Upcoming KOS Meetings
KOS-TOS Joint Fall 2026 Meeting September 18–20
Jump to the following sections of this page:
- Meeting Details
- Lodging Information
- Meeting Schedule
- Speaker Information
- Detailed Field Trip Descriptions
- Information Messages
The KOS 2026 Fall meeting is planned for the Land Between the Lakes area on the weekend of September 18–20. The meetings will take place at Lake Barkley State Resort Park (SRP) and our primary lodging will be a short drive away at Kenlake State Resort Park. Some lodging is also available at Lake Barkley State Resort Park, but it is limited due to construction at the park.
Meeting Details:
Location: Lake Barkley State Resort Park
Dates: September 18–20
Registration: $10.00 ($3.00 for students)
All times are Central Daylight Time
The KOS business meeting is held in the fall, and an important item of business each fall is the election of KOS board members. The following slate will be voted on at the fall meeting:
Slate of KOS Board Candidates:
- President: David Bailey
- Vice President: Michael Patton
- Corresponding Secretary: Carol Besse
- Treasurer: Brad Everhart
- Recording Secretary: Bernadette Adams
- Councilor 2026-2029: Ethan Wells
- Councilor 2026-2029: Ed Groneman
- Councilor 2026-2027: Asher Higgins (fulfilling the final year remaining on Brad Everhart's term)
Below are the continuing board members who are not up for election:
- Councilor 2024-2027: Kyle Bixler
- Councilor 2025-2028: Joyce Bender
- Councilor 2025-2028: Bruce Cryder
- Curator: Brainard Palmer-Ball, Jr
- Editor, The Kentucky Warbler: Ronan O'Carra
- Secretary, Kentucky Bird Records Committee (KBRC): Brian Wulker
Lodging information:
- Kenlake State Resort Park
- Kenlake SRP Reservations: 1-270-474-2211
- Kenlake SRP Reduced Rate Group Code: 3076
- Lake Barkley State Resort Park
- Lake Barkley SRP Reservations: 1-270-924-1131, option 1
- Lake Barkley SRP Reduced Rate Group Code: 3817
- Camping and nearby hotels are also available
Schedule:
The following information can also be found in the KOS-TOS Joint Fall 2026 Meeting Flyer (PDF)
Friday, September 18
| 1:00 p.m. Jump to Details |
Field Trips
departing from the front of the Kenlake SRP Lodge
|
| 6:00 p.m. | Meeting Registration and Social Hour Lake Barkley SRP Convention Center |
| 7:00 p.m. | Evening Meeting
Barkley SRP Convention Center
|
Saturday, September 19
| 8:00 a.m. Jump to Details |
Field Trips
departing from the front of the Kenlake SRP Lodge
|
| 1:00 p.m. Jump to Details |
Field Trips
meet at the pinned locations found in trip details
|
| 3:00 p.m. | Separate KOS & TOS Business Meetings Lake Barkley SRP Convention Center |
| 6:30 p.m. | Meeting Registration and Social Time Lake Barkley SRP Convention Center |
| 7:00 p.m. | Evening Meeting
Lake Barkley SRP Convention
Center
|
Sunday, September 20
| 8:00 a.m. Jump to Details |
Field Trips departure location announced at
the end of Saturday's meeting |
About the Keynote Speakers
Cin-Ty Lee (left) is a professor of Geology, Earth, Environment, and Planetary Sciences at Rice University in Houston, TX. Andrew Birch (right) is an artist from southern California who has had his illustrations published in numerous field guides and identification articles. Together, Lee and Birch have left an indelible mark on the birding community with the publication of their guides to the flycatchers of North America with volumes 1 (Empidionax and Pewees) and 2 (Kingbirds and Myiarchus) adorning the shelves of many birders, and volume 3 currently in progress
In their Friday talk (Flycatchers Demystified) Lee and Birch will cover the basics of identifying flycatchers, covering which field marks to look for and how to use them holistically to conclude an identification.
