New York State Ornithological Association
59th Annual Meeting

The 59th Annual Meeting of the NY State Ornithological Association is scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30 and Oct. 1 at the Morris Conference Center at the State University of NY at Oneonta, NY. Hosted by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Soc., the weekend will feature workshops, field trips, papers session, a picnic lunch at the Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch, and a Saturday evening banquet with speaker Donald E. Kroodsma, Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Located in the northern Catskill Mountains, along the Susquehanna River, the setting provides a great location for early fall scenery, birding and other outdoor activities. Field trips will include visits to Otsego Lake, the “Glimmerglass” of James Fenimore Cooper; canoeing/kayaking in a freshwater marsh; eagle and waterfowl spotting on Delaware County’s reservoirs; and the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Soc. Sanctuary, home of the Franklin Mt. Hawkwatch.

Non-birding opportunities include historic Cooperstown, known for its Farmers Museum, the Baseball Hall of Fame, historic Fenimore House and other attractions. The city of Oneonta has a revitalized downtown with cultural and entertainment venues.

Saturday night’s speaker, Donald Kroodsma, has studied birdsong for more than thirty years and was recognized as the “reigning authority on the biology of avian vocal behavior” in the citation for his 2003 Elliott Coues Award from the American Ornithologists’ Union. He is author of the critically acclaimed The Singing Life of Birds. The Art and Science of Listening to Birdsong, published last year by Houghton-Mifflin, accompanied by a CD with 98 selections of birdsong. Professor Kroodsma has been featured on radio shows and in articles in such publications as Audubon, Scientific American, and Outside. Dedicated to tropical birds, Professor Kroodsma donates proceeds from his appearances to conservation of these species.

The usual camaraderie and good spirit of the NYSOA meetings will also be in place--please join us for this special weekend! A registration form can be found here or in the April 2006 issue of NY Birders.