Calendar of Events

OIAS Calendar of Events

2025-2026 Programs

Loutit District Library
407 Columbus Avenue
Grand Haven, MI

6:00-6:15 PM Social
6:15-7:30 PM Program

Recordings of OIAS programs can be found on the OIAS YouTube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/

Please subscribe to the OIAS YouTube channel if you have not already done so. Also, please visit and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/oias.org. We’ll also post birding information and information about OIAS and upcoming OIAS events there.

Muskegon County Nature Club and the Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society (Grand Haven's chapter) have combined their resources for programs. Programs for both societies will be presented at Loutit District Library, 407 Columbus Ave. in Grand Haven. MCNC will schedule field trips for both societies and OIAS members are encouraged to attend! See the schedule on the Field Trip page here.

Click here for a program brochure and membership application.

September 23:

Time Change! this program only is one week later than normal.

Birding Slovakia and Central Europe

- Curtis Dykstra, Ottawa County Parks

In June of 2024 Curtis made his first trip ’over the pond’ to Europe to visit his brother and experience a whole new world of birds. Come along as he shares his adventures as he visits the heart of Europe in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. From riverside castles, commercial fishponds and a ‘sea of reeds,’ to majestic mountain tops and the remote Hungarian countryside, the amazing images of his new birds will delight you and the stories of his adventures will be sure to excite and entertain! Don’t miss this one.

Curtis graduated from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa with a degree in Environmental Studies in 1999. Since then, his experience as an educator and naturalist includes being a teacher, State Park Ranger in eastern North Carolina, and Assistant Director of Outdoor Education at Camp Roger in Rockford, MI. Since 2013, Curtis has served as a Parks Naturalist for Ottawa County. In his work, Curtis strives to engage people with the outdoors in ways that spark lifelong curiosity and excitement and create lasting memorable experiences. He is an avid birder and delights in sharing this passion with others.

October 21:
Identiflight: Protecting Endangered Raptors Throughout the World
- Caleb Putnam, owner, Real Birds LLC; eBird Reviewer

Caleb Putnam, owner of Real Birds LLC, will present his exciting work with Identiflight, the world's top AI camera system protecting birds at windfarms worldwide. Caleb will also speak to his work at Real Birds, especially backyard habiscaping and bird water features.

Bio: Caleb Putnam is a professional ornithologist and owner of Real Birds LLC. A lifelong birder, Caleb has exceptional enthusiasm and passion for birds and birding. He has served on the Michigan Bird Records Committee and is a statewide expositor of eBird as well as a local eBird reviewer for an 11-County area in west lower Michigan. Caleb spent 12 years working for the National Audubon Society as the Important Bird Areas program coordinator and 2 years with Audubon Great Lakes and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as the MI Birds program coordinator. He also has spent many years in environmental consulting, especially focused on wind power and green energy development.

November 18: Birding and Wildlife in Montana at Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
- Ken Cook, Photographer

Located in the lower southwestern corner of Montana, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was established in the early 1930’s to help protect and restore the Trumpeter Swan population, at that time, a perilous 70 birds.

Join OIAS as Ken Cook shares some breathtaking photographs taken during his recent trip to this scenic but remote area of what some have called the most beautiful refuge in the country. The picturesque Centennial Mountains provide a striking backdrop for a landscape that presents a very diverse variety of birds, wildlife and vistas in a high meadow environment.

Only a couple hours’ drive from Yellowstone, it’s an area of the country not visited by many people.

