Note: This is being posted on behalf of Alice Hanley, Refuge Manager of = Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge. All response or queries should be = directed to BSNWR--Lisa Gelvin-Innvaer
___________________________________________________________________________= _____________________________ BIG STONE SHOREBIRD = WORKSHOP = Ortonville, MN = August 4 and 5, 2006 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Friends of the Morris Wetland = Management District will be hosting a Shorebird Workshop, Friday, August 4 = and Saturday, August 5, 2006 in Ortonville, MN. Activities include = classroom instruction in shorebird identification techniques, shorebird = ecology and migration strategies, and the shorebird research program being = conducted in the area. The workshop will focus on classroom instruction = as well as field trips to the best shorebird locations on the Refuge and = surrounding area. =20 Registration fee is $30.00 which will include all presentations, materials,= a Friday evening social hour, and a one-year membership to the "Friends = of the Morris Wetland Management District" organization. Field trip costs = have been offset by a grant from the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. To = register, please out the form on the last page and return it and your $30 = payment to Big Stone NWR All activities will begin and end at the Matador Restaurant, Ortonville, = MN. The workshop is limited to 40 participants so please register early. = For more information, please contact Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge at = 320-273-2191. INSTRUCTORS =B7Jerry Bonkoski * Past President of MOU and expert birder. Jerry has = served as a guide and instructor at previous Shorebird Workshops. =B7Doug Buri * Doug has studied birds and shorebirds in particular for = over 40 years on five continents. Doug is an expert birder and has = organized and presented at previous Shorebird Workshops. =B7Diane Granfors * Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, = Habitat and Population Evaluation Team, Fergus Falls, MN * Diane specialize= s in landscape models and strategic planning for shorebirds, marshbirds = and other grassland birds. =B7Bob Janssen * Bob was the editor of The Loon, the MOU journal for over = 35 years. He has authored three books and is a past president of the MOU, = past member of the records committee and coordinator of the Minnesota = Breeding Bird Survey. Bob has also been an instructor and guide at = previous Shorebird Workshops. =B7Bob Russell * Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife = Service's Migratory Birds Office, Fort Snelling, MN * Bob specializes in = shorebirds and marshbirds and is an active birdwatcher. =B7Curt Vacek * Assistant Area Wildlife Manager, Minnesota Department of = Natural Resources, Appleton, MN. Curt has studied shorebirds on their = arctic nesting grounds and is an active birdwatcher. ___________________________________________________________________________= _________________________ =20 SHOREBIRD WEEKEND DRAFT AGENDA Matador Restaurant, Ortonville, MN. Friday August 4 1:00 pm * 2:00 pm Registration=20 2:00 pm * 2:30 pm Welcome and orientation=20 2:30 pm - 3:15pm Beginning shorebird identification, distribution = and occurrence in Minnesota, Bob Janssen. 3:15 pm - 3:45 pm "Separating Out the Tough Ones", Doug Buri 4:00 pm * 6:00 pm Field trip to Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge and = surrounding area. =20 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Social hour at Matador Restaurant =20 Marbled godwit update, Bob Russell = =20 Saturday August 5rd 7:00am * 11:30 am Field trip to reinforce identification tips learned in = the classroom, led by the instructors. (Some refreshments will be = provided) 11:30am - 1:00pm Lunch on your own 1:00 pm * 1:45pm National Wildlife Refuge Updates 1:45pm * 2:30 pm "Shorebird Research Activities in the Prairie = Pothole Region", Diane Granfors =09 2:30 pm * 3:15 pm "A Day in the Life of snow geese, shorebirds and = Researchers at La Perouse Bay", Curt Vacek=20 3:15 pm * 4:00 pm Wrap Up and Questions =09 The registration fee for the Shorebird Weekend is $30.00 and reservations = will be limited to 40 participants, so please register early. To register, = please out the form on the next page and return it and your $30 payment to = Big Stone NWR Information packets for the Ortonville Area will be mailed = out to all registered participants. Registration begins at 1:00 pm on = Friday at the Matador Restaurant, located on U.S. Hwy 75 just north of the = Hwy 12 intersection in Ortonville, MN. Beginners to professional birders = and biologists will gain from this workshop. Join us! August 4 and 5, = 2006. Some snacks and refreshments will be provided for the field trips. = There will be space on the buses for scopes, etc. and we encourage you to = bring them. =20 ___________________________________________________________________________= ____________________ Big Stone Shorebird Workshop Registration Form Name: _____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________________________________= _________ ____________________________________________________________= _________ Phone: _____________________________ Email address: _________________________ Please send completed registration forms and checks, made payable to the = "Friends of the Morris Wetland Management District" to: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge 44843 County Road 19 Odessa, MN 56276 320-273-2191