First wave of passerine arrivals gets us in the swing of spring migration.
Chicago’s most famous migrant trap, aka “The Magic Hedge,” is everyone’s favorite spring birding spot.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com. Your participation will be confirmed or you will be on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Ted Wolff 312-498-5559
Directions:
From Lake Shore Dr. take the Montrose Ave. exit. Continue east toward the lake. Turn right at the Bait Shop (Montrose Harbor Dr.) and park on the street along the bend in the road. We will meet at the entrance to the sanctuary.
Chapter Big Day – Ready, Set, Bird!
Sign up NOW to participate!
Saturday May 1 is an Illinois Audubon Society Chapter Big Day (details here). This is a competition to determine which chapter can find the most bird species – anywhere in Illinois – any time between 12 midnight and 4 pm. Join the fun! Here’s what you can do to participate:
- Email renabird3@gmail.com to say where you’re going to bird OR to submit a request to join a team.
- Wait for approval (we don’t want to duplicate efforts) – then you’ll receive instructions about registering on the Illinois Audubon Society website.
- Be prepared to report your sightings by May 2 at the latest.
We’re looking for someone to aggregate everyone’s sightings – deadline May 4. Please volunteer!
Questions? Call Rena at 847-971-1107.
One of the jewels of Chicago birding, thanks in part to massive volunteer restoration efforts, LaBagh can be teeming with migrants on a good day.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 7 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107
Directions:
The preserve is located at the corner of Cicero and Foster Ave. Enter LaBagh on Cicero north of Foster. We will meet in Picnic Grove #3.
(Do NOT go to the Irene Hernandez Picnic Grove lot on Foster)
Every year since 1972, volunteers have participated in this one-day count across the entire state of Illinois to help measure bird populations.
If you’re interested, contact:
- Adam Sell (adamwardsell@gmail.com) (847) 910-7813) for Lake County assignments
- Alan Anderson (casresearch@comcast.net) (847) 390-7437) for Cook County assignments
Start your Mother’s Day off right at this Lake County warbler hotspot along the Des Plaines River, a rich oak and maple woodland where migrants frequently land on their journey north. Meet in the parking lot at Everett and St. Mary’s Roads.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Nancy Tikalsky 773-655-0269
Directions:
From Waukegan Rd., turn west on Everett Rd. in Lake Forest, drive to the end (St. Mary’s Rd), and turn left (south) into the parking lot.
Another hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor that can yield some of the most sought-after migrants, like the Hooded Warbler that nested there last year and the Cerulean Warbler that hung out at eye level for 20 minutes on a Lake/Cook outing a few years ago.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Maureen Marsh 352-317-5130
Directions:
From Deerfield Rd., enter preserve and follow the signs to Brushwood Visitors Center. Meet in the Brushwood parking lot. NOTE: The gates open at 6:30 am.
The Grove spans 150 acres of oak-hickory savanna and wetland pools that provide an oasis for spring migrants. It’s also a National Historic Landmark.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Dave Taliaferro 847-636-6824
Directions:
Enter on Milwaukee Avenue south of Lake Street and drive to the last (easternmost) parking lot. Meet in the east parking lot by the Redfield Estate (this is the second parking lot).
Migration should be peaking, Montrose should be jumping, and if we’re lucky, Monty and Rose, the world’s most famous Piping Plovers, will have returned to nest in the dunes. From Lake Shore Dr., take the Montrose Ave. exit east, turn right at Bait Shop (Montrose Harbor Dr.) and park along the bend in the road.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com. Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107
Directions:
From Lake Shore Dr. take the Montrose Ave. exit. Continue east toward the lake. Turn right at the Bait Shop (Montrose Harbor Dr.) and park on the street along the bend in the road. We will meet at the entrance to the sanctuary.
From the Dead River Trail to the Lake Michigan shoreline with sand dunes and other habitats in between, IBSP provides a rich mix of birdlife, including breeding Brewer’s Blackbirds most years. From US-41, turn east on Wadsworth Rd., drive 2 miles into the park to the Nature Center parking lot
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Maximum of 8 participants with masks (required) and social distancing. Lake Cook Audubon members only. Priority given to members who have not participated in a field trip this spring.
Leader: Cici Birnberg 847-945-8500
Directions
From US-41, turn east on Wadsworth Rd., drive 2 miles into the park, park in Nature Center lot.
MISSISSIPPI PALISADES AND LOST MOUNDS OVERNIGHTER
Friday May 21-Sunday May 23
Just a few hours away from Chicago’s north suburbs, Mississippi Palisades State Park and the Lost Mounds section of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge offer a stunning diversity and quality of birds, not to mention great views of the Mississippi River.
This trip – led by Red Hill Birding’s Josh Engel – will begin late Friday looking for Whip-poor-wills and continue all day Saturday into Sunday morning with targets ranging from Cerulean, Kentucky, Yellow-throated and Hooded Warblers to Lark Sparrow, Blue Grosbeak, Loggerhead Shrike and many more.
Limit 8 participants. Lake/Cook current members only. Email renabird3@gmail.com for details.