Artwork by Ann Geise - prints available at anngeiseart.com
Warblers & Wildflowers at Shawnee State Park
April 25-27, 2025
Join the OOS at Shawnee State Park Lodge in Scioto County, OH for a celebration of Warblers and Wildflowers. The last weekend in April gives you a chance to meet the first big wave of spring migration, enjoy excellent presentations and experience the fellowship of fun and avid birders! Rooms and cabins available at Shawnee Lodge until full. Book your room by March 24 to receive an early bird discount (see details on the event registration page).
New this year: Are you a student? This year we are excited to offer a 50% registration cost discount for high school and college students. Use discount code “student” at check-out.
Please note that the registration deadline is April 18 at 5:00 PM and registration fees will be non-refundable after March 31 (extenuating circumstances may be considered.)
Tentative Schedule
Friday night will begin with registration in the lodge lobby beginning at 3:00 pm. A happy hour cash bar with a presentation by Shawnee State Park Naturalist Jenny Richards highlighting the wonderful biodiversity of the State Park and Forest. After a delicious buffet dinner, an evening speaker (TBD) then off to listen for Chuck-will’s-widows or visit the cabins for Mothing.
Saturday will feature a wide variety of bird and botany guided trips with experienced leaders. Saturday evening, after a buffet dinner, will feature a keynote speaker (TBD) and again go in search for Chuck-will-widows or Mothing.
Sunday morning birders will be on their own with the possible option to bird with guides remaining for the morning. We will share a map of Shawnee Forest for you to explore on your own.
PLANNED FIELD TRIPS
- The Amazing Birds & Botany of Shawnee
- Neotropical Jewels: Warblers
- Birds and Butterflies: Wings of Spring
- All Creatures (and plants) Great and Small
- Birding 101
- Thru the Lens: Photographic Birds
- Birds & Wildflowers of Adams County – Edge of Appalachia
- Birds & Botany of Adams County – Lynx Prairie
About the Area
Shawnee State Forest, and surrounding areas in Scioto and Adams Counties, is well known among Ohio birders as the place to get a head start on spring. Our tropical migrants arrive here well before they make their way to Ohio’s northern reaches. Some, such as Worm-eating Warbler, Blue Grosbeak and Summer Tanager, seldom make it to Lake Erie, as their breeding range is limited to the southern part of the state. One in particular, Chuck-wills-widow, is confined to a small area in southern Adams County. So, if you want to compile a large Ohio list, you will need to visit here.
Just as spring comes earlier for the birds in the Shawnee region, the same is true for wildflowers. The south-facing slopes along the shore of the Ohio River warm up first, kicking off the northward march of spring. The timing of wildflower blooming is tied to the weather much more than the timing of avian migrant arrival, so it is hard to predict what you can find in late April. But the diversity of habitats in this area guarantees that there is sure to be a correspondingly wide diversity of blooms.
