Our Spring Meeting took place April 22-24 in Columbus – a city we’ve left off the meeting schedule since the 1980s. Considering the great time we had, and the 146 species we counted, a commonly heard question from attendees was, “Why has it been so long?”

Several of the attendees arrived early at the meeting headquarters, the beautiful Hilton Garden Inn, and quickly discovered that we wouldn’t have to travel far to enjoy good birding. In fact, good birding could be had right behind the hotel, where a lake and forested nature trail provided habitat for 43 species. Highlights from the field trips (Fort Benning, Oxbow Meadows, Eufaula NWR, Callaway Gardens, etc.) included Wood Stork, American Bittern, Swallow-tailed Kite, Pectoral Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Bank Swallow, Blackpoll Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Bachman’s Sparrow, Bobolink, and many, many Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

Friday night’s program was a tag-team affair presented by Dr. Bill Birkhead, Walt Chambers, and Julie Ballenger. They spoke about a remarkable international education program they manage for students at Columbus State University (CSU). Through this program, CSU students attend ecology boot camps in Australia, Africa and South America. Speaking of ecology, Saturday night’s program by Dr. Peter Frederick (University of Florida) was an exceptionally entertaining program concerning wading birds. Peter discussed the biology, ecology, habitat needs and environmental issues impacting long-legged wading birds in the South. Saturday’s program concluded with the traditional species countdown led by Bill Birkhead.

As always, the success of these meetings is due to the hard work and exceptional organizational skills of a few people. Thank you to Bill Lotz for arranging the field trips and speakers, and to Anne Mursch for smoothly handling the details associated with the hotel and banquet. Thanks also to Steve Holzman for manning the GOS business table, and for the “chair prizes” idea – a terrific addition to our meeting. I’d also like to thank the many talented field trip leaders who scouted, patiently pointed out hard-to-see birds in treetops, and strived to teach others the skills they’ve so wonderfully mastered.

The registration information for the Third Annual Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival will be ready soon. Keep checking the GOS website for updates, or contact Bill Lotz or myself. The list of field trips for this year’s festival is the most ambitious to date, featuring nearly twice as many trips as those offered in 2003 or 2004. As usual, participants will have a chance to visit nearly any barrier island (four trips to Little St. Simons!) they would like to see, but this year’s lineup will also include trips to many lesser-known but equally beautiful small parks and historic sites along the coast. The Convention Center will once again be jam-packed with vendors and classroom sessions about almost any aspect of bird ecology or identification, and Saturday night’s banquet will feature Dr. Scott Robinson of the University of Florida’s Department of Zoology. Dr. Robinson has worked with many prominent ornithologists in the world of migratory bird research, including Richard Holmes and John Terborgh, but Scott is more than a highly-respected scientist; Scott is also “one of us,” in that he once set the North American Big Year record and still owns the World Big Day record (331 species), which he accomplished with the legendary Ted Parker.

In January we’re holding our second consecutive Winter Meeting, scheduled for the 27th to the 29th in Tallahassee. Our tentative list of guest speakers for that meeting includes well-known authors and ornithologists Jim Cox and Susan Cerulean. Of course, any winter meeting in the Florida panhandle will include field trips to such great destinations as St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Wakulla Springs State Park and Apalachicola National Forest.

So why aren’t you making reservations to attend one of our meetings? See you in October!

Submitted by Bob Sargent