A Holland native and graduate of Hope College, Cook has honed his 30-plus year photography passion to specialize in landscapes, nature and wildlife. He has traveled to many countries to pursue his passion, but currently is focused within North America. He is a member of the Tulip City Camera Club and a charter member of the North America Nature Photography Association. You can view his work and/or contact him at www.kencookphotography.com

January 20:

A Fledgling's Guide to Birding: Tips for Beginners
-Cindy Dobrez, OIAS Member

Meeting Cancelled due to Weather - Program will be presented in April

Are you interested in learning how to become a birder in addition to being a bird watcher? Don’t know the difference? As a fledgling birder herself, Cindy has tips, resources, photographs, and funny stories to share. Some people have “spark birds” that draw them into birding, others, like Cindy, have a spark event. Others began to notice nature during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever your reason for being intrigued about the hobby of birding, you, too, can soon be on your way from identifying a Tufted Titmouse in your backyard to photographing a Keel-billed Toucan at a gas station in Costa Rica! The obsession is real, and you’ll leave the program with a list of resources to help you on your way. Ottawa County is one of the best places in Michigan and in the U.S. for rewarding birding. Don’t miss out.

Cindy Dobrez is a retired school librarian and currently the Vice President of the Owashtanong Islands Audubon Society, starting her 7th year of birding. Her life list stands at 635 and includes birds in all but 14 counties in Michigan, 32 U.S. states, and the countries of Panama, Costa Rica, and Croatia. List? Did you say List? Music to a birder's ear. Wait until you learn how many types of lists you can make as a birder!

February 17:

Rails at Different Scales: Ecological and Evolutionary Drivers of Vocal Behavior in Rallidae

Daniel Goldberg, GVSU, Biology Department

Secretive marsh birds like rails are difficult to study visually because many species vocalize from within dense vegetation at times that are difficult to survey. Furthermore, behavioral information is lacking for many species, which poses challenges for rail conservation. Over the course of my doctoral research, I have discovered that Soras do not decrease their vocalization rates following predator calls, and furthermore, that Soras migrating at night during the spring show high site fidelity in choosing stopover locations, but are not more attracted by either Sora calls or habitat cues. Finally, my comparative analysis of the family Rallidae has revealed that about 60% of rail species duet — one of the highest rates of any group of birds — and that this duetting is associated with year-round territory defense by mated pairs, in species that primarily occur in densely to highly vegetated habitats.

I am an Assistant Professor of Biology at Grand Valley State University, a role that I began in Fall 2024 after teaching Biology for a year at Albion College. My research interests span both animal communication and comparative studies of behavioral ecology and the evolution of elaborate signals, which I pursued during my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of California Riverside, and during my Ph.D. at Illinois State University. I have published research articles on dorsal fin-based courtship displays in freshwater livebearer fishes, parental carrying of offspring on their backs in waterbirds, and vocal behavior and duetting in rails. At GVSU, I specialize in teaching Ecology, Environmental Science, Ornithology, and Natural History of Vertebrates.

March 17:
Chimney Swift Conservation in Michigan
- Chad Machinski, Michigan Audubon Society

How well do you know this compact, aerial acrobat?

Facing steep population declines, the Chimney Swift is one urban bird that we should all get behind. In this presentation you will learn the identification and life history of the Chimney Swift along with issues these birds are grappling with. We will also discuss ways that YOU can help with Chimney Swift conservation and what Michigan Audubon is doing across the state to help this enigmatic bird.
Speaker Bio: While Chad’s first love is botany, he doesn’t deny the intertwining nature of birds, plants, insects, and all other organisms we share the world with. As Michigan Audubon’s Conservation Manager, Chad is responsible for the management and care for all 20 of Michigan Audubon’s Sanctuaries around the state and bird specific programs such as Chimney Swift and Purple Martin conservation. In his spare time, Chad enjoys tending to and expanding his native plant garden, collecting plant specimens, and learning more about our natural world.

April 21
TBD

May 20:
Annual Business Meeting, Resource Swap and Election of Officers

Bring bird guides, bird resources, and puzzles to swap at the May meeting. There is no limit to how many can be taken but members must take any unclaimed goods home.

Bring up to 10 images on a thumb drive to show at the meeting.

Board of Directors election for new terms.The candidates for positions on the Board are: Michael Lombardo, Bruce Ostrow, and Lucas Timmer. We will also accept nominations from the floor.

Bring a dessert to pass.