Rescheduled from our rained-out October trip! Note the early start time (we know it’s fall LOL) – we want to be there before the waterfowl leave for the day.

With 1,216 uninterrupted acres, Rollins Savanna is one of Lake County’s largest forest preserves. The habitat ranges from prairie and wetland to an oak grove that plays host to migrating passerines. Fall birding here can include Trumpeter Swans, migrating waterfowl and occasional shorebirds in the largest wetland as well as nearly every fall sparrow that passes through the Chicago area, along with raptors and the occasional Rusty Blackbird or Short-eared Owl.

Bring a spotting scope to scan the large wetland if you have one.

Directions: Meet at the Drury Lane parking lot on the north side of the preserve. From I-94, exit Grand Ave. west to Rollins Rd., then turn left (west) on Rollins and south on Drury Lane Drive .3 mile to the parking lot on left.

Leader: Beau Schaefer 847-337-3602

Please register for the Rollins Savanna trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

The shores of the Great Lakes were once home to nearly 800 pairs of Piping Plovers. By 1990 that number had dropped to 13, all in Northern Michigan. As of this summer, the Great Lakes population of this tiny shorebird had rebounded to a record 85 nesting pairs, with 124 chicks fledged in the wild in four states and Canada. But despite those numbers and the star power of Monty and Rose, the first of their species to nest in Cook County in 71 years when they bred on Montrose Beach in 2019 in a lineage that has continued every summer since, Piping Plovers remain on the federal endangered species list because 150 breeding pairs are necessary to have a solid population.  Dr. Sarah Saunders, a quantitative ecologist with Audubon Great Lakes, will join us via Zoom to discuss the recovery effort and research that is helping protect the species.

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/NCYZNmNGQduhRytSIoe0vw

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

A former golf course connected to the now-shuttered Highland Park Country Club, this preserve opened to the public in June 2022 and is rapidly becoming a popular north suburban birding destination. Mature trees, pond and wetland overlooks, a trail along the North Branch Chicago River watershed, and the adjacent Skokie River Woods property with a Great Blue Heron rookery provide a variety of bird-friendly habitats with easy walking.

Directions: The preserve is accessed from the parking lot of the Park Fitness (formerly called the Recreation Center of Highland Park) at 1207 Park Avenue West, just east of Route 41. Meet in front of the Recreation Center building.

Leader: Josh Engel (224) 213-2280

Please register for The Preserve of Highland Park trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Join us at the Winthrop Harbor Yacht Club and surrounding area to look for migrating waterfowl, interesting gulls and possible winter landbird arrivals like Snow Buntings. We’ll check the slips and open water on the south side of the harbor, the waterfront and grassy areas by the Yacht Club, and adjacent State Line Beach – then head to the nearby donut emporium for coffee and arguably the best donuts in Lake County.

Bring binoculars and spotting scopes if you have them – and dress warmly.

Note: There is no access to the Yacht Club so plan your bathroom stop before arriving.

Directions: From Sheridan Road, turn east on 7th Street. Drive to the end of the road, then turn left and follow the service drive to the Yacht Club sign. Turn right at the stop sign and park in the lot near the Yacht Club.

Leader: Pieter Bonin (540) 454-9394

 Please register here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Two centuries ago, a handful of European-American naturalists trekked around North America, competing to find birds that were still unknown to science. What was that experience like for them? When Kenn Kaufman looked into that period in history as research for his newest book, The Birds That Audubon Missed, he found surprising connections to our own time. Despite all the changes in the world, the adventures of those pioneers have many parallels in the experience of birding today. In this program, Kenn will celebrate discovery and rediscovery, the lure of the unknown, and the endless power of birds to delight and amaze us.

Now a legend among naturalists, Kenn Kaufman burst onto the birding scene as a teenager in the 1970s, hitch-hiking all over North America in pursuit of birds—an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a leader of birding tours worldwide, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and illustrator. Most of his energy currently goes into book projects and painting bird portraits. Kenn has published 14 books and is a field editor for the National Audubon Society, a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society, and the only person to have received the American Birding Association’s lifetime achievement award twice.

Every fall, the entire North American population of Broad-winged Hawks fill the sky in what is often called “a river of raptors” as they journey thousands of miles to their wintering grounds in South America. In 2012 and 2013, however, monitoring data suggested a population decline of 10 to 40% in some Eastern states. The next year, to better understand the threats to this forest-nesting raptor, biologists at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania began tagging adult and juvenile birds with transmitters to track them year-round. Dr. Laurie Goodrich, Director of Conservation Science at the sanctuary, will join us to discuss what’s been discovered about the bird’s migration patterns, stopover habits, nesting behavior, and other data that can help set conservation priorities for this species.