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.

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.