, Laura Kammermeier, Tom Hissong, Pete Whan & Bob Scott Placier
3rd Row:
Peter King, Chris Bedel, Jenny Richards, Bill Thompson III, Rich McCarty & Bill Whan
Not shown: Rich Bradley, Micki Dunakin, Ben Hamilton, Tim Hamilton, Paul Knoop, Steve Landes, Jay Lehman, Greg Lipps, Ed Pierce, Randy Rogers, Dan Sanders & Doug Wynn.)
(The discovery of Trumpet Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens.")
(The juvenile stage of the Red-Spotted Newt: Red Eft.)
(Group photo at Copperhead Point.)
(American redstart.)
(Bearded lichen (Usnea strigosa).)
(Bernie Master conducts The Ohio Ornithological Society’s First Election..)
(Our moderator, Bill Thompson, III.)
(Pinxter-flower (Rhododendron nudiflorum)
(Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)
(Group photo: Birding by Ear: Saturday.)
(Group photo: Rattlesnakes, Copperheads & Birds: Saturday.)
(Jim McCormac and Bill Thompson, III.)
(Group photo: Fantastic Flora & Birds: Saturday.)
(Group photo: Fantastic Flora & Birds: Sunday.)
(Group photo: Forest Management & Birds: Saturday.)
(Snake handling—timber rattlesnake.)
Finally, here's a list of the species seen at our inaugural conference:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green Winged Teal
Ruffed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Mississippi Kite
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Sora
American Coot
American Golden Plover
Black-bellied Plover
Piping Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Dunlin
Wilson's Snipe
American Woodcock
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Barred Owl
Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Acadian Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Blue-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Kirtland's Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Cerulean Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
American Redstart
Prothonotary Warbler
Worm-eating Warbler
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
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