NYSOA has two types of members: Member Clubs/Organizations and Individual
Members:
Member Clubs/Organizations
include bird clubs, Audubon Societies, and nature organizations
in New York State who have joined forces, pooling their efforts,
skills and influence in order to carry out large statewide projects,
such as a state bird book and a state Atlas project, publishing
a quarterly state bird journal and newsletter, and maintaining
an official state bird list through a state records committee.
The Member Clubs/Organizations send delegates to an annual meeting
to make decisions on NYSOA matters and to reach consensus on statewide
conservation issues.
Individual Members
are those who want to receive their own copies of NYSOA publications
The
Kingbird and New
York Birders, to support the aims and activities
of NYSOA, and to strengthen the voice of NYSOA for bird conservation.
Individual members may also subscribe to Birds
of North America Online at a 20% discounted rate.
NYSOA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Beyond the first $30/year, NYSOA membership dues are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Purchase
Decals & Official Checklists
Window Decal (static cling)
3.5" x 4.5" $2.00
each
Let everyone see that you support our organization by displaying the NYSOA logo on a static cling window decal.
At $2 each, these attractive decals are a great buy.
Our handy, pocket-sized booklet version of the official Checklist of Birds of New York
State costs only $3 per copy or $22 for a pack of ten.
The checklist includes all bird species recorded in New York
State and accepted by the New York State Avian Records Committee
(NYSARC).
Checklist
of the Birds of
New York State (2026 ed.) 1-9
copies $3.00 each
10-packs $22.00 ea.
Order checklists and decals safely online from this website!
Alternatively, you may order them by sending a note with a check (payable to NYSOA Inc.) to:
NYSOA Inc.
P.O. Box 335
Amityville, NY 11701
NYSOA Annual MeetingUPDATED 1/31/26
NYSOA's annual business meeting is held during a weekend conference that is open to the public and hosted by a NYSOA member club. This annual event brings
together birders from across the state and beyond who come to develop new birding friendships, renew old ones, hear excellent speakers, and explore birding opportunities away from their home turf. The weekend offers attendees a variety
of social, educational, and birding activities. The business meeting segment of the weekend is attended by delegates of member
clubs/organizations and includes elections and new club/organization membership approvals, as well as committee reports and
other matters.
Looking ahead
79th
Annual Meeting (2026): NEW 9/21/25
The 2026 NYSOA Annual Meeting will be held via Zoom. Details will be posted as they are finalized.
80th
Annual Meeting (2027): NEW 9/21/25
The 2027 NYSOA Annual Meeting will be hosted by Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. Check back to watch the plan unfold!
Past Annual Meetings
78th
Annual Meeting (2025): The conference was hosted in Ithaca by Cayuga Bird Club September 19-21, 2025. Attendees enjoyed many varied activities, including a banquet featuring keynote speaker Peter Kaestner, the first person to achieve a life list of 10,000 species. Peter regaled and inspired the audience with fascinating tales of his worldwide quest to reach this milestone.
77th
Annual Meeting (2024): The 2024 NYSOA Annual Meeting was held via Zoom on September 15, 2024. In addition to the business agenda, author and photographer Scott Harris, whose recent book RaptorQuest: Chasing America's Raptors, documents his journey to photograph all the raptors in North America, made a presentation.
Among the activities of NYSOA are a number of awards
given in recognition of service, accomplishment and assistance in furthering
the goals of NYSOA and ornithology in NY State.
Gordon M. Meade Distinguished Service Award for service to
NYSOA
Emanuel Levine Memorial Award for the best Kingbird article of the yea
Lillian C. Stoner Award to help selected students attend the NYSOA Annual Meeting/Conference
(in-person conferences only, not online-only meetings) DOWNLOAD LILLIAN C. STONER AWARD NOMINATION FORM
Certificates
of Appreciation
Member
Club/Organization Grants in support of small projects
Read the detailsof the awards available, nomination rules,
contact information, and the latest winners.
Please consider nominating or suggesting suitable
individuals for these awards and help us recognize and show our appreciation
for
those who support NYSOA and NY’s birds. The deadline for
nominations for all awards isJuly 20 of the year when the award is to be given.
People at NYSOA: Our Volunteers
NYSOA is a 100% volunteer organization. The people who work for NYSOA do it because they are passionately committed to protecting birds and their habitats, and because they enjoy working with others who share their passion. We've added a new section to our website to recognize all who have generously given, or who currently give, of their time and talents to help NYSOA carry out its important mission. Learn more about People at NYSOA.
History
Did you know NYSOA is more than 75 years old?
For a summary chronology and interesting excerpts about NYSOA's origins
and evolution from the 1998 Golden Anniversary issue of The Kingbird,
see our History page.
NYSOA Archive
The NYSOA Archive is housed at Cornell University Library in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections under the title Federation of New York State Bird Clubs, which was the original name of NYSOA.
The archive is a collection of materials relating to the organization's history and ongoing business, including minutes of meetings, membership rosters, announcements, and programs of annual meetings, photographs, news clippings, New York Birders from 1971, The Kingbird from 1950, correspondence and special projects such as the New York State Avian Records Committee, and the New York State Bird Book Committee.
The online Finding aid to the collection is available at rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/htmldocs/RMM04860.html. The guide will let you see what documents are in the collection, and give you the box and folder numbers helping to you to access the items you need when visiting the library. It is best to go prepared. Staff will bring the requested folders to you, rather than you being able to browse the collection.
Speaker's
Bureau
As a service to our members, NYSOA publishes a list
of speakers willing to do programs for groups. If you are a NYSOA member and would like to
be included on the Speaker’s Bureau list, please contact our newsletter editor (newsletter1@nybirds.org) by November 1 to provide information about the program(s)
that you would like to present, whether you charge a fee, how far you
are willing to travel, and what arrangements you might need for accommodations.
Please include your contact address, phone number, and e-mail address.
Participants in the Speaker’s Bureau are presented in the Winter
issue of our newsletter, New York Birders.
Officers & Directors Note: Officers' one-year terms begin at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting where they are elected and end at the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting. Two-year terms for Director positions begin at the conclusion of one Annual Meeting and end at the close of the Annual Meeting two years later.
Officers One-yr terms ending Fall 2026
President
Patricia Aitken
Vice President
Alison Kocek
Recording Secretary
Anne Swaim
Treasurer
Anne Swaim
DirectorsTwo-year terms
Term Ends
Fall of
Craig Braack
2027
Russ Comeau
2027
Timothy Healy
2026
John Loz
2026
Carena Pooth
2026
Steve Rappaport
2026
Anne Swaim
2027
Joe Wallace
2027
(open)
2026
Elected Committees (One-year terms ending Fall 2026)
Nominating Committee Anne Swaim, Chair
Patricia Aitken
John Loz
Auditing Committee Stephen Chang, Chair
Tom Burke
Peter Capainolo
Board Meeting Schedule 2026 UPDATED 1/31/26
Board meetings are held via zoom at 5:30pm
on the first Wednesday of each odd-numbered month
January 7
March 4
May 6
July 1
September 2
November
4
Archive
