The Midwest Birding Symposium 2009

In 1997 and 1999 Bird Watcher's Digest hosted The Midwest Birding Symposium, a biennial (every other year) festival that moves around the Midwest and is hosted by local or regional bird clubs, companies, and tourism organizations. The MWBS has been held in Illinois (where it was founded), Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and now it's coming back to Ohio. The dates—and you're going to want to write this down right now—are September 17 to 20, 2009.

If you attended one of the two symposia we hosted at Lakeside on Lake Erie in the late 1990s, you know what this event is all about: bird watchers coming together to see birds, to expand their birding knowledge, and most of all, to have fun!

Joining BWD in hosting the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium are our friends and fellow birders from the Ohio Ornithological Society. We've once again chosen the charming community of Lakeside, Ohio as home base for the event. Given the enthusiasm we have as organizers and hosts, we believe the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium is going to be the best one ever.

If you've never attended an MWBS, this is your chance. If you've been to one before and you want to come to another one, don't wait to register. Space is limited! We are already taking pre-registrations on the MWBS web pages.

We are busily lining up speakers and choosing field trip sites (and looking for corporate sponsors!). We'll share all these developments with you via the official MWBS e-updates, which will be sent to all pre-registrants. You can also watch for details in the pages of Bird Watcher's Digest.

I hope I'll see YOU at the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium.