KOS SPRING MEETING
Ulysses, Kansas
May 2 - 4, 2025

Meeting Information as a PDF
Registration Form as a fillable PDF form
On-line Payment Registration

I've never attended a spring meeting before
 

We hope you can join KOS for our annual spring meeting in far southwest Kansas this upcoming May 2-4! It will no doubt be an exciting time with many great finds from this fascinating and diverse part of our state. The Spring Meeting bird list will include any birds seen that weekend in Grant, Hamilton, Kearny, Morton, Stanton, and Stevens Counties. With many concurrent events occurring in the same area at the same time, it is sure to be a fun weekend for anybody! NOTE: Compilation will include sightings from the above listed counties only. Please share your eBird Check-lists with KSOrnSociety. The infamous big check-lists will be available Friday evening and at the Sunday compilation for those who enjoy filling them in.

Friday evening: we invite you to join a social hour at Ulysses High School starting at 7:00 PM (501 N McCall, Ulysses). This will be a great opportunity to connect with birding friends and to sign up for Saturday field trips. The immediate area around Ulysses doesn’t offer great nightjar habitat, but Grant County is the only county in Kansas without a record for Eastern Screech-Owl on the county dot maps, so perhaps attendees staying in Ulysses can help make some ornithological history if the weather allows, or perhaps you can call it an early night and plan for a big day of birding on Saturday.

Saturday: There will be several field trips to the surrounding areas, and anyone that suffers from FOMO (the fear of missing out) will have a difficult choice to make. In Ulysses, you can join Jeff Calhoun for a thorough look for birds around town and the surrounding countryside or you can join Pete Janzen for a trip to the remote, wild and beautiful Stanton County, just to the west. Starting to the north, in Lakin, you could join Tom and Sara Shane for a cruise of the Arkansas River Valley through Kearny and Hamilton Counties. During this same weekend, the Kansas Sampler Foundation is hosting their annual Big Kansas Road Trip (BKRT) in nearby Morton County with a variety of activities planned. Jackie Augustine, Director of Audubon of Kansas and KOS member, is leading Saturday bird walks for BKRT participants at Middle Spring and at the Elkhart cemetery. All the while, the KSU Birding Club is also conducting their Morton County pilgrimage this weekend, led by the enthusiastic junior at KSU, Jacob Riggs. Attendees of the KOS Spring Meeting are invited to participate alongside each of these birding outings! More information on each of these trips will be provided at the Friday social hour or closer to time on the KOS Facebook page. All of these offer amazing opportunities to experience far southwest Kansas at its best with some people that know the birdy sites and the birds!

Sunday: There will be field trips, of course, but the locations will not be known until we see what good things happen on Saturday! More information will be posted on the KOS Facebook page closer to time, or on Sunday morning from our 6:30 AM meeting spot, at Frazier Park Lake in Ulysses.

Compilation All participants are invited to return to Frazier Park Lake in Ulysses at noon to join for the traditional KOS Spring Meeting compilation.

We hope this weekend provides enough structure to bring birding friends together, but also allows enough flexibility where each participant can enjoy a “build-your-own-adventure” style weekend. We recognize that getting to Ulysses is quite an undertaking for most Kansas birders.

Headquarters: We aren't designating any specific hotel as a headquarters. There are several great lodging options in Ulysses. Calhoun recommends the Peddler’s Inn, the Single Tree Inn, or the Corporate East. There are also many great restaurants in Ulysses: La Estrella, Tate’s Barbeque, Alejandro’s (Friday only).

Corporate East: 620-356-5010
Single Tree Inn: 620-356-1500
Peddler’s Inn: 620-356-4021
The Sands Motor Inn: 620-356-1404

Hope to see you there!
 

Registration Form, KOS Spring Meeting, May 2 – 4, 2025

Ulysses, Kansas

I (we) plan to attend the 2025 KOS spring meeting

Name(s)__________________________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip _____________________________________________________________

Phone _______________________ E-mail_______________________________________

Number                Total

Registration Fee                                                            $10/person            _______           $_________
No registration fee for students, but we still ask that they send in a registration form.

 Surcharge for payment received after April 21st             $10/person           _______           $_________

 Total Amount Due (Checks payable to KOS)                                                                  $_________

Or pay online via PayPal -

 Number of persons in party: _______

 Special needs or requests: _______________________________________________________

 _____________________________________________________________________________

Registrations received after April 21st will have a surcharge of $10.00 per person.

No registration refunds for cancellations after April 25th.

 

Please mail/email completed registration with full payment (even if paying online) to:

Max Thompson 
1729 E. 11th Ave.
Winfield, KS 67156  

e-mail: maxt@cox.net

In submitting this registration form I (we) understand that KOS is not responsible or liable for any accidents or injury that might be associated with the 2025 KOS spring meeting. (Registering on line, or submission of this form electronically indicates your acceptance of these conditions.) 

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