Maryland Ornithological Society Convention - June 11 - 13, 2021 Your Host: MOS Convention Committee
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73rd
Maryland Ornithological Society Convention
1st Virtual Convention
June 11 – 13, 2021
Your Host:
MOS Convention Committee
Cover Artwork:
Winning pin contest entry by Rob Townlee-Tomasso
MOS Virtual Convention 2021
Schedule of Events
Friday, June 11
1
Saturday, June 12
2
Sunday, June 13
Weather
Mid-June can be hot and wet with biting bugs for company. Consider using
sunscreen and bug repellent on your field trips.
Technology
MOS is using the Whova platform to run our virtual convention. There is an
FAQ document available on the main page of the convention website should
you have any questions.
Birding Ethics
Help MOS make a good impression on your community by practicing
good birding ethics. MOS’ Board of Directors endorses the ABA code
of Birding Ethics. Please be courteous to the local citizenry and respect
private property at all times.
3Keynote Speakers
We are fortunate to have two keynote speakers this year.
Friday Night Keynote
Ian Davies is the eBird Project Coordinator at the Cornell Lab, leading
outreach and engagement. He has been birding since he was 12 and has
travelled all over the world in pursuit of birds, including his favorites, the
shore birds.
Ian will discuss how eBird, Merlin, and the MD-DC BBA3 can be used
to engage people with Maryland’s birds in ways that benefit birders and
the birds that we cherish.
Saturday Night Keynote
Dave Brinker is a Regional Ecologist for DNR’s Wildlife and Heritage
Service where he has worked for over 26 years on a wide range of
mostly bird-related field projects. These include colonial nesting water
birds, marsh birds, the migration of Saw-whet Owls, tracking Black
Skimmers, conservation of Goshawks, wintering Bald Eagles and
tracking irruptive Snowy Owls. He is a familiar presence on local radio
and TV.
Dave will attempt to peer into the future of Maryland’s birds. Guided
by three breeding bird atlases and other tools, he will ask what the
State’s bird communities will look like in 2100.
Seminars
4We have several seminars that you will not want to miss.
Ashley Kennedy is a postdoctoral fellow at the Army Public Health
Center as Edgewood MD, with expertise in entomology as well as
ornithology. She will brief us on the importance of insects for
attracting birds to our yards and how they play their part in supporting
bird populations.
Gabriel Foley an avid birder with broad experience from his native
Canada, consummate communications skills, and who is now the
project coordinator for BBA3. He will show us how to become more
effective breeding bird atlasers, provide tips for confirming those
difficult species and will update us on the progress of the Atlas.
Susan Stockdale is a former textile designer who now illustrates and
creates children’s picture books about birds. Susan will let us see inside
the creative process which results in a new book to delight young
children and charm adults. Careful research in the field ensures
accuracy of these charming books. Interesting children in birds from an
early age will help plant the seeds of future birders and ornithologists.
Dr. Sonya Kolstoe is an environmental economist with the US Forest
Service’s North West Pacific Research Station - Goods, Services and
Values Program. Dr. Kolsoe will brief us on the values of ecosystem
services provided by birds and the data sets and analyses used to
measure these values. She will also discuss how human-induced
changes on a macro-scale affect bird populations, and thus these goods
and services they provide.
Matthew Felperin is the Roving Naturalist for NOVA (Northern
Virginia Parks) who grew up in Tacoma Park MD, and became
enthralled with nature from visits to Sligo Creek. Matt will show us
how he took full advantage of the Covid pandemic-induced shutdown
last spring to indulge in his fascination with birds. He will share
5photographs and stories of birding while under a lock down. It’s an ill
wind as they say.
2021 Convention Pin
Rob Bownlee-Tomasso designed this year’s winning pin, shown on the
program cover, the Northern Cardinal, one of the most familiar birds in
Maryland. The collectible convention pin is available only to attendees.
Please don’t lose it as replacements will not be available. Congratulations
Rob!
