What Are European Goldfinches Doing in Lake County? – 6 PM Potluck and 7 PM Program

Calendar
When:
June 17, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
2025-06-17T18:00:00-05:00
2025-06-17T18:15:00-05:00
Where:
Heller Nature Center
2821 Ridge Rd
Highland Park, IL 60035
USA
Cost:
Free
Programs
Heller Nature Center Program
What Are European Goldfinches Doing in Lake County? - 6 PM Potluck and 7 PM Program @ Heller Nature Center | Highland Park | Illinois | United States

European Goldfinches are stunning birds that are obviously native to Europe, but they began showing up in Lake County as early as 2001, presumably because they were released cage birds. By 2024, they were so common in pockets around the U.S. including Illinois and Wisconsin that they were added to the countable Illinois and American Birding Association checklists. Louise Bodt, a PhD candidate in the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago and a scientific affiliate at the Field Museum, will explain how this happened and its relation to her research into how introduced species can serve as a model for understanding how species change in new environments.