General Schedule - AOS 2026 Annual Meeting

View the general schedule for the American Ornithological Society (AOS) 2026 meeting, 3–7 August 2026, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA.

REGISTRATION/CHECK-IN

Our AOS 2026 Registration Desk/Check-In Stations will be open daily:

Monday, 3 August: 12:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 4 August: 7:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, 5 August: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Thursday, 6 August: 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Friday, 7 August: 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

AOS 2026: Hope Is the Thing with Feathers — General Schedule
NOTE: All times listed are local time, tentative, and subject to change.

Local Time	2 August	3 August	4 August	5 August	6 August	7 August
	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
6:00
6:30		Morning Bird Walk Orchard Hill 6:30–7:30am	Morning Bird Walk Sylvan Woods & Fields 6:30–7:30am Conference 101 7:30–8:30am	Rainbow Lorikeet Sunrise Social 7:00–8:30am	Morning Bird Walk Wildwood Cemetery 6:30–7:30am Woodcock Waddle 5K 6:30am	Morning Bird Walk Orchard Hill 6:30–7:30am
7:00
7:30
8:00		Exhibitors set-up Poster board set-up
8:30		Conference workshops AOS Council Meeting (full day)	Plenary	Plenary	Plenary	Plenary
9:00
9:30					AOS 2026 Attendee Group Photo (follows the Plenary)
10:00			Break	Break	Break	Break
10:30			Paper session 1	Paper session 1	Paper session 1	Paper session 1
11:00
11:30
12:00			Lunch Roundtable Golden Auks Luncheon	Lunch Roundtable Editorial Board Luncheon	Lunch Roundtable Meet the Editors	Lunch Roundtable Exhibitors Teardown
12:30
13:00
13:30			Paper session 2	Paper session 2	Paper session 2	Paper session 2
14:00	AOS Council Meeting
14:30
15:00		Student/ Early- Professional Mixer 3pm AOS Fellows Meeting 3:30–5pm	Break	Break	Break	Break
15:30			Paper Session 3	Paper Session 3	Paper session 3	Paper session 3
16:00
16:30
17:00		AOS Fellows Dinner 5–6:30pm	Dinner break	Dinner break	Dinner break
17:30
18:00	Informal Council Dinner 6–8pm				Quiz Bowl 6–7:30pm	Closing Reception 6–9pm
18:30				Wandering Chat 6:30–7:30pm
19:00		Keynote Address 7–8pm Opening Reception 8–9:30pm	Poster session 1 7–9pm Silent Auction 7–9pm	Poster session 2 7–9pm Silent Auction 7–9pm	Bird Jam @ The Drake 7–10pm; doors open at 6pm
19:30
20:00
20:30
21:00
21:30
22:00
23:00

Daily Program At-a-Glance

All dates and times are local time and are subject to change. Daily schedule changes will be posted at the conference; this daily schedule is still being updated and is subject to change.

Sunday, 2 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
14:00-18:00	AOS Council Meeting	By invitation only. Location info will be provided to Council members.
18:00-20:00	AOS Council Dinner (informal)	By invitation only. Location info will be provided to Council members.

Monday, 3 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
06:30–07:30	Morning Bird Walk	Orchard Hill (this bird walk repeats on Friday morning)	Meet-up location: TBA Join us for an approximately one-hour bird walk at Orchard Hill on the University of Massachusetts campus. We will walk through the trails and experience one of the best birding locations in Hampshire County. We should see summer breeders such as Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), and Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). Orchard Hill is a consistent migrant trap, so we have the potential to see early migrant warblers and other songbirds. It continues to host avian research including migratory movement and stopover, foraging, and movement.
Various times	Pre-conference Workshops	Locations info will be provided to workshop registrants.	Pre-registration required. The workshops and training sessions at AOS 2026 offer opportunities both for hands-on learning exercises, where participants engage in a mix of lectures and activities, and for panel discussions on a wide range of timely topics highlighting exciting advances in ornithological research, management, social justice, education, and conservation.
15:00	Student/Early Professional Mixer	TBA	The Student-Early Professional Mixer serves as a casual networking event for students and early professionals to mingle and chat about shared research and career interests.
15:30	AOS Fellows’ Meeting (by invitation only) AOS Fellows Dinner (by invitation only)	Meeting in Campus Center Auditorium Dinner in Amherst Room	The annual meeting of the AOS Fellows will take place Monday, 3 August at 3:30 p.m. Invitees will receive a separate email with the agenda and other documents. Following the Fellows’ meeting, there will be a dinner for Fellows and their guests beginning at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $50.00 each ($75 if purchased after 15 July) and can be purchased through the online AOS Member Portal.
19:00	Keynote Address Opening Reception	Campus Center Auditorium	Our meeting kicks off with a presentation by our keynote speaker from 7:00–8:00 p.m. Immediately following we will move to the opening reception where we will greet old friends and colleagues and meet new ones as we look forward to the week’s programming of science, professional development, and community building.

