Tarik’s Big Year: 294 Species That Broke the Cook County Record

Calendar
When:
August 19, 2025 @ 7:00 pm
2025-08-19T19:00:00-05:00
2025-08-19T19:15:00-05:00
Where:
Heller Nature Center
2821 Ridge Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035
USA
Cost:
Free
Programs
Big Year Heller Nature Center Program
Tarik’s Big Year: 294 Species That Broke the Cook County Record @ Heller Nature Center | Highland Park | Illinois | United States

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.