Following is a listing of our upcoming bird and wildlife programs. To receive notice of future programs and field trips, please sign up to receive our email newsletter (click link). You can also join our Facebook page.
To provide the greatest diversity of program options, our programs will be a mix of in-person and Zoom presentations. In-person programs are held at Heller Nature Center at 2821 Ridge Road in Highland Park, Illinois 60035 (directions) unless otherwise noted. All programs are open and free to the public unless noted. Membership is not required to attend these programs. If you like our programming, here are ways to support our organization.
In the calendar below, please click the “+” to expand the view. Once expanded, click “Read More” for more event detail and map.
Do you struggle to distinguish Alder Flycatchers from Acadians, or Tree Swallows from Rough-winged? Have trouble deciding if you’re looking at a Willow Flycatcher or an Eastern Wood-Pewee, or ID’ing Cliff and Cave Swallows on the wing (which is how you usually see them)? With spring migration beginning, join us to get tips and tricks for identifying these aerial insectivores using field marks like tail and wingtip length as well as song mnemonics (fitz-bew!). In this interactive multimedia presentation, Matt Hayes, an avian biologist and Illinois Audubon Society’s Assistant Director, will also discuss why birds that catch their food in flight face population declines and what we can do to help save them.
The group of songbirds known as Darwin’s finches that Charles Darwin collected in the Galapagos on his 1830s HMS Beagle expedition are frequently (and mistakenly) associated with his formulation of the theory of evolution by natural selection, but recent genetic studies have established that these birds are actually tanagers in the family Thraupidae. John Bates, the Rowe Family Curator of Evolutionary Biology at the Field Museum, will join us to explain the research behind these new revelations and other insights provided by genetic research into the relationships in this amazing family of New World birds.
Keep checking back for updates to our program schedule.