Tuesday, 4 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
06:15	Morning Bird Walk	Sylvan Woods and Fields	Meet-up location: TBA Join us for a morning bird walk at the Sylvan Woods and Fields. This walk will go through hardwood forests, hemlock groves (with individual trees in excess of 200 years old), and agricultural fields that furnish teaching and research opportunities for the UMass Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. Species to expect are Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus), Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), and American Kestrel (Falco sparverius). The site also provides ample opportunities to see early migrants.
06:15	Field Trip	Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary	Enjoy a bird walk at Mass Audubon’s Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Participants will walk through the sanctuary’s grasslands, forests, and wetlands. Located close to the Connecticut River, habitats include floodplain forest, a large freshwater marsh, buttonbush marshes, an abandoned oxbow, vernal pools, red maple swamps, lowland oak-maple-pine-hemlock forest, old apple orchard, crabapple orchard, shrubby hedgerows, and grasslands. The diverse range of healthy habitats creates opportunities to see an abundance of species in one trip. Species to expect are American Kestrel (Falco sparverius), Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), Green Heron (Butorides virescens), Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), and Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor). Early migrants are also a possibility throughout the walk.
07:30	Conference 101	Amherst Room	Please join us for an information session on how to navigate the AOS conference. We will provide information on research, networking, and social opportunities that will occur during the conference, as well as recommendations on how to be successful this week. Finally, we will review existing committees and resources available to participants to be successful, with an emphasis for students. At the end there will be time for questions.
08:30	Plenary Address
10:00	Coffee Break
10:30	Paper Session 1
12:00	Lunch Break Lunchtime Roundtables	Various locations	Roundtables and working groups are forums for discussions centred on current or emerging issues and their future directions; alternatively, they can be used as a venue to gather information for generating planning documents, or to share information broadly.
12:00	Golden Auks Luncheon	Student Union Ballroom	The Golden Auks luncheon is an informal gathering for senior ornithologists who want to connect with colleagues. Please sign up to attend this luncheon through the meeting registration form when registering for AOS 2026.
13:30	Paper Session 2
15:00	Coffee Break
15:30	Paper Session 3
19:00-21:00	Silent Auction bidding open	Poster Hall	The Student Affairs Committee is organizing a Silent Auction this year! Attendees will be able to browse and bid on auction items in the poster hall. Proceeds will support the AOS mission in their objectives to increase accessibility to annual conferences. Winning bidders will be contacted directly and can pay for and pick up their items at the auction table beginning on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET.
19:00-21:00	Poster Session 1	Poster Hall

Wednesday, 5 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
06:15	Field Trip	Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area (WMA)	The Montague Plains WMA consists of a 1,500-acre state wildlife refuge and unique ecological area, operated by the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. The Montague Plains WMA is located on a large sand delta, formed more than 10,000 years ago when melt water streams from the retreating glaciers emptied into Glacial Lake Hitchcock—a huge lake that covered much of what is now Montague and the Connecticut River Valley during the glacial period. You will bird through the pitch pine forests, scrub oak, and grassland habitats. Potential species include a variety of woodland and shrub-dwelling species but featuring: Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor), Great-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus), Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica), Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), and Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) are common and vocal after sunset. This site continues to host a range of studies on the avifauna and their response to management.
07:00	Rainbow Lorikeets Sunrise Social	Student Union Ballroom	The Rainbow Lorikeets are organizing a networking social for 2SLGBTQIA+ (two spirit, lesbian, gay, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual) attendees in our AOS 2026 community. This will be the main event for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and allies to meet and network at our meeting.
08:30	Plenary Address
10:00	Coffee Break
10:30	Paper Session 1
12:00	AOS Editorial Board Luncheon (by invitation only)	Student Union Ballroom	To thank you for your valued contributions to the AOS, we will be having our joint Ornithology and Ornithological Applications Editorial Board luncheon. Join us for this special gathering of Senior Editors, Associate Editors, Editors-in-Chief, the Managing Editor, and fellow members of the editorial board. This event offers a unique opportunity to discuss submission trends, peer review, and FAQs for Associate Editors – while fostering connections with colleagues who typically interact only via email. Invitations will be sent by email to members of the AOS Editorial Board.
12:00–13:30	Lunch Break Lunchtime Roundtables	Various locations	Roundtables and working groups are forums for discussions centred on current or emerging issues and their future directions; alternatively, they can be used as a venue to gather information for generating planning documents, or to share information broadly.
12:00–13:30	Golden Auks Luncheon	Student Union Ballroom	The Golden Auks luncheon is an informal gathering for senior ornithologists who want to connect with colleagues. Please sign up to attend this luncheon when registering for AOS 2025 through the registration form. $40 per person
13:30–15:00	Paper Session 2
15:00	Coffee Break
15:30–17:00	Paper Session 3
17:00–19:00	Dinner Break
18:30– 19:30	A Wandering Chat	Student Union Ballroom	Research from outside the academy is an important component of advancing ornithological science and conservation. If you are somebody who has wandered outside of academia for your research career (or are interested in learning more about these career paths), consider joining our community for our meeting. This is an informal social to build relationships, expand networks, and foster new collaborations.
19:00–21:00	Poster Session 2
19:00-21:00	Silent Auction bidding open	Poster Hall	The Student Affairs Committee is organizing a Silent Auction again this year! Attendees can browse and bid on auction items in the poster hall from 5pm–9pm on Tuesday and Wednesday. Proceeds will support the activities of the Student Affairs Committee. Winning bidders will be contacted directly and can pay for and pick up their items at the auction table beginning on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. following the plenary session.

