Annual Meeting

Notice of Meeting and Symposia for Waterbird Society

The 33rd ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WATERBIRD SOCIETY will be held 4-7 November 2009 at Cape May, New Jersey, and will be hosted by the New Jersey Audubon Society. This is the first time the meeting has been held on the northeast coast since 2000 and we are expecting a large turnout of long-time members and students. The Local Organizing Committee is co-chaired by David Mizrahi (david.mizrahi@njaudubon.org) and Nellie Tsipoura (nellie.tsipoura@njaudubon.org).

We are planning on having the following symposium sessions:

1. Citizen Science Projects led by Nellie Tsipoura,

2. Status and Ecology of Snowy Egrets and Great Egrets, co-led by John Brzorad (brzoradj@lrc.edu) and Alan Maccarone (AlanM@friends.edu),

3. Waterbirds as Indicators of Environmental Health led by David Evers (david.evers@briloon.org),

4. Waterbirds and Coastal Wind Turbines co-led by Christina Kisiel (ckisiel@hughes.net),

5. At Sea Research and Conservation of NW Atlantic Marine Birds led by Melanie  Steinkamp (Melanie_Steinkamp@fws.gov),

6. The Endangered Semipalmated Sandpiper? Assessing Dramatic Declines in a Once Common Migrant Shorebird co-led by Cheri Trevor-Gratto (Cheri.Trevor-Gratto@ec.gc.ca) and David Mizrahi (david.mizrahi@njaudubon.org),

7. Status and Recent Research on Wood Storks in the Americas co-led by Billy Brooks (Billy_Brooks@fws.gov) and Peter Frederick (pfred@ufl.edu),

8. Cormorants: Biology, Ecology, and Conflicts of Cormorants with Humans co-led by Chris Somers (Chris.Somers@uregina.ca) and Tommy King  (Tommy.King@aphis.usda.gov)

9. The Winter Ecology of Waterbirds co-led by Susan Elbin (selbin@nycaudubon.org)  and Tommy King.

Please send any questions about the meeting program to the Chair of the Scientific Program (chip.weseloh@ec.gc.ca).

As is being done at this year’s AOU meeting, our poster session will be comprised of two types of posters: those reporting completed works/studies and those reporting on proposed or in progress studies. We, too, are taking this approach to give students an opportunity to receive input on their work before going into the field or before the work is completed. All posters will be on display for at least two days.

The Call for Abstracts and Early Registration should be ready by 1 July. Please check the Society and NJ Audubon web pages (see below) for imminent updates on this.

The Society would like to make a sincere invitation to European ornithologists to consider attending this meeting. The major New York area airports (JFK and LaGuardia airports in New York City; and airports at Newark, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) are conveniently accessed from Europe and the Cape May venue is within easy driving distance from those airports or from the regional airport at Atlantic City, New Jersey. A symposium on waterbird species common to North America and Europe might be an interesting one to pursue.

Field Trips

An array of exciting field trips is planned for the Cape May area. There will be both pre- and post- meeting field trip opportunities, so plan on spending a couple extra days in the area. For more information, please see our Society web page: http://www.waterbirds.org/. Also, please visit the New Jersey Audubon Society web page at: http://njaudubon.org. Details on accommodation and registration are not yet available but check the above web pages periodically.