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Another unique aspect of the area is the diversity of owling opportunities. Five night trips have been planned to four locations where owl diversity may inclue as many as five to six species in one trip. A unique night-time trip is centered on Moses Coulee, where poorwills be the main focus along with another night flier, the Spotted Bat. The Spotted Bat is the only bat species in Washington whose calls are actually audible to the human ear!
The Wenatchee area is also home to one of the more endangered avian species in Washington state, the Spotted Owl. WOS and the US Forest Service (USFS), however, have agreed not to target this species during night trips, to avoid stressing the birds. The leadership of WOS believes that species' well-being comes before listing and we believe that WOS members share this value. As a compromise, the USFS is offering WOS members a special invitation to view an active Spotted Owl territory by day, under the supervision of the USFS. The Friday Blewett Pass trip will get this opportunity.
Finally, attendees at past conferences have recommended some tweaking to the schedules; the WOS Board has listened and is making the following changes:
The WOS Board meeting will be one hour (not two) and will be on Friday afternoon right before the social. This will allow members who want to bird longer on Saturday to stay out. Contrasting with this is the comment by some that the weekend is just too long for them; therefore, we have designed a variety of trips including one half-day trip called Wenatchee Hot Spots, which should return by 1:00 each afternoon for those who need a little break in the weekend, but still want a field tirp every day.
We will also offer an afternoon field sketching workshop by local artist and biologist Heather Murphy (right) from 2:00 to 4:00 on Saturday. Be sure to check out the description of this workshop on the Field Trips page if this interest you. Ms. Murphy is the designer of the T-shrirts that will be offered at the conference.
Registration opens April 1 The Board knows it is not possible to please everyone, but it is our hope that a variety of trips, and length of trips, will result in an enjoyable weekend for all. In addition to the wonderful trips we are offering are some wonderful trip leaders; many are among the best in the state and are well-known and popular leaders. So mark your calendars for June 11-4 and remember - registration begins April 1!
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The 22nd Annual Conference of the
Washington Ornithological Society will be based in Wenatchee at
the Red Lion Hotel and Conference Center. The dates are June
11-14, 2010. Wenatchee is central to a diverse suite of birds
and habitats and we will capitalize on this diversity in our
field trip offerings and the Saturday evening program. Field
trips will cover a wide array of places and habitats, stretching
from Lake Chelan in the north to Blewett and Colockum Pass in
the south. To the west, trips will go as far as Lake Wenatchee,
where it encroaches on the higher eastern Cascade slope. To the
east, trips will range to the Waterville Plateau, where
shrub/steppe species intermix with lakes that hold breeding
waterfowl and shorebirds.
