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.
It’s shorebird migration time, and the Techny Basin Conservation Area can have excellent shorebird habitat under the right conditions. We’ll begin at “Techny North” – located on the North branch of the Chicago River – which is among the best non-lake shorebird spots in the area. It also offers grassland habitat to the east, where species like Dickcissels nested two summers ago (thanks in part to initiatives by local birders to prevent mowing during the breeding season), and a view of the Willowhill Golf Course to the west that can yield raptors and other species.
After birding Techny North, time permitting, we’ll drive five minutes to the second Techny Basin area – just south of Willow Road – to look for other shorebirds and landbirds.
Join us for coffee/breakfast afterward.
Scopes are helpful to view the shorebirds – please bring scopes if you have them.
Directions: Drive west on Willow Road past Waukegan Road and turn right (north) at the light at Pinstripes, which is Founders Drive. Turn left at the Sheraton Chicago Northbrook and park in the farthest west lot overlooking the basin.
Leader: Kerry Swift 847-323-6878
Please register for the Techny North walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
With woodland, savanna and wetland habitats that include the Des Plaines River, Sedge Meadow is a great place to look for warblers, flycatchers, vireos and other early fall arrivals as well as resident species. The trail is an easy loop that takes about 2-1/2 hours to complete, with the multiple habitats frequently yielding a rich diversity of species.
Directions: The preserve is located on Wadsworth Rd., just east of US 41. Meet at the Sedge Meadow entrance, which is the first parking lot east of US 41 (NOT the canoe launch lot).
Leader: Stephen Hurst (224) 804-4030
Please register for the Sedge Meadow walk 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 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.
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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.