Hello, Washington birders --

The full program is now online for the the upcoming WFO (Western
Field Ornithologists) conference in Boulder, Colorado, 21-24
September 2006. Check out the program at:
http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/confer_2006.html. The online registration
form is available at: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/wfo06reg.doc.

Here are just a few of the many exciting offerings at this year's WFO
convention:

* Two afternoons of presentations on a wide variety of topics
pertaining to field ornithology in the West (identification, status
and distribution, conservation and management, population trends,
etc.).

* Lively panels. Interact with the experts in two identification
panels on slides and bird sounds. And a panel on Bird Records
Committees will shed light on the valuable (and sometimes mysterious)
work of state records committees.

* Field trips! Trips will be co-led by both WFO luminaries *and*
local experts. Full-day trips will visit Wyoming hotspots, the
eastern plains of Colorado, and the high mountains; half-day trips
will focus on spots in the Boulder/Denver area. WFO field trips are
an amazing bargain, and feature the sort of quality and leadership
that you might otherwise spend hundreds of dollars per day on!

* Workshops. Oregon's Arch McCallum will be doing TWO exciting
workshops: one on ID'ing birds by sound and interpreting sonagrams
(back by popular demand), and one on identifying Empids (so you think
you know "Western" Flycatchers, huh?...). Arch's workshops are
consistently praised for really lifting the fog of identification.
In addition, legendary digital photographer Bill Schmoker will be
offering a hands-on workshop on digital bird photography.

Finally, for those who have not been to a WFO conference, I want to
pass on some words from this year's organizer, Ted Floyd (editor of
Birding):

"There's a quality about WFO conferences (I've been to many...) that is
gratifyingly grassroots and friendly, yet also intense and serious in a
good way. If the Boulder conference is like previous years' conferences,
you can expect that lots of really top-name figures in western field
ornithology will be at the meeting, along with many beginner and/or
casual birders. And we'll all be in it together, talking about molt and
plumages, digital cameras and shotgun microphones, population monitoring
and species concepts, etc., etc. At my first WFO meeting, many years
ago, I was truly struck by how much I learned (not to mention that I had
a great time), pretty much every minute of the conference. If you attend
this year's conference, you'll be a smarter and happier person."

Ted pretty much hits the nail on the head, in my opinion. We hope to
see you in Boulder in September!

Jay Withgott
WFO Board member
Portland, Oregon
withgott at comcast.net