The Bird Conservation Network is supporting the reforestation of a Guatemalan cloud forest. This cloud forest hosts many endemic birds such as the resplendent quetzal, the pink-headed warbler and three species of hummingbird, and is the winter home of many of our migrants. Economic, cultural and political factors have brought this region to an ecological tipping point, and effective conservation needs to take all of them into account. Judy Pollock, Director of Bird Conservation at Audubon Chicago Region, recently visited the project and will discuss her field experiences as well as the unique community-based work of the BCN’s partner organization, Community Cloud Forest Conservation, in promoting sustainable agriculture, conservation of the cloud forest and bird education in local Mayan villages.

4th Annual Memorial Ralph Herbst Duck Trip: Bird the lakes and ponds of the Palos region for a variety of spring waterfowl. Meet at 7:30 a.m. From I-55, exit south on to US Rte. 45/LaGrange Rd. Head straight south to the McGinnis Slough parking lot on the west side of LaGrange Rd. Leader: Jeff Sanders.

South Africa has a well-deserved reputation as a fantastic vacation destination for those who want beautiful landscapes, world-class food and wine, excellent infrastructure, and lots of charismatic megafauna. When you throw in 70 or so endemic birds, it becomes a fantastic birding destination, too. Josh Engel, who spent over three years based in Cape Town working as a birding and safari guide, will take us on a virtual tour of South Africa. We will start in the rugged and endemic-filled Western Cape tucked in the southwest corner of the country, crossing the beautiful, rolling grasslands of the highveld, all the way to the mammal-laden bushveld of Kruger National Park in the northeast. A lavishly illustrated slideshow will highlight the birds, animals, and landscapes of South Africa, with a focus on the recently-completed ENSBC tour.

This presentation will highlight the challenges and successes of the field Museum's Bird Division. The current Field Museum collaborations in the highlands of the Albertine Rift--a lush, densely populated region that extends from southern Sudan to northeast Zambia and includes some of the world's largest lakes--go back more than twenty years and have included fieldwork in Uganda, Rwanda, Congo, and Burundi. The region's forests are best known for their populations of gorillas and chimpanzees, but they also contain more than forty species of birds that are found nowhere else in the world. Field Museum curator John Bates will share his recent field experiences in eastern Congo, which includes finding a bird that hadn't been seen in nearly fifty years and having to flee the forest because of rebel activity.

Rick Remington will share photos of the diverse bird populations that inhabit this amazing area tucked into NW Illinois. This beautiful land untouched by glaciers in the last ice age, borders 3 different states including Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. The big avian attraction here is the mighty Mississippi River which is largely responsible for the many different species migrating through the area each year. Rick will share photos of birds from all seasons with a primary focus on Bald Eagles, White Pelicans and Trumpeter Swans. He will share his favorite locations based on countless hours of exploring the area with his wife Jennifer. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about this incredible resource located just 2.5 hours from the city of Chicago!

Friday travel date, Saturday and Sunday trip dates Central Illinois River Valley Shorebird trip: Emiquon, Globe tract, Thompson Lake, Chautauqua NWR, and elsewhere near Havana, IL. Trip departs Saturday morning 6:00 a.m. from McLean, just south of Bloomington, Illinois off I-55 at 6:00 a.m. Our base will be McLean, Illinois near the Dixie Truck stop. Recommended Friday and Saturday overnight stays at Super 8 Motel. Approx. cost $80-100. including lodging based on double occupancy. Breakfast and lunch included, dinners on your own. Target species: shorebirds inc. Red-necked Phalarope, Black-necked Stilt, avocet and others--hopefully we'll tally 20 species of shorebirds, Eurasian Tree Sparrow, and other migrants. Some moderate walking involved. Limit 15 participants. We'll be carpooling and driving to shorebird locations. If you've never seen the Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Nature Preserve--this trip is for you! Reservations required by contacting leader: David B. Johnson, 224-567-9650 or by email at djohnsoda@comcast.net.

Saturday. This unique trip will allow you a great chance to see Whip-poor-wills, a bird in serious decline, after hours in the South Unit of the State Park. Meet at 7:00 pm at the Nature Center parking lot to bird the area for local nesters prior to looking for the Whip-poor-wills. The Nature Center entrance is just west of the Illinois Beach Resort in the South Unit. Leader: Sulli Gibson and Joel Greenberg.

Check out the spring migrants and returning breeders at this beautiful Lake County forest preserve. Meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Brushwood parking lot. Ryerson Woods is on Riverwoods Rd, northwest of Deerfield. Leader: Gary Hantsbarger

We will be looking for migrating passerines at this park. Meet at 7:00 a.m. Park south of the Museum of Science and Industry after driving on the east side of the building. Leader: Dick Young.