Welcome to Call Notes, OFO’s news and events for OFO members and the birding community.
In this issue
Bird of the Year – Call for Artists
We are excited to announce the 2024 OFO Bird of The Year, the Bobolink! This bird was voted on by all members attending the convention on the weekend, narrowly beating out Upland Sandpiper by 20 votes. One of the most sought-after grassland species in the province, and also a very charismatic species with an interesting life history and beautiful plumage, the Bobolink will be a great emblem for our organization next year.
Now, we are putting out a call for Bobolink artwork from our members! If you would like a chance to see your art featured as a logo for a year, plus receive a $500 prize and have your work publicized in OFO News, then please submit your work! Below, you can find out how this will work.
- Artists will have until October 26th to submit their work, which is around four weeks from now.
- After all the submissions are received, OFO members will have a week to vote on them, much like we did to choose the Bird of The Year. To ensure fair voting, the artwork won’t have the artists’ names shown at this time.
- Once a winner has been decided on, their design will be uploaded to Redbubble through the OFO account and anyone can go on there and purchase these items in time for the holiday season (hats, shirts, water bottles, etc.).
- In January, all submissions will be featured on the OFO website for a month with the artists’ names attached. So, even if you don’t win, your art will still have a chance to be shown.
Curious about submission rules?
- No photographs or AI generated art
- If you are scanning your art from paper, have it at least 300dpi. Higher if the piece is smaller than 8×10” physically.
- Digital art, traditional art (ink, paints, etc.) are accepted, however, we will not accept pencil/light sketching, as it will not show up well.
- Keep in mind that your art could be used on shirts, hats, or small items like water bottles or mouse pads. Something that will show up well at different sizes is ideal.
- Backgrounds are discouraged, but including some is fine.
- Please include “OFO” and “2024” on your artwork. How you choose to do this though is up to you.
- Submissions can be sent to art@ofo.ca. Once received, we will send you a release form so that we can display and use your art.
- Most importantly, have fun!!
OFO Peterborough Convention – Thank You to Volunteers
The 2023 OFO Convention in Peterborough was a great success due to the dedication of an amazing team of volunteers.
Thank you to the following: Mike Burrell for spearheading the keynote speaker Stu Mackenzie from Birds Canada; Dan Chronowic for wrangling up all the Certificates of Appreciation; Ben Fekete of BJF Music for the audio-visual support and for making our live streaming to the Northeastern Convention a success; Kiah Jasper for introducing and leading the “Bird of the Year” project; Marcie Jacklin for her wonderful video introducing the Distinguished Ornithologist recipient, Bruce Di Labio; Dave Milsom for what I’m sure were endless hours putting together all the trips and finding the volunteer trip leaders; Susan Nagy for such an amazingly successful Silent Auction and for raising the bar for future conventions; Colleen Reilly for helping out wherever and whenever she could; Sarah Rupert for her insight, thoughtfulness, and social media management, as well as for setting up all the table agendas, the Bird Quiz (which everyone had great fun with), the Bird of the Year ballots, and the Bird of the Year image; Jeff Skevington for his ongoing support; Dan Suess for his logistical wizardry at arranging the AV and catering needs and everything in between; Angie Williams for putting together the Northeastern Edition of the convention, and for being able to pivot when things seemed to go off the rails; a special thank you to Barbara Bowman for her wonderful photos. Barbara was so good at blending in with the surroundings that I’m sure people didn’t realize she was our photographer!
Thank you to Doug McRae for introducing Bruce Di Labio, and for sticking to the time frame!
A special shoutout to the catering team at Fresh Urban Plate, Mark Brunet and Lisa McGhie and their staff, for ensuring the food and beverages were fresh and out on time!
Thank you to Chip Weseloh and his team for the work they put into the selection of the 2024 Distinguished Ornithologist.
OFO Northern Edition Convention – Thank You to Volunteers
The OFO Convention Northern Edition would like to thank all the participants, and especially the volunteers, who helped make the convention a success. In fact, it was such a success that the Convention even made the news!
Thank you to the following:
Christa Rigney for researching venues in Timmins and stepping in as needed; Roxane Filion for organizing the trips, picking up the door prizes and giveaways, contacting the media, and handling so many other details that made the Northeastern Edition happen; Ken Williams for graciously handling most of the behind-the-scenes tasks over the weekend; Andrew Davis, Rhonda Donley, Roxane Filion, Mark Joron, Pierre Noel for leading our trips.
We’d also like to thank the City of Timmins, the Mattagami Region Conservation Authority, and Andre Filion for donating items for our welcome packages and door prizes; the Fishbowl Restaurant and the Conseil Scolaire Catholique de District de Grandes Rivieres for the use of their meeting rooms; The Fishbowl and Pick of the Crop Grocery for preparing our meals, which were always on time and delicious!
