Subject: Western Field Ornithologists 2004 conference in Oregon:
Date: Mar 31 21:59:27 2004
From: Jay Withgott - jwithgott at msn.com



Tweeters --

This September, Western Field Ornithologists (WFO) will be holding its
annual conference in the Pacific Northwest for the first time in a number of
years. Below is WFO?s official announcement for the meeting, which will be
held in Ashland, Oregon, in conjunction with Oregon Field Ornithologists and
the Western Bird Banding Association, and hosted by the Klamath Bird
Obeservatory. We urge and invite all Washington birders to attend this
exciting joint conference, which will combine field trips, scientific paper
sessions, hands-on workshops, expert panels, and opportunities to meet and
mingle with some of the West?s top birders and ornithologists.

For those not familiar with Western Field Ornithologists, WFO is an
organization committed to field-oriented descriptive ornithology throughout
western North America, with appeal for both the amateur and the
professional. Membership activities include the annual conference,
additional field excursions, and the refereed quarterly journal Western
Birds. For more information, please see the website:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org.

The meeting announcement below will be followed by a call for scientific
papers in a subsequent message. Please feel free to post or distribute these
announcements anywhere. We hope to see you all in Ashland this fall!

Jay Withgott
WFO board member, Portland, Oregon
mail to: withgott at nasw.org

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Western Field Ornithologists
announces its 29th Annual Meeting,
in conjunction with the annual meetings of the Western Bird Banding
Association (WBBA) and Oregon Field Ornithologists (OFO),
Hosted by the Klamath Bird Observatory

September 9 - 12, 2004
The Windmill Inn & Windsor Inn,
Ashland, Oregon

The Setting

Jackson County, Oregon, offers wonderful opportunities for birders to
discover mountain and Great Basin bird species as well as migrant species in
rural, urban, mountain, and wetland settings. This region is rich in a
variety of wildlife, and September will find WFO visiting during the height
of shorebird and passerine southward migration. The Cascade Range, the Great
Basin desert, and the creeks, marshes, meadows, and agricultural fields of
the Klamath Basin are some of the destinations of field trips planned for
this meeting, to highlight the rich diversity of landscapes, habitats, and
avifauna that southern Oregon has to offer. With sufficient interest,
extended post-meeting trips are being planned for the Klamath Basin Refuges,
Great Basin Desert, and the Oregon Coast (Pelagic).

Conference Activities

The joint annual meeting will offer full-day field trips to the Klamath
Refuges on September 9 and September 12, and local half-day field trips on
September 9,10, and 11. Other planned activities include banding workshops,
photography and sketching workshops, evening field trips, banding trips,
afternoon science sessions on September 10 and 11, and a poster session
(date TBA), plus our ever-popular expert slide identification and sound
identification panels. WBBA will be offering its annual feather workshop
during this meeting, as well. Social activities will include a welcoming
reception, evening programs with noted speakers, and a combined annual
dinner. As always, WFO welcomes all levels of birder, from beginner to
seasoned veteran. A number of noted western birders, ornithologists, and
professional field trip leaders are contributing their time and talents to
ensure that meeting participants enjoy good science and good birding.


Hotel/Meeting Registration and General Information

Headquarters for all conference activities will be The Best Western Windsor
Inn and Ashland Hills Windmill Inn, both of Ashland, Oregon. These hotels
are well located with easy freeway access. Consider bringing the entire
family to Ashland for this meeting. For the enjoyment of all, the famous
Ashland Shakespeare Festival is a major event that continues into late
autumn. There are galleries, museums, and excellent restaurants throughout
the town. Both hotels have shuttle service to downtown. Conference
information, conference schedule, complete hotel reservation information,
meeting registration forms, and WFO membership information will soon be
posted at http://www.wfo-cbrc.org. For questions about volunteering to help
at the meeting, scholarship sponsorship, or any additional information,
contact WFO?s representative for the 29th annual meeting, Rob Hewitt of LBJ
Enterprises, at www.humboldt1.com/~lbjent, 707-442-0339, or Catherine Waters
at cpannellwaters at yahoo.com, 562-869-6718, or Robbie Fischer at
robbie22 at pacbell.net.

We look forward to seeing you in Ashland!