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Program:
National Wildlife Refuges: Great Birding made
Even Better
Presented by
Paul Baicich
Friday, May 6
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 For
birders, National Wildlife Refuges can offer
spectacular destinations where birds can often
be found in lavish abundance or in spectacular
diversity. In this talk, Paul Baicich will
describe three things. First, a brief summary of
the role of refuges in our bird conservation
history, second, a lengthier journey across the
country, stressing some of the most-wanted birds
to be found on refuges and finally, the ways
that refuges are striving to become better
birding destinations. Its great birding made
even better!
Program:
Black-capped Vireos: Saving An Endangered
Species
Presented by
Ryan Steiner
Saturday, May 7
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 Okay,
so you probably won't find any Black-capped
Vireos in northwest Ohio, but if you're
interested in birds--and we think you probably
are--you'll find this presentation fascinating.
Ryan Steiner, a talented young birder from right
here in Ohio, spent the summer doing intensive
studies of the endangered Black-capped Vireo on
their breeding grounds. As if the species itself
wasn't interesting enough, the location for
their breeding habitat is on the U.S. Army Base
in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Since military bases
have some very well managed habitats, most of
them have their share of endangered species.
Fort Sill is no different. The 93,000 acres of
Fort Sill and the 55,000 acres of the Wichita
Mountains Wildlife Refuge are just about all the
native habitat left in Southwest Oklahoma. Much
of the rest is used for ranching, farming or
housing. This makes Fort Sill an ideal place for
many species of wildlife that don't survive well
in the surrounding area, but the one species
that is classified as endangered is the
Black-capped Vireo.
Ryan will share insight into the decline of the
species; an overview of the project; what it's
like to do field work under some "interesting"
conditions; and the current status of the bird
today.
Program: Basic DSLR
Bird Photography Session I
Presented by
Ken Behrens
Sunday, May 8
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
You may attend one or both sessions.
 Many
people don't realize how simple it is to take
good bird photos. 95% of the adjustments made
even by excellent pro photographers are very
simple and can easily be learned by any
photographer. The improvements to your photos by
learning a few simple techniques will be
amazing. Ken Behrens with Tropical Birding will
start inside with this workshop on this first
session and will focus on equipment choices, and
how to effectively use your camera once you've
chosen one. It will also cover the basics of
Photoshop, and much like using an SLR, a few
small adjustments to your photos on a computer
can make them look drastically better.
Program: Point and
Shoot for Wildlife
Presented by
Stephen Ingraham
with Carl Zeiss Optical
Monday, May 9
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 With
a spotting scope and a small, compact digital
Point & Shoot camera you can take very
satisfying images of wildlife of all
kinds...full frame, close up images like you see
in the magazines. Steve Ingraham, Birding and
Observation Product Specialist for Carl Zeiss
Sports Optics will show you the easy, and
relatively inexpensive, way to wildlife
photography success. Point and Shoot for
Wildlife. It is that simple.
Program: Birding by
Ear: A Universal Method for Learning Bird
Vocalizations
Presented by
John C. Robinson
Tuesday, May 10
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 John
C. Robinson will review the mechanics of how to
learn bird songs (and calls) and why this skill
is one of the most important tools for
identifying birds. He will introduce a fun,
multifaceted method for learning bird
vocalizations that participants can use in any
part of the world.
Program: Basic DSLR
Bird Photography Session II
Presented by
Ken Behrens
Sunday, May 11
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
You may attend one or both sessions.
 This
is a field workshop to apply what you learned in
Session 1. We will venture outside for some
practice in the field during the second
session. Participants should bring camera
equipment and dress for cool or damp conditions.
Participation in Session 1 not required, but it
will be helpful.
Program:
Beyond the Blue Goose: Your Refuge Questions
Answered
Presented by
Laura Bonneau
with Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge
Thursday, May 12
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 What
is a national wildlife refuge? Why is so much of
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge closed to the
public? What were they thinking, draining their
wetlands - that can't be good for the birds! Who
runs that place, and what is a blue goose,
anyway? Come have these and other questions
answered, and learn how decisions are made
behind the scenes at Ottawa National Wildlife
Refuge.
Program: The
Comeback Birds: Fall Birding in Northwest Ohio
Presented by
Jen Brumfield
with Tropical Birding
Friday, May 13
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
 It
doesn't stop after spring! Northwest Ohio is a
jackpot for fall shorebirding, hawk watching and
warbler watching. From Golden Eagle to Hudsonian
Godwit, Connecticut Warbler to Yellow Rail,
autumn is Round 2 in the megamigration hotspot
on the Lake Erie shoreline. Jen Brumfield will
give us the ins and outs of where to go and what
to see during the "other migration." It can't be
missed!
Program:
Migration All Around Us: How Birds Navigate the
Americas
Presented by
Dr. Andy Jones,
Curator of Ornithology at the
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Sunday, May 15
11 a.m. - Noon
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center
Registration required.
Free!
For some five billion individual birds, an
annual trip to Central or South America from
North America is an absolute requirement, and a
stunning annual accomplishment. Many perish
during this migration. Why do birds undertake
this costly annual trip? How do they manage to
find their way to a wintering ground they have
never seen before? Dr Andy Jones will answer
these questions, as well as detail how
ornithologists study the phenomenon of
migration.
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