Announcing the 2016 Forest Preserve District Big Year Events

Join COS for the 2016 Big Year Kick Off trip to LaBagh Woods Forest Preserve on March 5th!

In 2015 COS established a birding competition for LaBagh Woods, hoping to find different bird species and get donations and pledges for restoration plantings. We succeeded well beyond our wildest expectations. Over the course of the year, the Big Year Team and many other birders recorded 168 species, raised $45,000.00 for bird friendly plants, initiated bird monitoring and assisted the Forest Preserve District of Cook County in organizing nearly 150 volunteers at LaBagh to remove invasives, plant bushes and collect seeds.

This year the Forest Preserve District decided to establish birding competition teams in every preserve that provides a leader and a team. The competition starts March 1 and is designed to get birders into the Forest Preserves and record their data on e-bird. Learn more about the competition here: Forest Preserve District Big Year

There will be Big Year events throughout the year, so check our calendar!

In 2016 COS will be trying to find even more bird species at LaBagh. Also this year our board is considering assisting other forest preserves where volunteers are doing restoration, and we will be happy to accept donations and pledges to further that work. We will provide updates throughout the year.

On Saturday, March 5, meet at 7:30 at the Irene Hernandez parking lot, Foster just east of Cicero and I-94, Chicago. This premiere birding spot is notoriously muddy, so wear old boots, or preferably rubber knee-highs. We usually finish by 10 or 10:30 but birders can leave whenever they need to.