2026 Northern Edition Convention Description & Trips
October 2, 3 & 4, 2026
Location: North Bay
Join OFO members and guests for three days of birding, celebration and enjoyment in and around North Bay, Ontario.
The North Bay area offers many wonderful birding areas such as Laurier Woods, Cache Bay and Verner Lagoons. North Bay is located about 3.5 hours drive north of Toronto and about 4 hours west of Ottawa. While it’s a year-round multi-use trail system, it offers endless opportunities for adventure and exploration.
Convention participants may choose from a variety of trips in the North Bay area.
Birding trips are open to the public at no cost. However, you must be a paid participant to attend the Banding & Birding at Garry Waldram’s place in Rutherglen.
There will also be a Saturday afternoon Sketching Workshop at the Conservation Headquarters. Check it out!!
Where possible we have noted the GPS coordinates for each trip. ebird is a great resource as well for locations.
Please Note: Members and non-members are welcome to register for trips and the evening programs. Most trips are open to the public, no registration required.
*Trips that involve bird banding are open to paid registrants only.
**If you are not a member of OFO, you may not be able to register online. If that happens, please email membership@ofo.ca.
Friday evening:
Meet & Greet: 5:00 pm (Books/optics swap)
Dinner: 6:00 pm
Live streamed program, including the famous Bird Quiz: 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Saturday evening:
Meet & Greet: 5:00 pm (Books/optics swap)
Dinner: 6:00 pm
Live streamed program, includes OFO’s AGM, Distinguished Ornithologist Award, Keynote speaker 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Itinerary & Field Trips:
Link to Information
Accommodations: Link to Northern Accommodations
Important Information for Visitors:
● Accommodations: The Best Western North Bay Hotel & Conference Centre is offering OFO members a 15% discount since we are hosting our event at the West Ferris Legion, Branch 599 located at 30 Legion Rd., R.R. #5, North Bay, ON P1B 8Z4.
● Other Amenities: there are several campgrounds in the area, please contact the campground directly for reservations.
● Other Safety Information: check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Cell service may be inconsistent. There could be bears around; if you have bear spray, please bring it along.
At this time of year, you can expect to see migrating songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, and abundant raptors. Many people consider September and October to be the best birding months of all!
After a fun day of birding, registrants are invited to gather at the West Ferris Legion, 30 Legion Rd., R.R. #5, North Bay, which will be open at 5:30 pm for beverages and socializing. Dinner will be held as this location as well and is being catered. We will have a table set up for people to sell/give away used books and optics. Supper will be served at 6, followed by the evening program to be live-streamed from the main convention in Leamington.
For further Field Trip information:
2026 OFO Convention Activities – North Bay
Registering for the Convention: If you need help with the registration page, please email membership@ofo.ca. You must be a paid registrant to attend the evening programs and suppers.
Code of Conduct and Code of Birding Ethics: Participants are expected to review OFO’s Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics before the trip.
Need information?
For details on where to stay, the venues, and activities, please view the convention details on OFO’s website under Events/Convention.
Questions? Email convention@ofo.ca
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