OSBC Annual Meeting

The Ocean State Bird Club is hosting its 2025 Annual Meeting at Audubon of Rhode Island's beautiful Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol, RI. This event is free to OSBC members and will include light refreshments such as beer, wine, seltzer, and soda along with a variety of snacks. Our guest speaker this year is Gene Ellison who is presenting, "Rarified Air: One Passionate Birders' Big Year Quest."

Eugene (Gino) Ellison Bio - is a lifetime resident of Massachusetts. He is happily married to his wonderful wife Kate (38 years) and they have 3 fun kids and 4 active grandkids. Gino is now retired from the investment business as well as the Professional Bass Fishing Tournament circuit. Gino has been affiliated with Bass Pro Shops for over 25 years and still makes several store appearances each year. Gino is a hunter, fisherman, conservationist and passionate birder who leads dozens of walks in Massachusetts. He greatly enjoys volunteering with Mass Wildlife and with Mass Audubon at their family birding & fishing events. Gino just completed a successful ABA Birding Big Year in 2023 and is scheduled to speak at birding festivals and clubs around New England and nationwide.

The meeting details are currently in the works but you should expect to hear about the club's financial outlook from the past year as well as vote on the election of Board officers and members. Door prizes will be awarded at the end of the event so you will want to stick around for the fun. For non-members, you may attend by simply joining the OSBC for $18 or purchase a ticket for $20. Becoming a member of the Ocean State Bird Club is easy. Just visit our website, , to find out more.

Info: Come early to visit with friends, catch-up on the latest bird sightings all while enjoying a cold drink and light refreshments.

Info: Club President Nick Pacelli kicks off the meeting by introducing our Board members while club Treasurer Michael Gow provides members with a financial overview of club coffers. Additionally, members will vote on the Board's selections for officers to serve for another year.

Info: "Rarified Air: One Passionate Birders' Big Year Quest."
How many different bird species could you dream of seeing, capturing a sound recording of or photographing from January 1 to December 31 of any given year?
Have you ever considered doing an ABA Birding Big Year?
How about a county or statewide Big Year?
Why would you want to even do one?
How does one plan out all the logistics to ensure that each of the important states are visited at the most opportune times?
Can you do this alone or do you need to seek out help?
Come and learn about the mishaps, the successes, the lessons learned along the way, the hilarious birding stories, the new life-time friends met along the way and the joy of reporting 801 bird species during 2023! But be warned … if you attend, you just might get the urge to plan a Big Year yourself! Please come and meet Big Year Birder Gino Ellison and see tons of beautiful bird photographs while hearing one birders tale about a 12-month quest of a lifetime!

Info: Stick around for our door prize drawings. Raffle tickets are free for members and will be distributed at the start of the meeting.

Host or Publisher Ocean State Bird Club