And a huge thank you to the OFO Board and especially Sue Suess for making our wonderful OFO Convention accessible to birders in the Northeastern corner of our province!
Did you miss the AGM?
In case you missed OFO’s 2023 Convention and AGM, here are some highlights:
- The AGM Package
- Jeff Skevington’s President’s Message
- Convention Trip Reports
- Birds and Beers video
- AGM and Saturday night presentationsvideo
- Article from the Daily Press in Timmins
Please complete a short survey on the Convention and OFO’s on-going activities:
As we plan for next year’s Annual Convention, and to help us understand how well OFO is serving its members and the birding community throughout the year, we ask that you please complete this survey: https://forms.gle/yvX7FQkmFGH5BsUb6.
The first part of the survey is for all members as it pertains to all OFO activities. The second part is for those who attended the Annual Convention.
The entire survey should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. We thank you in advance.
The Challenge of Eco-Friendly Birding: Brett Forsyth
If you love birds, chances are you love the natural world in which they live. For many of us, that creates a moral dilemma: how big a “footprint” are we willing to make in our quest for the next checkmark on our list?
In 2022, Brett Forsyth set out to see how many birds he could find using only self-powered travel. Join us as Brett shares some of his stories and reflections on his Big Green Birding Year.
Join Zoom Meeting on Wednesday, October 4 at 7 pm EST.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84871008513
Virtual Meet-Ups for Queer and Trans Birders
In the coming months, OFO is planning on launching a series of regular virtual meet-ups for Queer and Trans birders over Zoom. These meetings will provide a space to create community and discuss the barriers we experience. We’re hoping that these will eventually lead to in-person events, particularly during Pride Month.
The first meeting will take place on October 25th at 7:00pm.
Please contact Maxwell Matchim (they/them) at diversity@ofo.ca for more information.
Other Upcoming Members Meetings
Looking ahead, the next Members Meeting will be Nov. 1. Colleen Reilly will be giving a presentation about birding in the Rainy River area.
Upcoming Trips and Events for OFO Members
OFO field trips are for OFO members and a guest. Please register on the ofo.ca website under Upcoming Trips and Webinars.
Spaces are still available for some trips. If the trip is full, please register for the waitlist as spots often become free before the trip.
Amherst Island: 1 Oct 2023 7:50 AM – 3:00 PM, carpool lot south of 401 at exit 593 (Camden East Road)
St. Joseph’s Island: 7 Oct 2023 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, St Joseph Island site gate, Sault Ste Marie
Rondeau, Erieau, Blenheim Lagoons: 7 Oct 2023 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Rondeau Park Visitor Center
Barrie: 7 Oct 2023 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, City of Barrie Transient Marina at Bayfield and Simcoe Streets
Hilliardton Marsh: 14 Oct 2023 – 15 Oct 2023 8:00 AM –3:00 PM both days, Hilliardton Marsh banding station
Nephton Mine:21 Oct 2023 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Nephton mine entrance
Sandbanks and Point Petre: 22 Oct 2023 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM, Sandbanks park entrance
Lake Huron Fall Birding: 22 Oct 2023 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Grand Bend Sobey’s parking lot on north side of Huron County Rd. 81
Hawk Cliff and Area: 22 Oct 2023 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Hawk Cliff, South-West of London
Niagara Hotspots including Eastern Lake Erie Shoreline: 28 Oct 2023 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Grimsby Wetlands, Biggar Lagoons
Fall Birding on the Bruce: 28 Oct 2023 – 29 Oct 2023 8:30 AM – 3:00 PM both days, parking area for the Spirit Rock Outpost and Lodge on Highway #6 at the north end of Wiarton
Cobourg Harbour to Presqu’ile: 29 Oct 2023 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM, Cobourg Harbour west parking area
Colonel Sam Smith Park: 12 Nov 2023 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM, south parking lot at foot of Colonel Sam Smith Blvd, aproximately 850 metres south of Lakeshore Blvd
Barrie: 18 Nov 2023 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, City of Barrie Transient Marina at Bayfield and Simcoe Streets
William Loane Memorial Waterfowl Outing: 26 Nov 2023 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, at Sunnyside, on the western Toronto lakeshore at the Sir Casimir Stanislaus Gzowski monument
Ontario Birds is looking for another co- editor. If you have editing skills, are a keen birder/ornithologist and have an interest in working as part of a 2-3 person team in producing three issues of Ontario Birds annually, please send your thoughts to Chip Weseloh:
Comments? Questions?
We welcome your comments and feedback! Please contact us at: ofo@ofo.ca.
Good birding,
The OFO Team