Hello, ornithologists. I'm writing with a few updates on this year's WFO (Western Field Ornithologists) conference, to be held in Boulder, Colorado, 21-24 September 2006.
* First, the DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT for the scientific paper sessions HAS BEEN EXTENDED. But hurry!--the new deadline of 5 AUGUST isn't much more than a week away. You can download the call for papers, and learn more generally about the scientific paper sessions, at http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/call_for_papers_2006.doc. * Also, I've recently learned that the KEYNOTE SPEAKER for the conference is going to be DR. JESSICA YOUNG, biology professor and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Western State College of Colorado in Gunnison. Dr. Young was one of the central figures in the discovery of the Gunnison Sage-Grouse, the first "nova avis" (new bird species) described in the United States since the 19th century. Her keynote address, "Love at the Lek: Can too much sex cause extinction?", will focus on how behavior may influence speciation, extinction processes, and persistence of this remarkable bird; in addition, she will discuss current controversies about its conservation status. Additional details on Dr. Young's presentation, along with full details on the rest of the conference, are now available at an online conference program: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/confer_2006.html. Please check it out. In addition to Dr. Young's keynote address and the scientific paper sessions, this year's WFO conference will feature such offerings as: * Lively panels. Recordist Nathan Pieplow will be moderating an expert panel on bird sounds. Joe Morlan will moderate the ever-popular expert panel on slides. And a panel on Bird Records Committees (moderator to be determined) 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. Seriously, folks, we're dealing with the sort of quality and leadership that you might otherwise spend hundreds of dollars per day on! * Workshops. Bill Schmoker will be doing a Saturday morning workshop on digital bird photography, Also, Arch McCallum will be doing two important workshops, on ID'ing birds by sound (Friday morning) and on identifying Empids (Sunday); McCallum's workshops are consistently praised for really lifting the fog of identification. If you sign up, you'll be able to take great pictures, ID birds by sound, and even ID Empids. Finally, here's an "intangible" that comes to mind: * 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. Hope to see some of you in Boulder. ------------------------------- Ted Floyd Editor, Birding American Birding Association P. O. Box 7974 Boulder, Colorado 80306-7974 303-444-6363 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please visit the web site of the American Birding Association: http://www.americanbirding.org
