The Spring 2026 MOS Meeting will be held on the eastern Gulf Coast of Mississippi in Jackson County, May 1–3, with special guest speaker Dr. Leah Moran, an ornithologist and current postdoctoral researcher in the Coastal Avian Ecology Lab at Mississippi State University. Birding field trips will target spring migrants and coastal specialties.
Accommodations
The Comfort Inn in Moss Point (6801 MS-63, Moss Point, MS 39563) is offering a discounted rate ($90 per night) for MOS attendees. You will have to call them (228-474-3600) and mention “MOS” to receive the discounted rate. There are also reasonable AirBnB options nearby, and camping is available at Davis Bayou in the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Schedule
FRIDAY EVENING, May 1
We will send birding tips the week before the meeting, in case you want to head to the area early and get a head start on your weekend of birding.
~5:30 – ~7:30 p.m. Informal, optional social at the meeting room at the Comfort Inn in Moss Point. We plan to get catered food from Lenny’s Sub Shop, so we will need a head count for that. BYOB.
SATURDAY, May 2
7:00 a.m. Meet in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn in Moss Point for departure on morning field trips.
Lunch: On your own, or with your morning group.
1:00 p.m. Afternoon field trips. Meeting place(s) and destinations will be announced.
6:00 p.m. Dinner & Species Tally: Grand Bay NERR Coastal Resources Center (6005 Bayou Heron Road, Moss Point, MS 39562).
Dinner will be a fajita bar catered from Azteca Mexican Restaurant. (No alcohol is allowed at this facility.)
If you have extra time before the evening event, various parts of Grand Bay NERR along Bayou Heron Road near the Center might provide promising birding, including the savanna trail, the boardwalk, the oak grove, the “Goat Farm” area, and the boat launch area.
6:45–7:45 p.m. Program by Dr. Leah Moran.
SUNDAY, May 3
7:30 a.m. Meet for field trips. Meet-up and field trip location(s) will be discussed and announced on Saturday at the banquet.
Meals
The Saturday evening banquet dinner cost is included in meeting registration fee (see below). If you want to join us for the Friday meal, there will be an additional $10 fee. All other meals are “on your own”.
Meeting Registration
Registration fees are $25/person for students and any 1st-time attendees of an MOS meeting, $50.00/person for non-student MOS members, and $70 for non-members (but you can join MOS before the meeting to receive the member rate). Meeting registration includes the Saturday evening banquet and presentation. The Friday evening mixer, including sandwiches, is $10 extra. If you have special dietary restrictions please let us know by email: awalkerbigsky@gmail.com
To register for the meeting, please use the link below:
To receive discounted meeting registration, spring and fall newsletters, and new issues of our journal, the Mississippi Kite, join MOS on our website here.
If you have questions about your membership status, please contact Wayne Patterson, Membership Committee Chair, at wrp6@att.net
More information about special guest Dr. Lean Moran: