Every Thursday morning in May at we'll look for spring migrants in the woods.  Meet at the corner of Ewing and Grant at 7:30.

Leaders: John Bates and sometimes Josh Engel

Northwestern University has always been a great migrant trap. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the open parking lot at the south end of campus just north of the Visitor Center, off of Sheridan Road. 

Leaders: Libby Hill and Betsy Brill

 Look for warblers and other migrating species in this diverse habitat of restored woodland with numerous wetlands scattered throughout.  

Meet at 8:00 a.m. in the second parking lot that leads to the Interpretive Center.

Leader: Nancy Halliday

We will look for spring warblers and other migrants, local raptors, etc.. along the trails of this nearly 22-acre restored woodlands, wetlands and pond.
Meet at 7:30 A.M. at the park entrance at 5801 N. Western Ave, just across from where Ardmore dead-ends into Western Ave. from the west. Free street parking on both sides of Western Avenue.
Leader: Scott Judd

Every Thursday morning in May at we'll look for spring migrants in the woods.  Meet at the corner of Ewing and Grant at 7:30.

Leaders: John Bates and sometimes Josh Engel

Sean Menke, Professor & Chair of Biology at Lake Forest College, along with his colleagues. took advantage of the cicada event in 2024 to learn more about ecosystems.  In nature, populations of plants and animals occasionally explode in numbers, providing a temporary surplus of nutritious food for consumers. When these nutritional ‘pulses’ occur, they can initiate chain reactions in food webs, as consumers switch from their normal diets to feast instead on the abundant new food items. Understanding the consequences of these food pulses for natural communities – which organisms are affected, for how long, and if they stop performing their normal “jobs” to take advantage of the new resource – can provide insights into how ecological systems function and respond to change. My colleagues and I studied the synchronized emergence of billions of Brood XIII periodical cicadas in Chicagoland this past summer. This was an enormous pulse of insect food for birds and ants, one of the most abundant and important group of organisms on the planet. Come find out what we learned, and still hope to find out!

In person at Robert Crown Community Center, 1801 Main Street, Evanston.  Plenty of parking in the well-lit parking area.730 pm.

Jobi Cates, a local birder, photographer and policy advocate, will share photos, stories, and lessons learned from birds as part of her journey with chronic illness.

Until March 2023, Jobi was founder and Executive Director of Restore Justice, a statewide advocacy organization focused on reducing harm caused by long-term incarceration. Her 30-year career—and her bird chasing habit—came to a halt when she was infected with COVID-19 and became what is called a “long-hauler,” suffering from debilitating cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, and nervous system dysregulation.

Jobi discovered that while going back to work was not an option, bird photography could be “paced” using methods learned in speech and physical therapy. While the effort involved in bird photography still poses many challenges, Jobi has learned habits, “hacks” and mental tricks to make bird photography an integral part of her recovery, and she is delighted to have a chance to share them with the local birding community.  On Zoom  7:30 pm.

Chris Whelan, in the Biology Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is back by popular demand.  He will share his knowledge of Foraging Ecology.

How do birds, or any organisms for that matter, make their living? Every living thing need safety from enemies, and resources (food) to grow, sustain life, and reproduce. Given the extraordinary diversity of birds, how do birds exemplify an extraordinary diversity in feeding behavior -- how do they obtain food? This question is the domain of what ecologists call "Foraging Ecology". Every detective wanna-be is told to answer these questions: Who? When? Where? Why? and How? We'll look into answers to those questions with respect to bird Foraging Ecology, though not necessarily in that order. Foraging Ecology influences many aspects of bird life -- who lives where (habitat selection), with whom (community ecology), and ecological impacts (pest control). The 11,000 some species of birds exhibit fascinating examples of Foraging Ecology, so this review will have to be selective and, unfortunately (fortunately?), limited by the time available. We could go on for years....  On Zoom  7:30 pm.