MBS Latest News
This page reflects up-to-date news about the Midwest Birding Symposium. If you have an XML/RSS aggregator, subscribe to the following URL:
Don't Forget!
If you have registered for the symposium, make sure to check the daily schedule page on our website. Please note that scheduled events and speaker time slots are subject to change. We will communicate schedule changes through our RSS feed. Updates will also be reflected on this page.
We would like to let you know of a few changes to our MBS schedule. First of all, registration will open at noon on Thursday, 9/17. It will be open until 7PM Thursday, and then all day (7AM - 7PM) on Friday and Saturday. The MBS registration center will be at Hoover Auditorium, inside Lakeside. Because Lakeside cannot accommodate large numbers of automobiles, MBS attendees will be allowed to drive to Hoover Auditorium to register. Please park in the temporary parking spots provided. We hope to complete your registration in about 10 minutes.
Morning birding time will be from 6:30 AM - 9:30 AM on Friday and Saturday and 6:30 AM - 9:00 AM on Sunday. While it might be a little early, we wanted to make sure to allow for travel time from Lakeside to the MBS birding sites. The birding time is self-guided, but we will have volunteer guides at 8 out of the 15 MBS birding sites listed on our website (details along with a map will be provided in your registration packet when you arrive at Lakeside).
The Thursday evening MBS sunset boat cruise still has a small number of tickets available. So if you would still like to go, please call Ann at the above phone number. And, for those that have already signed up for the boat ride, we will have boat tickets in your registration packet, but note you DO NOT need the ticket to board, as we will have a list of names at the point of embarkation. Details on shuttles to the dock and times are now listed on our website.
Some other last-minute details, reminders, and advice:
Directions to Lakeside (236 Walnut Ave, Lakeside, OH 43440)
If you are using a GPS or an online map-search program to find Lakeside, please make sure you've got the correct Lakeside, Ohio (there are two!). Here are directions to the Lakeside where the MBS is being held, along the south shore of Lake Erie.
The OTHER (wrong) Lakeside is on Buckeye Lake in central Ohio. Please don't go there by mistake.
Clothing
September days along Lake Erie can be cool in morning and evening and hot in between. Please plan to dress in layers, including an outer shell for wind and (gasp) rain.
Money
Bring lots of money to spend with our fabulous vendors in the Birder's Marketplace.
Old Optics
The MBS is collecting your old but still useable optics for donation to The Birder's Exchange. Your old optics will be cleaned up and donated to needy bird guides, researchers, communities and schools in the American tropics. Everyone donating a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope will receive a new bino-harness from Eagle Optics as well as a discount coupon for purchasing new optics:
Last-minute Registrations
If you have friends or loved ones who would like to attend the MBS, we can take registrations on site for both full-symposium packages (excluding meal plans) and single-day passes. Stop by the MBS registration desk at Hoover Auditorium for details.
Last-minute Speaker Added
David Allen Sibley, author of the wildly popular Sibley Guide to Birds will be speaking on Friday evening, September 18 in Hoover Auditorium about his latest book The Sibley Guide to Trees. You do not need to register for this additional program. Sibley will be signing his new book on Friday afternoon from 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM in South Auditorium, site of the Birder's Marketplace.
Young Birder's Day!
Saturday, September 19 will be Young Birder's Day at the MBS. Our friends from Black Swamp Bird Observatory and The Ohio Young Birders Club will be conducting activities for kids from pre-school to high-school age between the hours of 8 AM and 4 PM. Admission is free. Activities will be held at Wo-Ho-Mis, opposite Wesley Lodge.
Bloggers, Segways, Big Sit! and more!
We've added a dozen special activities to the Midwest Birding Symposium, beyond the regular programs. You can learn about blogging, digiscoping, digital photography, birding in Africa and Central America, you can watch songbird banding, learn about bird rehabilitation, participate in the Big Sit, and more! For additional details, go to:
Finally, we're looking forward to a great symposium, and hope you are too! We'll see you soon at Lakeside (the one on Lake Erie!)
A lot of Special Activities have recently been added to the Midwest Birding Symposium agenda. Check out Digital Photography with Arthur Morris, The Digiscoping All-Stars, Guatemala Adventure, & Birding Uganda, as well as a myriad of other exciting activities. In addition, final details on the Thursday night boat cruise are now available on our website for those who signed up. It's not too late to sign up, but things are filling up fast. Register Now for MBS 2009...
