The first written accounts of local birds were published in the 1850s. This talk looks at fluctuating bird population over the ensuing 150 years. Some birds have disappeared altogether or are barely hanging on, while others have increased dramatically. One surprising example are the two local black corvids. When the prairies were intact, common ravens were the dominant species while crows were restricted to wooded riparian areas. But once the prairie lands were converted to agriculture, the ravens totally disappeared and the crows took over.  Joel has a strong interest in historical natural history and has written three books related to that topic.

Note Location Information: This talk will take place in the Linton Room of the Levy Center, 300 Dodge Avenue, Evanston. The Levy Center is south of the intersection of Oakton St and Dodge Ave., north of the intersection of Howard St. and Dodge Ave. on the west side of the street. Park in the parking lot.

The first event in our 100th Birthday Celebration Series

 Please join us for a joint trip with the Illinois Young Birders and the Evanston North-Shore Bird Club. We will start at the Northwestern University campus, where we will look for ducks and gulls, including the Canvasback that is spending the winter, as well as Black-crowned Night-Herons that sometimes winter here. We will end our visit chumming for gulls, hoping for an Iceland or Glaucous Gull to join the Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. We'll continue on to other nearby spots, including Lighthouse Beach and the Bahai Temple (where there was a Merlin on the recent Christmas Bird Count), before ending at Gillson Park around mid-day. Meet at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot.

Map of meeting location 

Directions: From Sheridan Rd. and Lincoln Ave. in Evanston, go east on Lincoln. Follow it as it curves to the south and turns into Campus Dr., around a parking garage, and curves back east and dead ends in a parking lot on the lake. 

Leaders: Josh Engel and Steve Bayer 

Organizer: Joel Greenberg, joelrgreenberg@gmail.com. Compiler: Adam Sell.

Organizer: Joel Greenberg, joelrgreenberg@gmail.com, Compiler: Geoff Williamson.

Species make up your life list, your year list and your field guides, but they are also key units of evolution and units of conservation and scientists do not always agree on what is and what is not a species (and sometimes they even flip flop).  John Bates, Associate Curator of Birds at the Field Museum will discuss the issues, challenges and value of defining species (or not) with examples from around the world.

The rusty- patched bumblebee, Bombus affinis, has become the poster child for our dangerously declining wild native bees. Why it was chosen, how it became endangered, and what can be done about it are the topics of Terry Miesle's beautifully illustrated talk. Citizen Scientists can help by sending observations to reporting agencies, and Terry will provide information to help you identify and photograph these bees.  Terry has been formally monitoring insects, focusing on bees, at Fermilab Natural Areas since 2014 and has photographed numerous prairies throughout the Chicago region.  He's involved with the Native Bee Awareness Initiative and reports data to Beespotter and other data collection agencies.

Join us for our final walk of this migration season at 7:30 a.m. Look for warblers, thrushes and other migrants.  Meet at the corner of Grant and Ewing.

Cuba is a land of beautiful landscapes, endemic birds, wonderful people, incredible cars, and constant music. Led by our own Josh Engel with a wonderful local guide, an ENSBC group traveled from the hills west of Havana to the barrier islands to the east and to the swamps in the country’s south. We covered a lot of ground and found nearly all of the endemic birds, including the spectacular Cuban Trogon, the remarkable Bee Hummingbird, and the rare Zapata Wren. Despite Cuba's being something of a "forbidden land" for Americans, we found the traveling to be easy, the people to be welcoming, and the birds to be fabulous. Libby returned to Cuba, birding her way with a different group to different locations.

The NU campus has long been a stopover for migrants of all kinds headed south in fall. Park on the lakeside of the upper deck of the south parking lot off of Sheridan Rd. and Clark St., north of Clark St. beach, at 8:30 a.m. Leaders: Libby Hill and Sarah Flax.