Birders’ Social and Keynote Presentation (Friday, May 16 @ 6:30 – 9:30)

Gather with fellow birders at the Tawas Bay Beach Resort for an evening of camaraderie and heavy appetizers. Michigan Audubon will hold a brief Annual Meeting before turning the podium over to our guests for the evening, Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle. Their presentation is The Overlooked ID Points that Make Identifying Warblers Easy.

Our warblers are some of the most beautiful birds of the world. But their beautiful colors often blind birders to many of their most important ID points. This problem is compounded by the often brief and obstructed views we have in the field. This talk discusses many of these very important but often overlooked ID points such as overall contrast, subtle facial features, color impressions, feather edging, rump contrast, and foraging style, location, and behavior. Fortunately, viewing a warbler from below can reveal some of the most important ID points for many species. Learn how many tail and undertail covert patterns are, in fact, diagnostic alone or when combined with one other ID point.

Individual species, especially the most challenging to identify, will also be discussed with outlines of the important ID points, comparisons with similar species, and illustrations of how even partial views can be used to identify many of even the most challenging warbler species.

FEE: $25 for Michigan and AuSable Valley Audubon members; $35 for non-members
LOCATION: Tawas Bay Beach Resort