On Saturday (New Advances in Flycatcher Identification and Migratory Patterns) we will hear about new advances in flycatcher identification based on primary tip spacings and other field marks derived from feather patterns. We will also hear about how these advances in identification are changing the understanding of migratory and vagrancy patterns in flycatchers.
Go to TopDetailed Field Trip Descriptions:
Friday, September 18, 1:00 p.m.
- Honker Lake: Brad Everhart
- Difficulty: Moderate (easy near parking area, but steep hills/steps also present)
- Amenities: None
- Parking: Small trailhead lot (Forest
Service Rd 177, Eddyville, KY 42038)
- Details: [If trip is at day use area] Day use area on the shore of Honker Lake and Lake Barkley with a trail crossing the water and leading into a hilly wooded area. Great place for waterbirds and raptors, especially waterfowl and eagles.
- Details: [If trip is at trail near Nature Station] Wooded trail leading to the shore of Honker Lake. Good habitat for species that prefer wet lowland areas. The lake is great for waterbirds and raptors, especially waterfowl and eagles.
- Bobcat Point:
Jeremy Teague
- Difficulty: Easy (optional moderate downhill walk to lake)
- Amenities: None
- Parking: Medium trailhead parking lot
- Details: Wooded parking lot on an elevated point where migrants on the move tend to take a break. There is also a sandbar down the hill from the parking area on Lake Barkley where gulls and waterfowl hang out.
- Jonathon Creek
Embayment: Happy Chambers
- Difficulty: Somewhat strenuous (bushwhacking to mudflat, uneven/soft surfaces)
- Amenities: None
- Parking: Side of road, no parking lot
- Details: This hotspot is a large mudflat that attracts a wide variety of shorebirds in the right conditions during migration. We will also have a good chance at seeing terns, gulls, pelicans, and wading birds. It is useful to bring a scope if you can, but there will be at least one scope to share.
Go to Top
Saturday, September 19, 8:00 a.m.
- Kenlake State Resort Park:
Michael Patton
- Difficulty: Easy
- Amenities: Restrooms and water
- Parking: Large parking lot (542 Kenlake Rd, Hardin, KY 42048)
- Details: We will walk the roads and paths around the lodge looking for migrants and whatever other birds we may find. We may try to scan the water and the marina (if we have time) so see what gulls, terns, and waders we might find.
- Boyd's Landing:
Jeremy Teague
- Difficulty: Easy
- Amenities: Picnic tables, sometimes a portapotty is there
- Parking: Medium parking lot (37°00'06.3"N 88°09'58.7"W)
- Details: This is an excellent migrant trap for southbound migrants (take a look at where it is on the map and you’ll see why). The access road and parking areas are surrounded by woods that host migrating warblers and other songbirds, and there is a point where we can scope the lake for waterbirds of all sorts. A scope is useful, but we’ll have at least one there to share.
- Jonathon Creek
Embayment: David Bailey
- Difficulty: Somewhat strenuous (bushwhacking to mudflat, uneven/soft surfaces)
- Amenities: None
- Parking: Side of road, no parking lot
- Details: This hotspot is a large mudflat that attracts a wide variety of shorebirds in the right conditions during migration. We will also have a good chance at seeing terns, gulls, pelicans, and wading birds. It is useful to bring a scope if you can, but there will be at least one scope to share.
- Clark’s River
Environmental Education and Recreation Area: Josh Powell
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate (roughly 1 mile walk)
- Amenities: Vault toilets
- Parking: Medium sized parking lot (898 E 12th St, Benton, KY 42025)
- Details: This hotspot provides a variety of habitats including ponds/wetlands, open prairie, and some more forested areas. This is a great location for all sorts of migrants – warblers, flycatchers, sparrows, etc.
Go to Top
Saturday, September 19, 1:00 p.m.
- Kentucky Dam:
Michael Patton
- Difficulty: Easy
- Amenities: Portapotties
- Parking: Large parking lot (640 Kentucky Dm Rd, Grand Rivers, KY 42045)
- Details: The tailwaters below the dam can be excellent for gulls, pelicans, and cormorants. Views from above the dam can sometimes provide interesting diving ducks as well. We may make quick stops in other areas close to the dam to look for migrants.
