KOS Events

Current & Upcoming Events

KOS Second Annual Breeding Bird Blitz

The second annual Breeding Bird Blitz (BBBlitz) will be held on the four days of June 12–15, 2026. The first BBBlitz was a big success and we expect the second event to be even better. Participants who sign up are eligible for a raffle prize.

For more information, participation rules, downloadable car signs, and most importantly, a sign-up form, please visit our BBBlitz Sign Up page.

KOS 2026 Fall Meeting

The KOS fall meeting is planned for Lake Barkley State Resort Park in September. Lodging is available at nearby Kenlake SRP. The fall meeting is KOS' annual business meeting for important KOS business, including election of officers and board members.

For more information, please visit our Upcoming Meetings Page

Past Events

Jump to Current & Upcoming Events

KOS T-shirt Sale

The t-shirt sale is over. Watch this space for more fundraising events to come.

2025 T-Shirt Design Contest

The Voters Have Spoken And the Winner is...

Kingfisher by Samantha Engstrom.

We thank Samantha for her winning entry. She wins a $200 prize!

Samantha is a native of Frankfort, KY and has been birding for over ten years. The Black-necked stilt is her current nemesis bird. In May, while in Gulf Shores and about to board the last ferry of the night, she and her husband left their car in line (no turning around or leaving now) to walk by the ocean and ran into some fellow birders. One of the ladies mentioned that there was an area less than 100 yards away where they saw a bunch of, "those birds with the pink legs." The options suddenly became (1) abandon the car, (2) her husband take the car and abandon her, or (3) leave an almost sure sighting and board the ferry. You can guess which choice she made.

When asked if her art is her profession or a hobby, Samantha replied "It's just something I do for fun."

KOS also wants to extend our gratitude to the artists who took part in our first t-shirt design contest. The designs were varied, creative, and beautiful. KOS members had difficulty choosing their favorite one. Here are the artists, along with their creations:

Flicker - Samantha Engstrom Green Heron - Samantha Engstrom Kingfisher - Samantha Engstrom Samantha Engstrom:
Kingfisher, Green Heron, Flicker

Seen anything good? - Rob Foster Rob Foster:
Seen anything good?

Robin - Alan Sharp Alan Sharp:
Robin

Crane - Lynn Buckman Owl - Lynn Buckman Lynn Buckman:
Owl, Crane

Of the birds - Joy Hopkins Joy Hopkins:
Of the birds

Palm Warbler - Ed Leathers Ed Leathers:
Palm Warbler

Eastern Towhee - Scott Marsh Scott Marsh:
Eastern Towhee

Cedar Waxwing - Terri Friel Terri Friel:
Cedar Waxwing

KOS Breeding Bird Blitz — June 13 through 16, 2025

The inaugural Breeding Bird Blitz (BBBlitz) is in the books. Read about it on the BBBlitz page.

BIRDKY LISTSERV Rules

By using Birdky LISTSERV, you agree to follow the rules found in our Conditions of Use below. Please read this entire page to be sure you agree. If not, please unsubscribe and discontinue using Birdky LISTSERV.

Philosophy of Birdky LISTSERV

The Kentucky Ornithological Society (KOS) provides Birdky LISTSERV as a service to the Kentucky birding community. It is a forum for sharing information quickly and efficiently. Discussions about wild birds, birding, and related conservation efforts are invited. These exchanges should be informative, entertaining, and respectful. Members are encouraged to feel a sense of community in which they can post to the Birdky LISTSERV without fear of humiliation or personal attacks.

These guidelines will help you get started. The Conditions of Use, found below the Guidelines, are the rules by which Birdky LISTSERV will be managed. KOS prefers to guide BIRDKY with a light touch and a common-sense approach that permits free and open discussion. The rules will be enforced if the need arises.

Guidelines

To Subscribe

Send email to: birdky-request@freelists.org with "subscribe" in the subject line.

To Unsubscribe

Send email to: birdky-request@freelists.org with "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

How To Post

These are the basic steps and rules for creating a Birdky Post.

