After a break of two years, members of the Fusani Lab finally met again in person in the lovely town of Seebarn. After all the lockdowns and social distancing rules, I think we all were more than ready to meet in person again to hear about each other’s research and, even more importantly, to socialize not via a monitor screen. The day started with a fabulous scientific program with talks from postdocs and PhD students. In several sessions, we heard about the fantastic science that is going on in our lab spanning a diverse range of species from local species, such as storks, to Australian bowerbirds. We even heard a talk about Tanganyika cichlids highlighting the diversity of research done in the group.

We not only heard about the latest research but members of the AOC also gave us valuable insights into their ongoing projects and plans for the future.

After the scientific program, we also organised a short ornithological excursion to a nearby pond. There we could enjoy some great water birds and reed inhabitants. The more experienced ornithologists among us could even hear different woodpecker species calling.    

The group retreat ended with a visit to a local Heuriger where we were received with amazing local food and beverages (I think the Sturm will be remembered by some us for a while not just for the excellent taste).

I would like to thank Anne and Leo for organising the retreat, the Seebarn team for hosting us, and all participates for a fantastic and great day. I really enjoyed it a lot! See you next year.