The WSO partnered with the Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club to hold our 2023 convention on May 19-21 in Waukesha. This first convention we have been able to hold since 2019 was very well receieved. Special thanks are due to all the volunteers and leaders from the WSO and Goss Bird Club without whom this event would not have been possible.
We were excited to see that there were almost 150 registrants for the convention this year. Many of the attendees were able to get an early start to the event with several "Heading to the Convention" field trips offered across the state. Combined with the Satuday and Sunday field trips, a total of 169 species were seen! Look for the eBird field report at the bottom of this article.
All on-site convention events were held at the Ingleside in Pewaukee.
Friday May 19
Convention Welcome and Awards Ceremony
Attendees headed to the Fieldstone Room in the convention center after check-in for the Member Appreciation Picnic. The official event was kicked off by Sunil Gopalan, WSO President followed up by an extended awards ceremeny to celebrate all the award recipients over the last several years who had not been able to be congratulated in person - in addition to the newly announced awardees from 2023.
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Friday Night Dinner |
Field Trips Check-In |
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President's Welcome |
The presentation given by Wendy Schultz, WSO Awards Chair is linked below:
2023 Awardees |
2022 Awardees |
2021 Awardees |
2020 Awardees |
Saturday May 20
Field Trips
Saturday morning field trips were offered with staggered start times between 5am-8am to suit a varied audience.
| Saturday May 20 Field Trips | Guide | Guide |
| Southern Kettle Moraine | Andrea Szymczak | Anne Moretti (Goss) |
| Paradise Valley - Bark River Unit | Spence Stehno (Goss) | Jeff Baughman |
| Vernon Marsh | Mike Ellery (Goss) | Tom Schultz |
| Badertscher & Engel Preserves | Pat Horn (Goss) | Mark Korducki |
| Monches & Crow How | John Winze | |
| Bark River (Accessible) & Hartland Marsh | Colleen Resendiz (Goss) | Paula Stich (Goss) |
Indoor Presentations
Saturday afternoon presentations were given in the Pavilion building on the following topics:
Identifying Warblers of Wisconsin, Tom Schultz
[Presentation Unavailable]
Birds of the World: A Photographic Journey, Sunil Gopalan
Annual Member Meeting
The WSO has seen some singificant changes in structure and organization in the past year and Sunil Gopalan, WSO President presented an update on changes and accomplishments in the last year and a look ahead to plans for the next year. He was joined by Jennifer Lazewski, WSO Executive Director for an update on operations and Rebecca Gilman for an update on the actions of the Conservation Committee. Carl Schroeder was introduced as the new WSO Historian.
DRAFT Minutes from the Annual Member Meeting
Keynote Presentation
After Social Hour and Dinner Banquet, the keynote presentation was given by Tammah Watts, licensed therapist and author of Keep Looking Up: Your Guide to the Powerful Healing of Birdwatching.
Sunday - May 21
Field Trips
Heading out from the convention field trips departed from the Ingleside on Sunday morning.
| Sunday May 21 Field Trips | Guide | Guide |
| Lake Michigan Shoreline | Brad Bumgardner | |
| Horicon Marsh | Jeff Bahls | Tom Schultz |
| North Kettle Moraine | John Winze | Jeff Baughman |
| Wehr/Urban Birding $5/parking? | Colleen Resendiz (Goss) | Jack Coulter (Goss) |
| Zeloski Marsh | Aaron Stutz | Tim Hahn (Goss) |
https://ebird.org/wi/tripreport/134506Thank you all to everyone who was able to attend and provided feedback on how we can make this event more useful and engaging for all.