Send an email message to birdky@freelists.org
Include a descriptive subject line with your email. Do not leave the subject line blank.
In the body of the message, use plain text only. You may also include links to appropriate content, such as an ebird report or an article of interest.
Do not include photos, images, logos, attached documents or files. Do not paste content you have copied from webpages, articles or other emails into a birdky post. Do not include HTML code, or other code snippets.
At the bottom of the the message, include your actual name and location.
Be respectful in posts, discussions, and responses at all times.
If you have concerns about the content of a post or discussion, if you feel harrased, or if you have a dispute with someone over a Birdky LISTSERV post, DO NOT post to the Birdky LISTSERV about your concerns or engage in a public dispute. Instead write to the LISTSERV manager, Gary Ritchison at gary.ritchison@retiree.eku.edu to request help with the issue.

Conventions

There are some traditional and useful prefixes that may be used with the subject line. The format for this is "PRE: Text of subject," where PRE is replaced by one of the prefixes below. They are a shorthand way to catch the attention of your intended audience.

RPT: - Denotes a Report. For example, "RPT: Special Sighting"
RFI: - Request for Information.
RBA: - Rare Bird Alert.

Conditions of Use

The following rules are the KOS conditions for use of Birdky LISTSERV. By subscribing to and using the Birdky LISTSERV, you agree that you have read these rules and that you will follow these rules.

Failure to follow the rules for Birdky LISTSERV can result in loss of your right to use the service.

If you break the rules, you may receive a warning that you are out of compliance, be temporarily suspended from using the service, or banned entirely.

Required Elements for Posts

Posts to Birdky LISTSERV must contain:

A descriptive subject line. Do Not leave the subject line blank.
A message body that contains plain text.
Your real name.
Your real location. This can be a county, city or town name. The location can be where you are reporting from or where you live.

Optional Elements for Posts

Posts to Birdky LISTSERV may also contain:

Links (URLs) to websites or other online content you are referrencing in your post.
Email addresses for yourself or someone you are referrencing in your post.
A Title. In addition to the subject line, you may add a title for your post, at the top of your message body.

Acceptable Content and Behavior

All posts and replies to Birdky LISTSERV must be respectful.

Topics - News about wild birds, birding, and bird-related conservation efforts are all examples of acceptable content.
Topics - Posts should be about acceptable Kentucky-related topics. Posts about other states, the nation or the world are acceptable, if they have some connection to Kentucky.
Discussion - Responses to posts about the original topic, which expand the discussion, or add to it, are encouraged.
Referring Links - When the topic is about another website or other online content, links to that content may be included.
Email Addresses - When the topic mentions contacting someone, email addresses may be included along with other contact information.
Your Email Address - Your email address may be included in the body of the message. For example you could include your email address in the signature block.

Uncceptable Content and Behavior

Posts and replies to Birdky LISTSERV may not be disrespectful.

Inappropriate Topics - Any topic that is not covered by our Acceptable Content list above should be avoided. Examples of unacceptable topics include:
- Pet birds, caged birds and domestic birds
- Ethics of hunting or falconry
- Feral Cats
Off-topic Responses - Replies that change the topic of the original post are not allowed.
Advertising - KOS is a non-profit organization that does not promote any product or service and advertising is not allowed.
Note: discussions about products or services are not considered advertising.
Angry Discussion - Disagreements, angry responses and any aggressive content is not allowed.
Inappropriate or Offensive Content - KOS promotes a family-friendly atmosphere on Birdky LISTSERV. Any content, text, statement or image that is considered to be inappropriate or offensive by KOS is not allowed.
Attachments - Photos, images, documents and other files should not be attached to your posts.
Cut and Paste - While small blocks of text my be pasted into your post for reference, pasting articles, web pages or other online content into your post is not allowed. Doing so can result in copyright infringement issues for you and for KOS.

Enforcement of KOS Birdky LISTSERV Rules

Common sense and a light touch will always be the starting point when a breach of the rules occurs. Most breaches are accidental or unintentional and will not result in any action. If a breach becomes serious or persistent enough to warrant action, KOS and the LISTSERV manager will take steps to resolve the issue.

Possible enforcement actions include warnings, temporary suspension of access to the LISTSERV, or a permanent ban of the offender from using the service. Any enforcement will be done privately with no public notice or comment from KOS.

If a potential copyright infringement issue occurs, KOS will take steps to remove the offending content.