The Western Bird Banding Association is pleased to invite you to our annual meeting, near scenic Cave Junction and Oregon Caves National Monument in the Illinois Valley, from September 28 to October 1. This year's theme, "Banding in Bigfoot's Backyard", is intended to promote bird banding and field ornithology within the general range of the mythical Bigfoot. It also symbolizes our big feet making big strides in promoting the study of bird banding, in mentoring students, and promoting conservation.

We have selected the Siskiyou Field Institute (www.thesfi.org) in south-western Oregon as the venue. The Institute is renowned for its lovely accommodations in beautiful, wild and rural surroundings. The birds and banding opportunities are fantastic. Nearby Deer Creek has a bird-rich mist net station that will provide many birds for training and enjoyment. The Institute is just a short drive from the quaint town of Cave Junction, Oregon. Registration cost includes all meals during the meeting, but does not include hotel or campsite rentals. Please contact the Siskiyou Field Institute (www.thesfi.org, phone: 541-597-8530) to book your room and campsite.

What to Expect: The meeting will include demonstrations and workshops on a diverse array of bird research, banding, data management, and analysis of banding data. In addition, there will be an Advanced Molt and Ageing Workshop led by renowned molt expert, Jared Wolfe. Evenings will include catered meals, campfires and live music as well as special sessions. Updates from banders in Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica will also be featured. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Steven Herman and Dr. David Whitacre will deliver our plenary during this year’s scientific session. Details for sessions and workshops will soon be finalized and announced here on the WBBA website.

A NABC training evaluation will be held by accomplished NABC trainers, including Bob Frey and banders from Brazil, Luiza Figueroa and Pedro Martins. For questions about this training, please contact C.J. Ralph: 707 499-9707 (cjralph@humboldt1.com)

Online registration will be available August 5th and may be accessed here. You may also register by filling this PDF form and mailing or emailing it to the addresses within. Online payment is available here.

What is included in registration? You will get full delicious, catered meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday and Sunday breakfast.

Cost: » Professional/current WBBA member - USD $115.00 » Professional /non-member - USD $140.00; includes a year-long membership to WBBA » Student or intern/current WBBA member - USD $75.00 » Student or intern/non-member - USD $95.00; includes a year-long membership to WBBA) > Scholarships are available for half the registration cost for students/interns or foreign participants. Please provide 1-2 paragraphs describing why you need a scholarship and send it to wbbameeting2017@gmail.com

Online submission of papers, posters, and demonstrations is open and may be accessed here. Submissions due by September 10.

Food will be delicious buffet style meals catered from local Illinois Valley sources featuring organic and local foods, beer, and wine. Facilities at the Siskiyou Field Institute include unlimited primitive camp sites, two group yurts with bunk beds, dorm rooms, a state-of-the-art solar bathhouse, and a covered picnic pavilion. The Institute provides a hostel-style kitchen and indoor classrooms for our meeting.

Lodging in the Cave Junction area are two basic motels. Several chain motels are in Grants Pass, 30 minutes away. Updated information will be posted on this website. Transportation: The closest airports are at Crescent City, California and Medford, Oregon, and rental cars are available. Exciting Silent and Live Auction: Do you have something to contribute to a silent or live auction? If so, please bring it to the meeting. All sorts of nature and bird-related items (pictures, books, traps, t-shirts, feeders, equipment, etc.) are welcomed as auction items. Come and share your extras, and have fun! Contact Information: for inquiries, please email: wbbameeting2017@gmail.com. Or check with C.J. Ralph 707 499-9707 (cjralph@humboldt1.com).

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE - The FULL SCHEDULE (PDF) is now available!

Thursday, September 28, 2017 Registration Meet & Greet dinner and social

Friday, September 29, 2017 All day -- Banding Demonstrations and Workshops Afternoon: Board of Directors Meeting Guided bird watching tour around the Siskiyou Mountains.

Saturday, September 30, 2017 All day -- Scientific Sessions starting with a Plenary Speaker Afternoon and evening: poster session and social. Dinner and a keynote talk by Dr. Steven Herman

Sunday, October 1, 2017 NABC CERTIFICATION SESSION BEGINS Banding demonstrations Oregon Caves National Monument: cave exploring and birds in a world-famous setting (more)

Monday and Tuesday, October 2-3, 2017 NABC certification session continues This 850-acre property is situated at the gateway to the Illinois River Canyon – nestled up against the Siskiyou Mountains and overlooking the beautiful Deer Creek Valley. The Klamath-Siskiyous are the most biodiverse region in North America. Researchers from across the country come to Siskiyou Field Institute's property to investigate and learn about the rich biodiversity in the adjacent federal lands.

SPEAKERS

Dr. Steven Herman Our keynote speaker, Steven Herman, Emeritus Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, will join us to share his experiences instructing students and influencing conservation. Steven earned his PhD in Zoology at the University of California, Davis in 1973. For more than 30 years he has taught his acclaimed, Summer Ornithology: Birds in the Hand, a 3-week intensive field course in Eastern Oregon, providing many WBBA members and others their first opportunity to practice science in the field. He has also been an instrumental advocate in removing cattle from public lands, and in legislating the ban on the pesticide, DDT. Steve is a tireless mentor; training and inspiring beauty, connection, and natural history to promote applied conservation.

Dr. David Whitacre David Whitacre will deliver our plenary during this year’s scientific session. Earning his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of California, Davis in 1992, Dave now teaches biology and statistics at the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center in Boise. Dave has studied songbirds and raptors in various places, especially in Tikal, Guatemala, where he directed a study of the forest raptor community for several years. At our meeting, he will return to his roots studying cave-nesting swifts in tropical Mexico. He will introduce us to a third great cave-nesting bird syndrome—that of two Streptoprocene swifts that form tremendous colonies in some of Mexico's impressive pit-caves. He will focus on the differing lifestyles represented among the world's 80-odd swift species, with a special focus on foraging ecology. Sunday Field Trip Join us for an exciting day of adventure with famed naturalist and ranger John Roth. We will start out birding at the newly-acquired Park Service area around the Lake. Bigelow Lake is a pretty little mountain lake near the Oregon Caves National Monument, surrounded by unique wildflowers found in few other places as well as a good assortment of mountain birds. After lunch, we will tour the justifiably world famous caves with John. He will also join us for dinner on Saturday night and give a short preview of what we'll be seeing on this unique field trip.