Thursday, 6 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
06:30	Woodcock Waddle 5K Fun Walk/Run/Ride (wheelchair accessible)	TBA	Kick off your morning with some fresh air and great company at our Woodcock Waddle, this year’s 5K Fun Walk/Run/Ride (wheelchair accessible) at UMass Amherst! We’ll gather at 6:30 a.m. on campus before setting out on a scenic route that will highlight the beauty of UMass in the early morning light. The exact course is still being finalized, but it will be designed to be welcoming for all paces and fully wheelchair accessible. Whether you prefer to walk, run, or roll, this is a fun, low‑pressure way to get moving, meet fellow attendees, and enjoy the campus before the day’s sessions begin. Light refreshments—water, fruit, and snacks—will be available at the start/finish area, and volunteers will be stationed along the route to support participants.
06:15–08:15	Morning Bird Walk	Wildwood Cemetery	Join us for a morning of birding at the historic Wildwood Cemetery in Amherst. A premier hotspot in Amherst, the walk will go through woodlands, gardens, and around the scenic pond. This popular spot to see migrants will offer the potential to see numerous species in the early stages of migration. Other species to expect are Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina), Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera), Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus), Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), Green Heron (Butorides virescens), and Wood Duck (Aix sponsa).
06:15–08:15 or 08:15–10:15	Field Trip	Conte National Wildlife Refuge	Visit the Fort River Division of the Conte National Wildlife Refuge in Hadley to experience a banding session at the Fort River MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) banding station. Participants will have the opportunity to accompany the banding crew on net checks to extract birds from nets, learn about banding a variety of eastern forest birds (including determining species, sex, and age), and hear about how the data collected by the MAPS program informs understanding of the demographic drivers of bird population change across North America. Over the past 10 years, 50 species have been captured at the Fort River MAPS station, which has also been the locus of avian migration research, hosts an active MOTUS station, and was a translocation site for Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), who were coaxed from a building slated for demolition to an adjacent structure specially designed to accommodate the displaced population. The more regularly captured species include American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens), Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), Veery (Catharus fuscescens), Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), and Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva).
08:30– 10:00	Plenary
10:00	ATTENDEE GROUP PHOTO	TBA	Join us for our AOS 2026 Attendee Photo. Location information will be provided at the plenary address.
10:00–10:30	Coffee Break
10:00	Silent Auction Pick-Up	Poster Hall	Winning bidders will be contacted directly and can pay for and pick up their items at the auction table beginning on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. following the plenary session.
10:30–12:00	Paper Session 1
12:00–13:30	Lunch Break Lunchtime Roundtables	Various locations
12:00–13:30	Meet the AOS Editors	Student Union Ballroom	Everyone is welcome to this session to meet the Editors-in-Chief, Senior Editors, and Managing Editor for the AOS journals Ornithology and Ornithological Applications. This session should be particularly helpful for students and early-career professionals. The editors will discuss what they are looking for in submitted manuscripts, the review process from submission to revision, and how to increase the chances that your manuscript will be reviewed favorably. After comments by the editors, the session will be devoted to questions from the audience. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.
13:30–15:00	Paper Session 2
15:00– 15:30	Coffee Break
15:30–17:00	Paper Session 3
17:00–18:30	Dinner Break
18:00–19:30	Quiz Bowl	Campus Center Auditorium	Join us for the annual AOS 2026 Quiz Bowl. The Student Affairs Committee will host this popular bird-themed quiz game, a lively and engaging trivia event for meeting attendees. Participants will form teams of three and compete for prizes; teams do not need to be assembled in advance, as groups may be formed at the beginning of the event. The competition will feature several rounds of pub-style trivia followed by a Final Jeopardy round. The top three student teams from the pub round will be eligible to advance to the Final Jeopardy round.
19:00–22:00	Bird Band Jam	The Drake (doors open at 6:00 p.m.)	Join us for a lively, bird-themed music and dance celebration! Expect an upbeat atmosphere! Some instruments will be provided (wing it if you’d like!) for those who want to perform. Enjoy plenty of chances to mingle and move. No outside food or drink, but good vibes guaranteed. Capacity limited to 200. Cover charge at door: $5 Students; $10 General

Friday, 7 August

Time	Event Name	Location (subject to change)	Description
06:15-08:15	Field Trip	Lake Warner – Birding by Canoe	Enjoy a calm, shoreline-rich paddle on Lake Warner as you explore winding wetland channels, stands of reeds, and lily-pad corridors. Guides help set a relaxed pace that supports quiet observation, with time to watch for movement along the banks, listen for calls in the cattails, and pause when wildlife presents itself. This gentle outing is ideal for immersing yourself in the natural rhythms of the lake.
06:30	Morning Bird Walk	Orchard Hill	Join us for an approximately one-hour bird walk at Orchard Hill on the University of Massachusetts campus. We will walk through the trails and experience one of the best birding locations in Hampshire County. We should see summer breeders such as Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus), Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula), and Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus). Orchard Hill is a consistent migrant trap, so we have the potential to see early migrant warblers and other songbirds. It continues to host avian research including migratory movement and stopover, foraging, and movement.
08:30–10:00	Plenary
10:00–10:30	Coffee Break
10:30–12:00	Paper Session 1
12:00–13:30	Lunch Break Lunchtime Roundtables
13:30–15:00	Paper Session 2
15:00–15:30	Coffee Break
15:30–17:00	Paper Session 3
18:00–21:00	Closing Reception	Campus Center Auditorium / Student Union Ballroom	Join us for a memorable evening at UMass Amherst as we celebrate the conclusion of our annual meeting. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere on campus while connecting with fellow attendees and reflecting on the week’s conversations and discoveries. A buffet dinner will be served in our designated dining area, with cash bars available. It’s the perfect way to unwind, continue meaningful conversations, and close out an inspiring conference together.