Wine and Cheese Social
Owing to the virtual nature of this year’s convention, we regret that there
will be no in-person wine and cheese social on Saturday evening. We urge
you to be creative and hold your own W&C social at home with family and
other members of your COVID bubble. Take a moment to join the poster
sessions (see below) or join one of the other chat rooms to discuss your
day’s bird sightings.
Virtual Poster Session
Posters from eleven researchers from various Maryland universities and
colleges will present posters of bird song and other aspects of bird and birder
behavior. These posters will be presented virtually and will be available for
viewing from June 4th until June 20th. The two poster discussion sessions will
be on Saturday starting at 4:00 PM and at 5:00 PM when the presenters will
be available in the chat rooms to answer any questions. Posters will be
divided into two groups: ‘Bird Songs’ and ‘Various’, with presenters for
each being available for one hour for questions and comments. We
encourage you to view the posters in advance so that you will be primed with
questions for this Q&A session.
Bird Photo Contest
All attendees are invited to enter up to 5 of their best photos. These should
have been taken within Maryland during 2020 or 2021, and submitted as 5x7
prints. The deadline is June 7th. Entries will be judged on Saturday. A three-
6judge panel will award three prizes in the form of gift cards of $100, $75,
and $50 denomination.
Sponsors
Despite the virtual nature of this year’s convention, MOS has
actively pursued sponsors. Proceeds will go toward offsetting this
year’s and future convention costs and to keep in-person
registration fees reasonable for attendees.
Snowy Egret Level
https://www.kaytee.com/wild-bird
Baltimore Oriole Level
7https://www.kaytee.com/wild-bird
https://www.kaytee.com/wild-bird
https://www.kaytee.com/wild-bird
Scarlet Tanager Level
REI Co-Op
https://www.kaytee.com/wild-bird
DEEP GREEN PHOTOGRAPHY
https://www.deepgreenphotography.com/home
Tractor Supply
https://www.tractorsupply.com/
Celestron
https://www.celestron.com/collections/binoculars
Our sponsors have donated money, services, or products which will be items
MOS will include in our silent auction. Please take a moment to visit their
websites and see what they have to offer.
8Field Trips
Field trips are an integral part of every convention, and this our first Virtual
Convention is no exception. Instead of having field trips in one area of the
state with designated leaders, this year’s field trips will be organized by
individual members in their own ‘patches’ or nearby. So you should plan
trips in your county and nearby. In an attempt to compensate for the
camaraderie of in-person led trips to distant parts of the state, this year’s
field trips will allow participation in several competitions. Four are for
individuals and are based on birding as in the BBA3, the ongoing breeding
bird atlas. The fifth is for chapters and is based on the percentage of chapter
members registering for the virtual Convention. The competitions are
detailed on the competition page of the virtual Convention website. Winners
will be awarded prizes as well as bragging rights.
Silent Auction
The silent auction will feature prizes that include a spotting scope, tripod,
two pairs of binoculars, books, birding games and other birding gear. Check
out the Silent Auction page for a complete list of prizes and how to bid for
them. Get that credit card out!
Evaluation Form
Please rate your experience at this convention on the Convention Evaluation
Form, which can be found on the Whova platform under Surveys in the main
navigation area. It can also be found here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQBgvVLQOwAP1zuxOMzBLWBXWypioru8
U6IpfkJXGCR6CRXQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
MOS wants to know what your preferences are in order to make future
conventions better.
92021 MOS Virtual Convention Committee
Meg Harris, Chairperson, Pin Contest lead
Tom Strikwerda, Registrar & MOS WebMaster
Jean Leverage, Sponsors
John McKitterick, IT and Evaluations
Jim Rapp, vConvention Webmaster
Gabriel Foley, BBA3 vConvention theme
Robin Todd, Posters
Maryanne Dolan, Newsgrams
Evelyn Ralston, Photo Contest
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