Hey Ohio Birders, Two weeks ago, more than 115 birders from across the state converged on Eastlake, Ohio for the Ohio Ornithological Society’s Sixth Annual Conference the weekend of October 8-10. Excellent weather and fantastic birds combined for a memorable weekend. Many attendees chalked up “life-birds” including coveted Le Conte’s and Nelson’s Sparrows, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Northern Saw-whet Owl. Funds were raised for two causes: one local and one national. Locally, the Smart Light-Safe Light initiative from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History which promotes reduction of dangerous nighttime illumination of tall buildings during peak migratory times: nationally, the American Birding Association’s Gulf Coast Relief Fund to further long-term field studies of the impact of the oil gusher. Nearly 115 species of birds were observed during weekend conference birding excursions. Weekend field trip sites included Conneaut Harbor, Dike 14, Headlands Beach State Park, Wake Robin Trail, and a Lake Erie Pelagic Tour: no rare birds on the open waters of Lake Erie, but we glassed a lot of Bonaparte’s Gulls! Also, a Sunday-only trip to Wildwood/Villa Angela was hosted by the good folks from Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society. On Saturday, long satisfying looks at an openly perched Le Conte’s at Headlands Beach State Park allowed field trip participants to study the birds’ subtle beauty on field trip co-led by Larry Rosche, Jen Brumfield, Drs. Dave and Jill Russell, and Judy Semroc. A Nelson’s Sparrow taunted at Wake Robin but rewarded patient observers. Conneaut Harbor yielded American Golden Plovers, White-rumped Sandpipers, Sanderlings, and more. On Sunday, a Northern Saw-whet Owl was found by a local birder at Headlands SP who shared the find with grateful conference attendees. On land, it seemed like Yellow-rumped Warblers, as well as Golden and Ruby-crowned Kinglets adorned nearly every branch. On the water, abundant gulls of predictable species were found, but no rarities. Overhead in the darkness, the night flight calls of migratory birds were impressive. Even if the birds and weather had not cooperated, the speakers at the conference could have carried the weekend! Friday evening, the “dean” of Cleveland birding, Larry Rosche, entertained and educated with an overview of rare birds that have passed through the Cleveland area: 373 species are on record with an average of 280 species recorded per year. Rosche regaled with tales of what started out as an ordinary day of birding but finished with being at the wrong end of a law enforcement gun. He shared the tale of “Little Orphan Ani” an out-of-range Thanksgiving Smooth-billed Ani in 1993 courtesy of a cat-kill, the Boreal Owl found on a porch in the spring of 1997, and the first documentation of Sabine’s Gull molt courtesy of a much- studied overwintering bird. Also on Friday evening, Bert Szabo, age 89, who still recalls his first bird (a wren) at age four, was honored for his 85 years of birding. Saturday afternoon, three speakers graced the podium. Harvey Webster, the Director of Wildlife Services at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, spoke on the Smart Light-Safe Flight initiative: special thanks to Harvey for delaying his vacation to speak to our group! John Pogacnik, Lake County Metroparks Natural Areas Specialist, presented a talk on sparrow identification. Dr. Andy Jones of CMNH, shared mysteries of migration with an overview of the annual journey some five billion songbirds undertake between North and Central/South America. Additional kudos to John and Andy for doubling as field trip leaders in the mornings! Many thanks to ALL field trip leaders including Tom Bain, Dana Bollin, Jen Brumfield, Craig Caldwell, Craig Holt, Andy Jones, Gabe Leidy, Jim McCormac, John Pogacnik, Mary Anne Romito, Larry Rosche, Jill and Dave Russell, Judy Semroc, Ben Warner as well as ALL field trip participants who enjoyed the bounty of Cleveland-area birds. Saturday evening, ABA Gulf Coast Coordinator Drew Wheelan shared a heavy-hearted presentation of life in the aftermath of the oil spill. He had disturbing images of once-pristine but never-cleaned nor never-barricaded areas drenched in oil. OOS, as well as birders and conservationists across the US, wish Drew success with his ongoing dedication to speaking out on behalf of the impacted areas of the Gulf. Don’t forget that 95% of ABA funds raised through their Gulf Coast Relief Fund go directly to the gulf. Board elections also took place Saturday evening at the annual conference. Jim McCormac stepped down as OOS President a year before the end of his term. The organization thanked Jim for his years of service with the presentation of a hand-carved Black Scoter, created by the talents of Tim and Laura Dornan. The new OOS President is Jen Sauter, who previously served as OOS Executive Secretary. Much of the behind-the-scenes success of OOS can be credited to Jen: she served as past conference/symposium coordinator as well as expedition coordinator for trips to Costa Rica and Guatemala. Editor of The Cerulean Newsletter, Ann Oliver, was elected to the position of Executive Secretary. Dr. Jill Russell, from the College of Mount St. Joseph and the founder of the Queen City Bird Festival, is the new Southwest Regional Director. Former Columbus Audubon President Julie Davis joins the OOS board as Director-at-Large. OOS is looking forward to 2011! We’ll start with our annual trip to the Wilds in January: watch for registration details soon and in the fall OOS newsletter. Also in the fall newsletter, we’ll share photos from the Eastlake Conference: if you have any images to share, please forward for possible use in The Cerulean Newsletter. We’re also gearing up some special atlasing events with OBBA II in 2011: full details TBA. Ann Oliver OOS Executive Secretary Editor of The Cerulean Newsletter (quarterly publication of OOS) Cincinnati, Ohio p.s. Thanks to uber-birder Jay Lehman for the nudge to post this OOS conference summary. Thursday evening at the Cincinnati Bird Club, Jay mentioned that one week ago, when in the Cleveland area, several northern birders wondered what happened to the usual conference wrap-up. Laundry, grocery shopping, yard work, family responsibilities, and a full-time job got in the way a timely posting! ______________________________________________________________________ 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]