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Upcoming Events

 
Field Trips and Events
Great Chicago Backyard Bird Count: A Year of Green Birding Event
Feb 14
Your Backyard
Great Chicago Backyard Bird Count: A Year of Green Birding Event
Your Backyard

Join the 2025 Great Chicago Backyard Bird Count! Learn how to join this year’s team and be a part of this citizen science project from the comfort of your own home. This event is part of COS’s Year of Green Birding.

Your Backyard
Jackson Park Winter Walk
Feb 23
Jackson Park
Jackson Park Winter Walk
Jackson Park

RSVP Required

Join us as we explore Jackson Park and observe winter birds.

Jackson Park
Birds & Bytes: Tarik Shahzad's Big Year
Feb 25
Birds & Bytes: Tarik Shahzad's Big Year

Virtual Program

RSVP Required

Join COS for the latest episode of our virtual program series Birds & Bytes for a conversation with the newest Cook County big year record holder; Tarik Shahzad!

Wild Things Conference
Mar 1
Stephens Convention Center
Wild Things Conference
Stephens Convention Center

Wild Things Conference, the largest gathering of Chicagoland nature nerds returns this spring! Join more than 2000 nature lovers from across the region for a day full of educational sessions ranging from plants and animals, to restoration practices and story telling, to environmental justice and recreation. And of course, one of the largest groups of offerings is a track all about birds.

Stephens Convention Center
Crabtree Nature Center Bird Walk
Mar 2
Crabtree Nature Center
Crabtree Nature Center Bird Walk
Crabtree Nature Center

Join COS for a morning birding trip to Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington.

RSVP Required.

Crabtree Nature Center
LaBagh Woods Stewardship Workday
Mar 2
LaBagh Woods Grove #1
LaBagh Woods Stewardship Workday
LaBagh Woods Grove #1

Join us for a habitat restoration workday at COS’s flagship stewardship site LaBagh Woods, and help bring back critical bird habitat.

LaBagh Woods Grove #1
Bilingual McKinley Park Birdwalk / Paseo Bilingüe Parque de McKinley
Mar 8
McKinley Park
Bilingual McKinley Park Birdwalk / Paseo Bilingüe Parque de McKinley
McKinley Park

RSVP Required

Join COS for a bilingual birding trip at McKinley Park! This event is great for all ages including multi-generational families where some family members are more comfortable with Spanish.

McKinley Park
Flock Club Book Club: The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Mar 11
Albany Park Library
Flock Club Book Club: The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Albany Park Library

Join COS for Flock Club Book Club to discuss Amy Tan’s The Backyard Bird Chronicles. In the spirit of our yearlong celebration of green birding, we’ll discuss this tome on the ultimate green birding outing—the kind that is not an outing at all!

Albany Park Library
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
Mar 12
North Pond Casting Pier
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
North Pond Casting Pier

In cooperation with Third Coast Birding and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, COS is proud to continue our long tradition of Wednesday morning bird walks at North Pond!

North Pond Casting Pier
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
Mar 19
North Pond Casting Pier
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
North Pond Casting Pier

In cooperation with Third Coast Birding and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, COS is proud to continue our long tradition of Wednesday morning bird walks at North Pond!

North Pond Casting Pier
LaBagh Woods Stewardship Workday
Mar 23
LaBagh Woods Grove #1
LaBagh Woods Stewardship Workday
LaBagh Woods Grove #1

Join us for a habitat restoration workday at COS’s flagship stewardship site LaBagh Woods, and help bring back critical bird habitat.

LaBagh Woods Grove #1
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
Mar 26
North Pond Casting Pier
North Pond Wednesday Bird Walks
North Pond Casting Pier

In cooperation with Third Coast Birding and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, COS is proud to continue our long tradition of Wednesday morning bird walks at North Pond!

North Pond Casting Pier

The Chicago Birder Blog

 
Blog
Book Review: The Nighthawk's Evening
Book Review: The Nighthawk's Evening

David Hoyt reviews The Nighthawk’s Evening, a book stemming from PhD research by author Gretchen Newberry

Buy Bird-Friendly Chocolate for Your Tweetheart
Buy Bird-Friendly Chocolate for Your Tweetheart

There’s a new chocolate in town—one that supports bird-friendly habitat!

Field Trip Report: Chicago River Blitz
Field Trip Report: Chicago River Blitz

COS member Lauren Kostas recaps the four stops made during the COS Chicago River Blitz Feb. 1.

Winter, Birding, and the Art of Slowing Down
Winter, Birding, and the Art of Slowing Down

Learn about how we can get green and cozy with birds this winter.

Field Trip Report: Douglass Park
Field Trip Report: Douglass Park

Joann Umeki recaps the field trip to Douglass Park on Feb. 2, 2025.

Results of the 2024 Nighthawk Monitoring Season
Results of the 2024 Nighthawk Monitoring Season

Building on the strong foundation set by our first two years, the 2024 season saw significant growth in both participation and data collection, helping us better understand and conserve Chicago’s nighthawk population.