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.
Leader: Kerry Swift (847) 323-6878
Directions
From US-41, turn east on Wadsworth Rd., drive 2 miles into the park, park in Nature Center lot.
Great location for migrating and resident birds with a mix of woodland, wetland and prairie habitat. Trails are unpaved and can be muddy depending on weather. Sightings may range from warblers, vireos and other passerines to rails, waterfowl and Black-crowned Night Heron.
Directions:
Take Willow Rd./Palatine Rd. west, turn north into preserve (Stover Rd.) one mile west of Barrington Rd. Meet in the main parking lot at 8:15 am. The gates open at 8 am so if you arrive early, park in the lot on the south side of Palatine Road until the gates are open.
Leader: Dan Ellig 224 456 8011
Our annual search for migrating loons and other waterfowl will be a multi-stop tour that begins at Diamond Lake in Mundelein and proceeds to other lakes in the area based on scouting reports.
This is mostly a car driving field trip and not much walking for the entire morning. Bring a spotting scope if you have one.
Directions to Diamond Lake:
From Rt. 22, take Rt. 83 north to Diamond Lake Rd., turn right, and drive ½ mile to the Gale Street Inn parking lot on the right.
Leader: Jeff Sanders (847) 675-7172
Day of Event Contact: Rena Cohen (847) 971-1107
Our closest state park is a multi-habitat migrant trap that has recorded nearly 200 species, including more than 50 on the chapter field trip here last fall.
Directions:
From I-94 tollway, exit IL-173/Rosecrans Rd, turn left on Rosecrans, drive 13 mi, turn left on Wilmot Rd.. then left into park. Follow signs to Park Office/Goldfinch Trail lot.
Oaks are a keystone species critical to ecosystem health including bird survival, but the Chicago region’s oak trees have suffered massive declines both in savanna ecosystems and on residential streets. The Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan is a region-wide effort by government agencies, nonprofit organizations and volunteers to conserve oaks, protect them from growing pressures, and restore their ecosystems. Matt Ueltzen, Manager of Restoration Ecology at the Lake County Forest Preserves and a member of the Oak Ecosystem Recovery Plan working group, will join us to discuss why oaks have disappeared from the landscape, why they are important for birds, the details of the recovery plan, and how homeowners and community members can get involved.
As one of the largest grassland-wetland ecosystems on earth, the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota is one of North America’s richest birding hotspots. With local birders as our guides, we will spend 3 days in the Prairie Pothole Region and 2 days in the short-grass prairie of western ND near the North Dakota Badlands – including Theodore Roosevelt National Park and an area that has been designated as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.
Target birds include Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Baird’s Sparrow, Red-necked Grebe, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, Gray Partridge, Mountain Bluebird, Bullock’s Oriole and many more.
Registration required. Email bonnieduman@gmail.com for trip details.
Shorebirds and passerines migrating from Central and South America arrive in Indiana before they hit the Chicago area. One of the state’s hotspots is the Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area in Linton, Indiana, an 8,000-acre area on the Indiana Birding Trail that lies 225 miles south of Chicago.
Last year’s sightings on this weekend spanned 100 species ranging from White-faced Ibis and Long-billed Dowitcher to the first wave of warblers, sparrows and landbirds, including species we rarely see in the Chicago area like Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-eyed Vireo and Blue Grosbeak. We’ll also cover nearby areas like Greene-Sullivan State Forest – all with a local guide who is intimately familiar with this patch.
Registration required. Email renabird3@gmail.com for trip details.
(Note earlier start time: 6:30 PM)
Warblers are the stars of the show in spring with their gaudy colors and unique patterns (just a few of the nearly 30 species that show up in Chicago are featured here) yet views are often brief as they flit high in the canopy or behind dense foliage so it is helpful to know behavior, habitat and song as well as plumage.
Local birder and Red Hill Birding guide Adam Sell will help beginners develop these skills, followed by a walk outside at dusk to see American Woodcocks display. (Bring binoculars!)
On May 4, you can test your newfound warbler knowledge on an Adam-led beginners bird walk at Lyons Woods.
In 2020 Bill Volkert, a longtime Wisconsin DNR naturalist at Horicon Marsh, published his book Journey of a Thousand Lifers documenting the 55,000-mile, eight-month birding and wildlife journey that he and his wife Connie took through 12 countries from southern Africa to India and Southeast Asia. In the process, they sighted more than 1,300 species of birds and over a thousand lifers, taking some 35,000 pictures along the way.
This program will be in person at Heller Nature Center.
The bird collection of The Field Museum houses the third largest scientific bird collection in the United States and one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of its kind in the world. Bird curator John Bates will give us a behind-the scenes look at the collection and some of the stories behind it.
Lake/Cook members only; 30 people maximum; pre-registration required. Email renabird3@gmail.com to sign up.
Veterans Day bird celebration! Multi-stop trip to look for migrating waterfowl starts at Stateline Beach/North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, then continues to Illinois Beach State Park lakefront overlooks, and ends at Illinois Beach Hawk Watch (it’s Golden Eagle time!) with treats to warm you up while you look for migrating raptors.
Bring spotting scopes if you have one. Dress for cold weather.
Directions:
From North Point Marina (701 North Point Dr., Winthrop Harbor, IL), turn left (north) and continue north until road ends (less than 1/2 mile) then turn right to parking area.
Leader: Nancy Tikalsky 773-655-0269
Black-crowned Night Herons (BCNH) are endangered in Illinois and six other Great Lakes region states. Yet a breeding colony of these herons has thrived in Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 2007. Since their arrival, they have garnered significant conservation attention from various groups including the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute (UWI), whose researchers began monitoring the population in 2010.
Henry Adams, UWI’s Wildlife Management Coordinator, will discuss the history of the colony, including productivity trends, breeding phenology, and colony movement within Lincoln Park over the years. He will also explain plans for researching the herons’ movement, resource selection, and health in collaboration with Illinois Department of Natural Resources and University of Illinois Urbana Champaign to further conservation management planning for this endangered species.
In a typical farm field in central Illinois stands a large tree stump that is unremarkable in and of itself. Over the years, however, this remnant of a bygone era has consistently been host to numerous unusual birds, including Prairie Falcons that rarely appear in the state. No one really knows why. Now a new documentary from the makers of “Monty and Rose” aims to tell the story of the Magic Stump, the birder endeavoring to uncover its secrets, and the plight of raptors that winter in our highly altered agricultural landscape.
Join from the comfort of your home as we view the 20-minute film and have a post-film discussion with the filmmaker Bob Dolgan. Bring your dinner, your drinks and your questions!
The Black Tern is one of the most rapidly declining wetland birds in the Great Lakes region. Breeding populations have likely been completely lost in Indiana and Ohio, and this species is on the brink in Illinois.
Stephanie Beilke, Senior Manager, Conservation Science for Audubon Great Lakes, will discuss efforts to restore breeding populations in the region, including monitoring work at the largest regional colony in St. Clair Flats, Michigan, and examine what we’ve learned about the threats this species faces. In addition, she will explore recent results from a tracking study that was the first to chart the migratory journeys of juvenile Black Terns.
Peak fall migration along the Upper Mississippi River offers a spectacle that includes tens of thousands of Tundra Swans, Canvasbacks and other migrating waterfowl, plus massive numbers of overwintering Bald Eagles. We’ll meet in LaCrosse and bird multiple spots along the river on Friday and Saturday, with an optional Sunday extension that may include stops at the Brownsville Overlook and International Owl Center in Houston, MN and/or the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, WI.
Contact swift.kerry@gmail.com for details.