AOS SPRING MEETING, DAUPHIN ISLAND, ALABAMA, APRIL 17-19, 2026
Unless otherwise noted, all AOS Spring Meeting events, including field trips, will start
at the Dauphin Island Community Center, 412 Lemoyne Drive. Dress for all activities is casual. Stay tuned for surprises and activities during the AOS weekend.
See registration form at bottom of page.
FRIDAY, APRIL 10
6:00 p.m. Board meeting: Via TEAMS
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
6:30 a.m. Field trip: Daphne Bayfront Park and Meaher State Park
5:00 p.m. Drop off silent auction items – silent auction starts
5:30 p.m. Registration opens at Community Center
6:00 p.m. Member Social — Heavy hors d’oeuvres – Donations are welcome. This is not included in the registration fee.
6:30 p.m. Announcements and Discussion of Weekend Field Trips
6:45 p.m. Member Slides
Only 10 slides per person. Please send an email to Shirley Farrell (aosbirdsinfo@gmail.com) to let her know you will be participating in member slides
7:10 p.m. Learn shorebird ID before going out on Saturday morning to the mudflats and Pelican Island to see the birds with Jason Hoeksema
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
6:30 a.m. Field Trips
Field Trip #1: Exploring Dauphin Island (Shell Mounds/Goat Trees/Audubon Sanctuary)
Where: Green Park across from Community Center
Field Trip #2: Coden Mudflat Area and Pelican Island with Jason Hoeksema and Howard Horne. Pelican Island should be opened in March.
11:30 a.m. Lunch at the Community Center and special presentation
5:30 p.m. Registration, Social Hour, Banquet, Silent Auction and Keynote Speaker, Community Center
6:00 p.m. Silent Auction ends
6:30 p.m. Banquet Buffet
7:15 p.m. Announcements and Discussion of Field Trip sightings
7:30 p.m. Keynote Speaker: Jason Hoeksema “Delta Wind Birds and the Ecosystem Services of Agricultural Pop-up Wetlands”
8:30 p.m. Pick up and pay for auction items
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SUNDAY, APRIL 19
6:30 a.m. Field Trip #1: Blakely Island Mud Lakes with Craig Litteken – Meet: Green Park across from Community Center. NOTE: See additional information and instructions on page the website about admission to the Mud Lakes.
Field Trip #2: Grand Bay/Point aux Pins with Shirley Farrell
Noon Compilation (All bird sightings in Mobile and Baldwin Counties from Friday, April 17 to noon, April 19, 2026) Where: Goat Trees — Treats for all who attend
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Meet the Speaker: Jason Hoeksema
Bio: Jason Hoeksema is a Professor of Biology at the University of Mississippi, where his research examines bird responses to and ecosystem functions of temporary wetlands in agricultural systems, as well as the ecology and evolution of mycorrhizal mutualisms between trees and fungi. He teaches courses in Ornithology, Mycology, Biometry, Meta-analysis, and Coevolution. He earned his PhD in Ecology from the University of California-Davis in 2002 and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California-Santa Cruz and at Duke University. He currently serves as President of the Mississippi Ornithological Society and of Delta Wind Birds, a non-profit founded by shorebird-loving birders in 2013.
“Delta Wind Birds and the Ecosystem Services of Agricultural Pop-up Wetlands”
In this keynote presentation, Dr. Hoeksema will describe the conservation problem of migratory shorebirds passing through the Mississippi Delta, how Delta Wind Birds is addressing that challenge by providing temporary habitat on working agricultural land, and research results from studies aimed to assess the habitat quality, shorebird movement ecology, and ecosystem services of the pop-up wetlands provided for shorebirds by DWB.
Register Here