words by Margie Griggs
photos by Carl Giometti

At LaBagh Woods, the mission to restore habitat for migratory birds has been extremely successful. The program aims to remove invasive buckthorn, and the Chicago Ornithological Society (COS) helped to fund the replacement of this understory with native shrubs and understory trees. Since 2015, hundreds of volunteers have helped plant over 4,500 native shrubs at LaBagh Woods to replace invasive shrubs such as buckthorn. The Migratory Bird Feature Usage at LaBagh Woods report was conducted in 2023 to better understand which features were in use by migratory birds. The purpose of this report was to compile results that would be useful for stewards, land managers, and local bird conservationists regarding the usage of the features at LaBagh eight years into their project. Katy Krigbaum, committee chair for COS’s LaBagh Woods Project, stated that this study showed the native understory plantings are being well used by migratory birds after they have grown large enough to provide habitat (which takes about five years), especially along the river. These findings indicate that migratory birds are often utilizing the shrub and understory layers at LaBagh, which validates the incorporation of these shrubs for the benefit of migratory birds. The report concluded the features used the most at LaBagh are canopy trees, branches overhanging the river, and native shrubs. The hope of this study is to encourage other sites that are removing non-native bushes and trees to also replace them with native shrubs and understory trees. This report helps others to understand the importance of restoring riverbank vegetation, multi-layered habitat, existing native shrubs, and dense bushy areas.

Marty Flynn, one of the authors and participants of the report, spent a lot of time crunching data, helping to find which portions of LaBagh the birds were using. The findings helped the LaBagh team identify a restoration path forward from this point. Marty explained they would still like to continue building out the understory and be more thoughtful with it, as well as look at the zones of LaBagh and what they really need. The study informed conservationists that they need to continue building understory along the river, where they took out large amounts of buckthorn, and backfill it with the right kind of plants. Marty would love to do a rigorous scientific report on LaBagh and observe more consistently to take a better look at the impact on migratory birds. LaBagh is an important rest stop for them, and is easily accessible to people. Marty encourages Chicagoans to come out and volunteer at LaBagh and help like-minded people and the creatures around us.

Throughout the study, 58 species of migratory birds were observed from March 29 through May 31 of 2023. Twelve of these birds were Birds of Conservation Concern. Out of the 249 bird observations, the group found that the top observations were in canopy trees (50), branches overhanging the river (42), and native shrubs (35). Out of the 35 native shrub observations, 18 of the observations included shrubs planted by the LaBagh Woods restoration project. Some of these shrubs included Bladdernut, Blue-fruited Dogwood, Chokecherry, Downy Hawthorn, Illinois Rose, Nannyberry, Ninebark, Prickly Ash, Red Osier Dogwood, and Spicebush. Migratory birds are using older shrub plantings, so it is expected that as the younger plants age, more migrants will use them. Another finding identified oak-using vs. oak-avoiding birds: the group observed 30 birds that heavily used oaks, including Palm Warbler and Bay-breasted Warbler, and 48 birds that infrequently used oaks, including Wilson’s Warbler and American Redstart. Oak-avoiding birds use woody vegetation near water and bushy areas, which the efforts of LaBagh Woods restoration has helped to support.

LaBagh Woods is home to a variety of species, and it is heavily used by migrating birds, so COS and its partners are committed to the continuation of this essential work to restore and provide quality urban habitat.

Report: Migratory Bird Feature Usage at LaBagh Woods