If you’re just getting into birding and trying to figure out where to go, when to go, what to bring, and how to identify the birds you see, this program will provide both direction and inspiration. Matt Igleski, Executive Director, Chicago Bird Alliance, will discuss field guides, phone apps, weather patterns, bird identification, birding terminology, and other topics to equip you with a quick start guide to all things birding.
Register to attend here.
NOTE: This program will be recorded. Registered attendees will be emailed a link to access the recording.
Sponsored annually by the Illinois Ornithological Society, the Gull Frolic is a unique winter event at North Point Marina. Bring your binoculars, scope and cold weather gear, and join birders outside of the yacht club to enjoy close study of some of our harder-to-find winter species such as Iceland (Thayer’s and Kumlien’s), Glaucous, Great Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A variety of waterfowl typically make an appearance – including scoters and other diving ducks – along with the occasional raptor, owl or winter finch.
Birders wearing bright orange hats will help answer questions along the “boardwalk” – helping you sharpen your gull ID skills – and you can warm up inside whenever you need a break from the cold.
Registration is required and the event sold out quickly but you can register to be on the wait list at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/23rd-ios-gull-frolic-2025-tickets-1018522276547. The event costs $30 for IOS members and $40 for non-members, including food and a presentation by Amar Ayyash, local birder and author of the brand new The Gull Guide: North America.
Lake/Cook Audubon provides support for this event.
Three years ago, headlines delivered shocking news: nearly three billion birds in North America have vanished over the past fifty years. No species has been spared, from the most delicate jeweled hummingbirds to scrappy black crows, from a rainbow of warblers to common birds such as owls and sparrows. Veteran journalists Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal traveled more than 25,000 miles across the Americas to chronicle costly experiments, contentious politics, and new technologies being implemented to save birds at risk of extinction. Their new book, A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds, offers insight into encouraging breakthroughs that indicate there is still time to change course if we act quickly.
Birders love getting out into the field on a nice day, but bad weather also can yield rich rewards. Storm fronts, wind events and other extreme weather systems can have serious impacts on the birds we might see. Understanding how to read these systems and predict the species impacted can be daunting, but the rewards can be incredible. Join local birder Nathan Goldberg as he shares ways to understand the overlap of bad weather and birding, both on a local scale and nationally as well.
Texas Hill Country and Big Bend Led by Red Hill Birding
Texas Hill Country and Big Bend National Park are must-visit U.S. destinations for avid birders. Highlights include Golden-cheeked Warbler and Black-capped Vireo, two endangered migratory songbirds that breed exclusively in south central Texas; Colima Warbler, a montane species found nowhere else in the U.S.; and stunners like Painted Bunting, Painted Redstart, Lucifer Hummingbird, Greater Roadrunner and many more – plus the spectacle of millions of Mexican Free-tailed Bats leaving their roosting cave in a small town 90 minutes west of San Antonio in the evening.
Red Hill’s last trip here tallied 181 species, including the Elf Owl that was voted #1 bird of the trip. The lodge at Big Bend is scheduled to close for renovations at the end of the season, so this will be the last opportunity to make the trip for several years.
Email renabird3@gmail.com for a detailed itinerary and pricing. Space is limited; Lake/Cook members have priority.
If you think shorebirds are difficult to identify, you’re not alone. Many species look similar, they are often seen only at a distance, and they appear in our area sporadically during migration so we often don’t get a lot of ID practice. Red Hill Birding’s Adam Sell will discuss what to look for – from shape and size to bill length and more – to provide some tools for identification in the field. He’ll also touch on when and where to find these fascinating birds in northern Illinois, and show you why shorebird migration is a highlight of the birding experience.