Details on Caregiver Grants for WOS 2023 are now available on the meeting website! These need-based grants are intended to facilitate the participation of those with caregiving responsibilities (including but not limited to parents) in the meeting by helping offset caregiving-related expenses that might otherwise be prohibitive. Funds may be used in any manner to support dependent care—for example, to cover the cost of travel to the conference venue for an accompanying adult caregiver, the cost of dependent care at the conference venue, or the cost of additional dependent care at home during the conference. Applications are due March 1.

Although registration will not open until March, for those who like to plan ahead, we’ve posted a great deal of travel-related information to the meeting website in recent weeks as well. You can now view a schedule overview for the meeting, a list of field trips that will be offered, details on registration and lodging costs, and our COVID policy (masks and rapid tests will be provided again this year, with masks required in all indoor spaces). We have also opened our call for student volunteers (deadline April 15)—students can receive discount registration for the in-person meeting in exchange for volunteering a minimum of six hours of their time while there.

Remember, abstracts are due March 1. Whether you’ll be attending in person or virtually, we can’t wait to see you in June!

We are now accepting abstract submissions for our 2023 annual meeting, to be held June 20–23 at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania! Please note that this year there are opportunities to present your research both in person and virtually, so we encourage you to consider participating even if you won’t be able to join us in Allentown.

The call for abstracts and submission form can be found here on the meeting website. The deadline to submit an abstract is March 1, and decisions will be sent to lead authors by mid-April. There is no virtual option for poster presentations, but if you are interested in presenting research and unable to attend the in-person meeting, please consider submitting an abstract for a virtual oral presentation. Students planning to present in person are also invited to apply for Student Travel Awards to offset their travel costs (deadline March 1).

We look forward to seeing you in June!

We are now accepting applications for all four categories of research grant offered by the WOS! Please note that the maximum award amount for each category has doubled for this application cycle. The four categories are as follows:

• Louis Agassiz Fuertes Grants: Available to all ornithologists, although graduate students and young professionals are preferred. Any avian research is eligible. Up to two awards of $5000 are given annually.
• George A. Hall / Harold F. Mayfield Grant: Limited to independent researchers without access to funds and facilities available at colleges, universities, or governmental agencies, and is restricted to non-professionals, including high school students. Any kind of avian research is eligible. Up to one $2000 award is given.
• Wilson Ornithological Society Research Grants: Up to four awards of $3000 given annually for work in any area of ornithology. Two of these awards will be limited to research by Masters students.
• Paul A. Stewart Grants: Preference is given to proposals for studies of bird movements (based on banding, radio or satellite telemetry, or similar methods) or an emphasis on economic ornithology. Up to four awards of $2000 are given annually.

See full details and application instructions here. We look forward to receiving your proposals!

For those of you who use this blog to keep up with the latest WOS news, there are several updates related to our 2023 meeting that we don’t want you to miss!

First, applications for our 2023 Mentoring Program for students and early-career professionals are now open. Participants in this program will receive free registration and travel funding to attend the 2023 WOS meeting; WOS membership for one year following the award; individual career mentoring; special professional development webinars and workshops; and networking opportunities to meet professionals from diverse fields. Please note we are also currently seeking volunteer mentors to participate in this program!

Second, in case you missed the announcement about this earlier this fall, this will be a hybrid meeting. We will have a full schedule of in-person events at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, but we will also be accepting abstracts for virtual oral presentations. The call for abstracts will open approximately January 1; please keep checking the meeting website for more details on the meeting’s virtual component as they become available.

Finally, proposals for symposiums, workshops, and special events are being accepted until January 31. Now is your chance to help shape the meeting program, so please check out the information on the website and send us your ideas! Prospective vendors interested in selling items or promoting a business at the meeting are also invited to contact Peter Saenger at petersaenger@muhlenberg.edu to discuss arrangements.

We can’t wait to see you in Allentown (or online) next June!