In 2024, Tarik Shahzad broke the Cook County Big Year birding record by logging 294 unique bird species including the first-ever confirmed sighting of a Short-tailed Shearwater in Illinois – all while working full-time as an environmental policy advocate for The Nature Conservancy. The quest took him all over the county and to all sorts of settings, from forest preserves, city parks, lakeside sanctuaries, a cemetery and a retention pond behind a CVS to a boat on Lake Michigan where he spotted a Long-tailed Jaeger. Tarik will share the highlights of his effort, the motivation behind it, and how it connects to his concerns over declining bird populations.
Southern California: Sea, Mountains & Desert
Led by Red Hill Birding’s Steve Huggins, this trip will begin in Los Angeles, end in San Diego and take us out of the cold Chicago winter to varied (and much warmer!) habitats including the Pacific Ocean Coast, high mountains, vast deserts and bird-rich wetlands. We’ll see many of the common and widespread specialties of California like California Scrub-Jay, California Condor, LeConte’s Thrasher and Mountain Quail; endangered species like California Gnatcatcher; endemic species like Yellow-billed Magpie and Island Scrub-Jay; uncommon species like Lawrence’s Goldfinch; coastal Pacific specialties like Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Bran’s and Pelagic Cormorants, and Pacific Loon; and much more. We’ll also look for pelagic species on our boat ride to Santa Cruz Island. Maximum 7 participants.
Priority to Lake/Cook Chapter members.
Email renabird3@gmail.com if you are interested in a complete itinerary and cost.
North Carolina: Six Days from Raleigh to the Outer Banks
Led by Ron Martin, the leader on our 2023 North Dakota trip who has since relocated to North Carolina, this trip will take us from Raleigh to Hatteras for a pelagic trip to the Outer Banks. Target species range from landbirds like Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Swainson’s Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatch and Bachman’s Sparrow to coastal specialties such as Sandwich and Gull-billed Terns as well as multiple pelagic shearwater and storm-petrel species. We will also include stops of historic significance at The Wright Brothers Memorial and the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Maximum 14 participants.
Priority to Lake/Cook Chapter members.
Email renabird3@gmail.com if you are interested in a complete itinerary and cost.