Next Field Trips
Join us on our next bird watching field trip. Unless otherwise noted, there is no charge for participation. Some trips may require prior registration or are prioritized for Lake Cook Audubon members. This will be noted in the field trip description.
Any time is a good time to bird this jewel of a preserve, but fall birding here provides the bonus of an organized hawk watch that has been in operation since 2013 to monitor the migration of raptors along the western shore of Lake Michigan. From the savanna in the center to the bluff and lakefront on the east, historic parade ground on the south and military cemetery on the north, early October can be filled with birdlife. Be prepared to walk the preserve as well as hang out at the hawk watch to look for raptors with birders who can identify approaching buteos and accipiters when they’re just specks in the sky.
Directions: Access the Preserve from Sheridan Road at the stoplight at Old Elm. Follow the access road to the stop sign and turn left (east). Continue east to Gilgare Lane. Turn left and continue to the parking lot. Meet at the Hawk Watch picnic tables at the west end of the parking lot. (Map)
Leaders: Pieter Bonin (540) 454-9394 and Rena Cohen (847) 971-1107
Please register for the Fort Sheridan trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
Glacial Park is one of the jewels of the McHenry County Conservation District, featuring woodland, prairie and wetland habitats that can yield more than 130 species at this time of year. It’s one of the top five areas in the region to view migratory wetland birds thanks to the presence of Nippersink Creek, and special landbird sightings in mid-October in recent years have included Purple Finch, American Pipit, Tufted Titmouse and Horned Lark as well as multiple migrating sparrow species, an occasional lingering Bobolink and much more. Another bonus: the view overlooking the Nippersink Creek valley from the Lost Valley Visitor Center, where it’s possible to see birds flitting in the tree canopy below.
Directions: From IL 137 (Buckley Rd.), turn slight right onto W. Peterson Rd., right onto IL 60, left onto IL 120/Belvidere Rd., right onto N. Richmond Rd./IL 31, and left onto Harts Rd. into preserve. Turn into first parking lot on your right. Restrooms are available there.
Leader: Mark Fritzmann (815) 382-0055
Please register for the Glacial 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.
Next Programs
Our programs are open to the public and free. Most are offered at Heller Nature Center in Highland Park. Some may be presented on Zoom. This will be noted in the program description. Many past-programs can now be viewed on YouTube here.
In this companion program to our November 18 Zoom presentation, Beyond Monty and Rose: The Rise of the Great Lakes Piping Plover Population, we will explore two aspects of the endangered Piping Plovers that have returned to their historical nesting grounds in Waukegan over the past few years – courtesy of the Sharing Our Shore – Waukegan team.
First, we’ll tour the special exhibit Through the Eyes of the Piping Plovers: the Flora, Fauna & People of the Waukegan Dunes, a series of works inspired by the plovers and their local habitat. Highlights include From Fluff Ball to Fledgling, a painting by Carthage College student and 2025 plover monitoring intern Oliver Slater, capturing the birds’ journey from hatching to fledging, as well as art and photos by Brushwood Botanical Artists and Audubon award–winning photographer Steve Jessmore.
Then we’ll view the 30-minute film, Sharing Our Shore and the Return of the Piping Plover to Waukegan Shores, which highlights the plovers Blaze and Pepper, their offspring, and the remarkable story of their breeding success just yards from two Superfund sites.
Please register here to attend this special program.
The Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie is located at 1 N. Sheridan Rd. in downtown Waukegan.
Peregrine Falcons were added to both the federal and state endangered species lists in the 1970s because of eggshell thinning caused by DDT exposure, but the bird has made a remarkable comeback since DDT was banned in 1972. In Illinois, where not a single peregrine chick was born from 1951 to 1998, there are now more than 20 breeding pairs including many in the Chicago metropolitan area – thanks in large part to reintroduction and monitoring efforts led by the Chicago Peregrine Program. The Field Museum’s Mary Hennen, who has headed the program since 1990, will join us to discuss the decline of the species, the museum’s role in identifying the cause, how the population has been restored, and how the birds are now banded, monitored and studied to help ensure their ongoing survival.
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Who We Are
We are a gathering of people who enjoy bird watching and studying birds and wildlife. We welcome people of all ages and skills to join us on our field trips, programs and other events. Most of our monthly programs are bird-oriented, but we also address environmental and natural history topics.
The Illinois Audubon Society is the state’s oldest conservation organization that functions as a land trust to protect and enhance Illinois’ unique habitats and to educate the public about them. Organized in 1897, Illinois Audubon is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society.