Brief report from Ron Tozer on birding at the Convention
A record high 260 registrants at the annual Ontario Field Ornithologists Convention at Point Pelee this past weekend (October 3‐4) reported a combined total of 176 species, also a new record. Some of the notable birds included: Cackling Goose, Hudsonian Godwit, Buff‐breasted Sandpiper, Long‐billed Dowitcher, Red‐necked Phalarope, Red Phalarope, Little Gull, Lesser Black‐backed Gull, Chimney Swift, White‐eyed Vireo, Yellow‐throated Vireo, and Brewer’s Backbird.
OFO members are keenly anticipating next year’s Convention which will be held on September 25 and 26 at Long Point. Mark your calendar now.
Thanks again to all participants, and especially to our leaders who did such a great job in locating birds on the field trips.
Good birding, and see you again next year.
Ron Tozer
Field Trip List Compiler
Dwight, ON
Point Pelee, 3‐4 October 2009
The 2009 OFO Annual Convention will be held in Point Pelee on the weekend of 3‐4 October 2009.
The Point Pelee area is a great place to go birding in the fall, with a variety of habitats attracting a truly amazing assortment of bird species. Once again OFO will be holding its Annual Convention here and you should plan to join us because it’s going to be exciting!
The field trips, some lasting a few hours and others the better part of the day, have been chosen to highlight the Point Pelee area’s rich diversity of habitats and to search out any rarities that might be in the area.
Our guest speaker on Saturday evening will be Jim Duncan, Manager of Biodiversity Conservation for the Manitoba Department of Conservation, and a world expert on the Great Gray Owl. Jim and his wife and colleagues have dedicated a large part of their lives to studying the Great Gray Owl. His presentation will lead us on a journey of discovery that spans two continents and over 30 years of research. Join us as we learn about how in some areas this large owl has to migrate thousands of kilometres through boreal forest to survive while in other regions it can spend its entire life within 30 kilometres of its nest tree. This richly illustrated talk will review information on this elusive phantom of the northern hemisphere such as its habitat use, nesting ecology, vocalizations, breeding dispersal, prey use and availability, mortality and population dynamics.
This year’s Distinguished Ornithologist is Ron Tozer who will be honoured at the banquet. Ron served for many years as the Park Naturalist at Algonquin Park. Ron is familiar to regular convention attendees as our witty and charming (and we hope permanent) master of ceremonies.
Tickets are going fast, so don’t delay ‐‐ send in your registration now! Click here to go to the registration page. See you there!
The 2008 Annual Convention will be held in Hamilton on the October 4-5 weekend. The banquet will be at the Grand Olympia Convention Centre (previously Chandelier Place) in Stoney Creek.
The Hamilton area is a great place to go birding in the Fall, with a variety of habitats attracting a truly amazing assortment of bird species. Once again, OFO will be holding its Annual Convention here, and you should plan to join us because it’s going to be exciting!
Saturday evening will begin with displays by various birding organizations, vendors of birding equipment, and OFO committees such as OFO Sales and OFO Memberships. It is also gives our members a chance to have a drink and talk about the day’s events as they renew acquaintanceships with fellow members. A delicious banquet has been planned. After that we’ll do a round‐up of the day’s species count, and a quick bit of OFO business. Harry Lumsden will then be presented with the Distinguished Ornithologist Award in recognition of his lifetime contribution to birding in Ontario and especially for his work in re‐establishing the Trumpeter Swan in Ontario.
Our guest speaker will follow, and this will be a real treat. Donald Kroodsma, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, has studied birdsong for more than thirty years and will be telling us all about his fascination with bird vocalizations. Donald majored in chemistry in college and discovered birds in a local Michigan marsh during his last semester. That summer he went to the University of Michigan field station in Pellston, taking beginning and advanced ornithology courses simultaneously. From there he traveled cross‐country to Oregon State University for graduate school, where a singing wren in his backyard got him started on a lifelong passion for listening to birds.
The field trips, some lasting a few hours and others the better part of the day, have been chosen to highlight the Hamilton area’s rich diversity of habitats, and to search out any rarities that might be in the area.
Tickets are going fast, so don’t delay ‐‐ send in your registration now! Click here to go to the registration page. See you there!
