Join OOS at Aullwood Audubon Nature Center in Dayton for our annual meeting and elections. We’re excited to have access to this beautiful property and facilities.

Registration

Registration is free for OOS members and Aullwood’s admission fee is waived, but we ask that you register by November 2 so we have an idea of how many will be attending.

About Aullwood

Marie S. Aull gave Aullwood to the Miami Valley and the National Audubon Society in 1957. It was her dream to create a beautiful wildlife sanctuary and one of the Midwest’s first nature centers. Today, more than fifty years after Marie Aull’s gift, Aullwood Audubon continues to be an enjoyable and exciting place to visit.

With over 200 acres of nature sanctuary with eight miles of trails through prairie, forests, marsh, ponds, and meadows, and agricultural grasslands, Aullwood provides experiences and activities that increase understanding and preservation of the planet through education, research, recreation, and to protect birds and the places they live today and tomorrow. During the last school year, over 120,000 visitors enjoyed Aullwood and 65,700 children discovered nature, conservation and farming through field trips, special classes or other programs through Aullwood. These 65,700 youngsters came from 14 counties, 22 public school systems and 120 schools or educational facilities.

Hoping you can join us for Ohio Ornithological Day at Butterfly Ridge in the beautiful
Hocking Hills on August 2, 2025.

Your $9 registration fee will include all of the following:
We offer guided tours of the 21-acre property at 1 and 3pm, or you can walk the trail on
your own. The trail is about a mile, however there are several smaller loop trails that
connect to the main loop trail. If you explore all of the different loops the distance is
about 1.25 miles. The trail goes through a variety of habitats including wet meadow,
deciduous forest, pine forest, riparian deciduous forest, a series of woodland openings,
and a two-acre tallgrass prairie that was constructed from old, abused farm field. We
advise allowing at least an hour to walk the trail to fully enjoy the plants, insects, and
birds along the way. The guided tour is usually about 90 minutes.

In the evening we hope you will join us for a special Mothing Zone experience. The
moth diversity at Butterfly Ridge is second to none in the state of Ohio, featuring several
species on our list that are undescribed and the only sightings in Ohio. Our current
species list includes 1,100 species. Arrive at Butterfly Ridge between 8:30 and 9:00pm
to shop in the gift shop or just hang out, with the program starting at 9pm. The program
will go until midnight, although you don’t necessarily have to stay until midnight.

https://www.butterfly-ridge.com

Butterfly Ridge Butterfly Conservation Center ltd is a limited liability company owned by Christopher and Kris Kline.  The initial idea for Butterfly Ridge came into being in early 2014.  The idea was to have a garden that would focus on the health and well-being of butterflies native to southeastern Ohio.  Ultimately, the goal is that this garden will be open to the public to visit and learn about butterflies, moths, and other pollinators.  We officially opened July 1, 2017.

Mark your calendars and reserve a room for Warblers and Wildflowers at Shawnee State Park: April 25-27, 2025

It’s time again to plan for next Spring’s Warblers & Wildflowers at Shawnee State Park. Get a jump on spring migration along with the opportunity to see and hear nesting species that don’t migrate further north. And for the botanists in the group, there’s lots of native flora not seen many other places in Ohio.

You can reserve your room or cabin now at discounted prices. Call Shawnee Lodge & Conference Center at 740-858-6621 and tell them you’re reserving a room/cabin for the event with Ohio Ornithological Society on the dates indicated for the discount.

Tentative Schedule

The tentative schedule will start Friday evening with happy hour, a buffet dinner, a short introduction to the Shawnee area, an evening speaker (TBD) and off in search seeking to hear the Chuck-will’s-widows.

Saturday morning will feature a wide variety of bird/botany walks with experienced leaders. Saturday evening, after a buffet dinner, will feature a keynote speaker (TBD) and again go in search seeking to hear Chuck-will-widows. In addition, we will be setting up mothing sheets near the cabins for both nights! It looks to be a great event that you won’t want to miss.

Watch the OOS website, Facebook, your email and see the Chip Notes in late-January for more information and a link to register for the event. We are looking forward to having a full event this year and hope you will join us for a great weekend!