Adams County, Ohio Travel and Visitors Bureau

Join the Adams County Travel & Visitors Bureau and the Adams County Amish Community for a daylong celebration of birds that features speakers, vendors, and activities. Registration required.

Harvey B. Webster, Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Of Mast and Men - the Life, Times and Demise of the Passenger Pigeon. 200 years ago, the Passenger Pigeon was thought to be the most numerous species of bird on earth, accounting for 25% of all birds in North America. Frontier descriptions of flock size defy the imagination. John James Audubon and Alexander Wilson both reported flocks that darkened the skies for days on end in migration. Nesting colonies could occupy 50 square miles or more. Tree limbs would snap under the weight of roosting pigeons. And yet by 1914 the species was extinct. Join in a look at the history of this remarkable species, the nature of its extraordinary numbers, current thoughts on the causes of its extinction and the lessons for landscape ecology. Also we will explore how the Passenger Pigeon's demise helped spark the modern conservation movement. About Harvey B. Webster Harvey B. Webster is Director of Wildlife Resources at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He directs the Ralph Perkins Wildlife Center and the Museum's Wildlife Resource Center. The Perkins Wildlife Center is one of the largest zoos of native wildlife in Ohio. It is a unique, living, outdoor gallery at the Museum, that promotes the awareness, appreciation and conservation of Ohio's wildlife and the living communities upon which wild creatures depend. It is a perennial favorite of visitors to the Museum. Conservation and sustainability education is at the heart of the Wildlife Resource Center's programs and the live animals at the Museum form a hard-working educational corps that reaches upwards of 250,000 people per year in exhibits, classes and programs. Webster led the Bald Eagle Breeding Program at the Museum and pioneered artificial insemination and other captive management techniques. The Museum was the first institution in the world to successfully breed Bald Eagles by means of artificial insemination. Eaglets produced at the Museum were fostered into wild Ohio nests and have contributed to the successful recovery of the eagle in this region. Webster has a background in wildlife conservation and is involved in many bird and wildlife conservation initiatives. He has served on the technical committee of the Important Bird Areas initiative for Audubon Ohio. He participates in the monitoring and stewardship of Peregrine Falcons in Ohio and oversees the Cleveland Falconcam site, http://www.falconcam-cmnh.org. He is coordinating a program called Smart Light/Safe Flight Ohio, an effort to get urban skyscrapers to turn their lights off at night during the spring and autumn migration of birds to prevent the birds from striking the buildings and save energy. He serves on advisory boards for many regional and state conservation organizations including the Mentor Marsh Board of Management, the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland, the Dike 14 Environmental Education Collaborative, the Animal Management Committee of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, and the Akron Zoo. In addition he presents programs on Ohio's eagles, raptors, birds and wildlife as well as the natural history of the region. He is a regular guest on public radio, television and other broadcast media promoting conservation issues. Webster is editor of 'The American Eagle of Northern Ohio' and a principal contributor to the 'Natural History of Lake County'. He reviews natural history books for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Webster has been leading natural history field trips and tours for over thirty years to destinations throughout the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and South America. Webster was educated at Cornell University and has been with the Museum since 1974. He lives in Kirtland with his wife and family.

Geoff HIll, Author, Professor, Auburn University. Nature's Palette: The Wonders of Bird Coloration. The colors of birds delight us with their brilliance, captivate us with their subtleties, amaze us with their variety, and most of all leave us pondering their existence. Why are some birds so bright and gaudy they cannot go undetected, while others are so drab and cryptic they are very tough to spot? Why do House Finches lose their coloration when they fall ill while the colors of parrots are resistant to the effects of disease. Why do many female birds look different than males? Why aren't there any ducks with red feathers? Ornithologist and author Geoff Hill will give a fun and informative presentation on bird coloration cover a range of tops from feather pigments to the functions of the red and blue plumage coloration. About Geoffrey Hill Dr. Geoffrey E. Hill is an ornithologist and professor of biology at Auburn University. He is co-editor on two scholarly volumes on bird coloration as well as author of three other books: A Red Bird in a Brown Bag, Ivorybill Hunters, and most recently National Geographic Bird Coloration. He has published more than 190 journal articles on the behavior, evolution, and conservation of birds, with more than half on bird coloration.

Chris Gilkey, Wildlife Officer, Ohio Division of Wildlife. Update from the Division of Wildlife. Chris Gilkey will give a brief overview of current wildlife issues in Ohio, and will draw names for a chance to view an active falcoln nest!

Jim McCormac, ODNR Division of  Wildlife  Ruby-throated Hummingbirds: Feathered Helicopters. Hummingbirds are perhaps the most amazing flying machines on Planet Earth. There are about 340 species, and they occur only in the Americas. The combination of incredible powers of flight, often outrageously showy plumage, and fantastic nectar-seeking habits make hummers true marvels of nature. This program will mostly focus on Ohio's only breeding hummingbird: the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Feathered dynamos, ruby-throats are a joy to observe, and live far more complex lives than most observers realize. Their life cycle involves tree bark, lichens, spiders, myriad flowering plants, and tropical winters in places very different than Ohio. About Jim McCormac Jim works for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, specializing in nongame wildlife diversity issues, especially birds. Prior to that, he was a botanist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. He was inaugural president of the Ohio Ornithological Society, and served for seven years as secretary of the Ohio Bird Records Committee. Jim was the 2009 recipient of the Ludlow Griscom award, given annually by the American Birding Association to individuals who have made significant regional contributions to ornithology. He is author of Birds of Ohio (Lone Pine 2004); The Great Lakes Nature Guide (Lone Pine 2009); and Wild Ohio: The Best of Our Natural Heritage (Kent State University Press 2009). The latter won the 2010 Ohioana Book award. Jim writes a column, Nature, for the Columbus Dispatch, and has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific and popular articles in a variety of publications.

Kimberly Kaufman, Executive Director, Black Swamp Bird Observatory How To Be a Better Birder - Even if You're Already an Expert! Kimberly Kaufman has spent the last 15 years of her life completely immersed in the world of birds, birding, and bird conservation. In this fun and enlightening presentation, Kimberly will take you around the world on some of the adventures she's shared with her husband Kenn, and share some of the weirdest, coolest, scariest, and most memorable, encounters they've had with birds and birders. She'll also provide some insight into simple ways that birders can do more for birds. About Kimberly Kaufman An Ohio native with a lifelong love of the outdoors, Kimberly spends most of her time promoting research, education, and bird conservation through the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO), where she is the Executive Director. As the former Education Director for BSBO, Kim spearheaded the Observatory's expanding educational programs, with a focus on programs for youth. Her efforts also led to the formation of the Ohio Young Birders Club, a growing statewide organization for teens. In addition to her work in administration and education, Kim is a bird bander, banding many thousands of warblers and other songbirds at the main BSBO study site on the Lake Erie shore. Over the past five years, Kimberly has focused a great deal of effort on bird-related tourism and using the economic boon brought by visiting birders to promote bird conservation in northwest Ohio. She helped to develop The Biggest Week In American Birding: a spring birding festival in northwest Ohio, and the Black Swamp Birds & Business Alliance, a program that engages local businesses in bird conservation. Kimberly is also serving a term as President of the Board of the Ottawa County Visitors' Bureau. Kimberly is married to award winning author and noted bird expert Kenn Kaufman, and together they are tireless advocates for bird conservation. They currently make their home in Oak Harbor, Ohio.

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following individuals, businesses and organizations for their generous support of the Adams County Amish Bird Symposium:

Jan & Wym Portman


Donna & Dan Rouster



Shawnee Mental Health Center

JZN Goat Farm
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