What exactly is the Midwest Birding Symposium?
The Midwest Birding Symposium (MBS) is a non-profit birding event held every other year in the Midwest. It features speakers, workshops, seminars, a robust vendor area, and birding at nearby hotspots. The MBS has been held in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Iowa. The first symposium was held in the Chicago suburbs of Illinois in 1989, and repeated there in 1991. The event then migrated to southwestern Michigan in 1993 and 1995; Lakeside, Ohio in 1997 and 1999; Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2001 and 2003; and Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois in 2005 and 2007. In 2009 and 2011 the Midwest Birding Symposium will be held in Lakeside, Ohio. In 2009 the MBS will be hosted by Bird Watcher’s Digest, The Ohio Ornithological Society, and The Lakeside Association. Each year the MBS donates a portion of the net proceeds to environmental/birding-related causes.
