Many spring migrants can be found along the trail in the wooded and open habitats near the canal.

We will walk the north birding loop of the golf course at Canal Shores, located at 1030 Central St., Evanston.

The walk will start at 7:30 a.m.  

Meet by the 10th hole tee on Maple Ave, Wilmette, just west of the canal.

There is four hours of free parking on Maple in that area. 

Please dress for the weather, recognizing that the ground can be wet.

Bring binoculars and, if you have one, a field guide.

So, we can properly plan for the walks, please register with Matt Rooney,

matthewarooney@gmail.com, ahead of time. If you have any questions,

please reach out to Matt.

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.

Birding with Chronic Illness or Disability: Resources

Accessible Travels, Hotels and Experiences | Wheel the World

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.

Counters are always needed for the Christmas Bird Count.  Counters are invited to enjoy a pizza and salad dinner after they brave the winter weather. Arrive at Libby Hill's house any time 4 pm on.  Bring food to share if you are so inclined.  The evening's program" will be counting up all of the species recorded by the teams that day, comparing them to the highs, lows and averages for those species over the years of the count.  For more information, details and to participate, contact John Leonard, jleonard5440@gmail.com.

Joel Greenberg will again coordinte the feeder count.  Sign-up sheets are available at Wild Birds Unlimited, Glenview, or by emailing Joel at joelrgreenberg@gmail.com.

Join us for an evening with Vic Berardi, the founder of the Illinois Beach State Park Hawkwatch that is celebrating its 25th anniversary of full-time raptor migration monitoring. The Illinois Beach State Park Hawkwatch began in the year 2000. Vic is also a co-founder of the Fort Sheridan Hawkwatch that began in 2013. He is also well respected for his photography, especially his photographs of raptors.

Vic will share his experiences from when he first got interested in the natural world, his early interests in photography and when he first got captivated by raptor migration. He will share many of his photos and the stories behind them taken during migration, the breeding season and also during winter.

Program at 7:30 p.m.

Location: Robert Crown Community Center, Room B, 1801 Main St, Evanston

We’ll start at the North End of Campus looking for migrants.  We may explore the wooded area and the dunes near Lincoln Street, and then head south on campus.  

Meet 7:30 a.m. at the end of Campus Drive.  Turn east off of Sheridan Road at Lincoln Street and follow Campus Drive around the athletic building all the way to the end. Park at the farthest parking lot.

Leaders: Libby Hill and Sarah Flax

Join us to walk the golf course’s north birding loop. Everyone should bring binoculars and a field guide if they have one. 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. on Maple Ave. in Wilmette, just west of the canal. There is free parking on the south side of the street.  

Leader: Matthew Rooney 

Participation limited to 15 people. register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com.