- Lake Barkley State Resort Park:
David Bailey
- Difficulty: Easy
- Amenities: Restrooms and water
- Parking: Large parking lot (3500 State Park Rd, Cadiz, KY 42211)
- Details: We will wander around and look for migrants in the trees and trails between the lodge and the marina. If gulls and terns are around the marina we will scan to see if we can pick out any unusual visitors.
Go to Top
Sunday, September 20, 8:00 a.m.
- Sledd Creek Boat Ramp,
KY Dam Marina, and
Sherriff’s Ranch:
David Bailey
- Difficulty: Easy
- Amenities: Porta potties at some parking lots
- Parking: Mix of parking lots and roadside parking
- Details: We will make a few pitstops on the north end of Kentucky Lake to see a variety of birds. We will plan to spend an hour to an hour and half at Sledd Creek Boat Ramp for migrant passerines as well as potential water birds such as terns. We will then drive up and make a brief stop at the KY Dam Marina to check the flocks of gulls for anything unusual. Finally, we will walk the road near Sheriff’s Ranch to scan a small patch of pine forest for birds like Pine Warbler and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher that tend to prefer this kind of habitat.
Go to Top
Messages from President David Bailey
I'm excited to announce that our KOS fall meeting this year will be a joint meeting alongside the Tennessee Ornithological Society!
We will be meeting at the Land Between the Lakes area on September 18-20. Due to ongoing construction at the parks, our meetings will take place at Lake Barkley State Resort Park and lodging will be a short drive away at KenLake Resort Park. There is plenty of camping all around as well.
If you plan to make a reservation at KenLake, cottage and lodge rooms are available ranging from $111-$143/night, plus taxes. To get our special rate, use group code 3076 when making a reservation. You may reserve online at this link or by calling (270) 474-2211. Reservations must be made by July 18th for cottages and August 18th for lodge rooms, but I would encourage you to make your reservations quickly because we anticipate this to be a well attended meeting. Also keep in mind that breakfast is not included in the room rate, but there are breakfast restaurants located on site, you may just want to plan on arriving there early for meals as it could be busy.
Most excitingly, our keynote speakers on both Friday and Saturday nights will be Cin-Ty Lee and Andrew Birch who co-authored two books: Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Empidonax and Pewees and Field Guide to North American Flycatchers: Kingbirds and Myiarchus. If you haven't picked up these field guides, they are tremendously useful (the empidonax one for anywhere in the US and the kingbirds/myiarchus one to prepare for a rare vagrant to show up in your yard!). Cin-Ty and Andrew should teach us quite a bit and have us returning home from the weekend as better birders than when we arrived.
We are still working on details surrounding field trips, separate business meetings, and other aspects of the fall meeting, so check BirdKY.org for more details as they become available and I will also plan on sending out a reminder or two as we get closer to the fall meeting.
I am growing more and more excited for the KOS fall meeting that we are hosting jointly with the Tennessee Ornithological Society in just 2 months on September 18–20!
I wanted to send out a note to mention that almost all of the rooms are booked up but the last thing I heard was that there were a handful of rooms still available at Lake Barkley SRP for the weekend. To make a reservation please call 1-270-924-1131, option 1, and give them the group code 3817.
Additionally, there are 11 lodge rooms and 13 cottages still available at KenLake. The Lodge rooms will be released to the public on August 18 and the cottages will be released on July 18, so if you want a cottage, be sure to call right away. The phone number and group code for the KenLake reservation is different: 1-270-474-2211 and provide group code 3076.
As a reminder, the meetings themselves will be happening at Lake Barkley but most of our lodging is booked at KenLake (and this is where we'll begin most of our field trips) which is a short drive away. We had to do this due to some construction ongoing at Lake Barkley.
These rooms are available to the first callers from KOS or TOS, so don't delay and book today!
Of course, if you miss out on a room (or would rather like to sleep under the stars like me), there is plenty of camping available at the state parks or in the LBL area.
More details on the trip to come soon.