David Allen Sibley will be giving a presentation on his newest book The Sibley Guide to Trees on Friday night, September 18. Don't miss this opportunity to hear and meet one of today's leading experts on birds and nature.
The Goodtime I, a sleek, all-steel vessel built for ocean-going cruises, will be loading passengers at the Lakeside dock for a specially chartered sunset cruise. It will depart from the Lakeside dock at 6:00 pm on September 17th and will return shortly after dark.
We anticipate seats filling fast around the July 15th deadline for our Early Bird Special.
Cost is only $24 per person. Space is limited, so sign up now by clicking here!
Spaces in the Bird Watcher's Market filled so quickly that we've added a second venue. Dozens of vendors with a full array of gear, apparel, art, jewelry, and nature-inspired gifts will be present in the marketplace. Book signing and binocular cleaning will also take place in the vendor area. Don't miss this shopping opportunity—Register Now for MBS!
Plus, if you register for the symposium before July 15, 2009, you'll be taking advantage of our Early Bird Special—FINAL CHANCE TO SAVE $20!
You've seen people riding Segways, the two-wheeled vehicles that roll quietly down city streets, mall walkways, and woodland paths. Now's your chance to experience birding on a Segway at the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium!
Our friends at Firefly Hollow will be offering Segway tours around the Lakeside grounds during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the MBS. Two tours will be offered on each day, and three Segways will be available for each of the tours. The tour will consist of 1-2 hour orientation/training and 1 hour for the actual tour. Helmets will be provided and required for all riders, and each Segway is equipped with a bag to hold your birding gear.
Cost is just $45 per person. Riders must be at least 18 years old and weigh between 100-250 lbs.
Don't miss out on this great birding opportunity! To reserve your spot on an MBS Segway birding tour, call 740-989-2405.
The Midwest Birding Symposium (MBS) is partnering with Birders' Exchange and Eagle Optics to collect old-but-still-useable binoculars and spotting scopes during the MBS, September 17 to 20, 2009. We are encouraging all symposium attendees to bring their old optics with them to donate to Birders' Exchange.
Birders' Exchange (which is operated under the auspices of the American Birding Association) takes used birding equipment and matches it with local scientists, conservationists, and educators in Latin America and the Caribbean. In these areas, many researchers, educators, and conservationists work without the most basic equipment.
Birders' Exchange will collect the optics, clean them, and will see that they are delivered to needy guides, researchers, and programs in the American tropics. Please note that any optics being donated need to be in good working order.
You'll feel good about donating your old optics, but here's a reason to feel even better:
Eagle Optics, a Midwest Birding Symposium sponsor, is sweetening the deal for any symposium attendee making an optics donation to the MBS/Birders' Exchange program. Each donor will receive a coupon for a discount on the purchase of new optics as well as a free Eagle Optics harness strap. Now that's doing well by doing good!
Registration has begun for the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium (MBS) in Lakeside, Ohio! Hosted by Bird Watcher's Digest, The Ohio Ornithological Society, and the Lakeside Association, the 2009 MBS will surely be the highlight of the birding year!
Don't miss the chance to learn from experts during informative and entertaining programs and guest speakers! View the current list of scheduled programs >>
At this year's MBS, you can attend workshops for digiscoping, digital bird photography, bird identification, and more, plus we're planning activities especially for young birders.
The Birders' Marketplace at the MBS will be filled to the walls with companies offering you the very best in bird-related products, services, and merchandise.
You can also...
- Catch fall migration at one of our hand-picked birding hotspots
- Take a sunset boat cruise around Lake Erie's beautiful islands
- Enjoy a screening of a new birding movie, Opposable Chums, in Lakeside's movie theater
- Get your optics cleaned for free!
- Join us for the MBS Big Sit.
The 2009 MBS: It's like going to bird watching camp!
Speakers for the Midwest Birding Symposium have been confirmed. The speaker list includes Al Batt, Julie Zickefoose, Alvaro Jaramillo, Lang Elliott, Jim McCormac, and Bill Thompson, III.
The Midwest Birding Symposium is coming BACK TO OHIO!
Bird Watcher's Digest, The Ohio Ornithological Society, and The Lakeside Association will host this premier birding event in September 2009 along the shores of Lake Erie. The 2009 MWBS will feature field trips to the area's best birding spots, programs and performances by some of North America's leading bird watchers, a huge vendor area with nature products and services, and, of course, the opportunity to enjoy the company of hundreds of your fellow birders.
Space is limited, so we are offering this pre-registration form for your convenience. Join the contact list today!