Field Trips

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 Field Trips Spring, 2023

 

 

Field Trip: :Looney Trip is Back!

Saturday, April 1, 2023

Dave Johnson's Looney Trip is Back.  Details TBA.  Registration will be required.

Field Trip: Air Station Prairie Woodcocks

Saturday, April 15, 2023

Come out to see the spectacular aerial displays of the American Woodcock at dusk!  The Air Station Prairie in Glenview is a great location for these displays, and we may even spot a woodcock on the ground. Meet on the deck of the interpretive center at 6:45 p.m.  The parking lot is across the street on Compass Road. Registration required.  Register with libbyhill@comcast.net. Leader: Jeff Sanders.

Field Trip: Big Marsh at Calumet

Sunday, April 30, 2023
April 30 Big Marsh Park 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

 

Come experience spring migration at one of Chicago's most successful restoration projects.  The entire trail system at Big Marsh Park is now open, allowing access to the entirety of the park.  Shorebirds, songbirds, marsh birds and more!  Meet at the Ford Calumet Environmental Center in Big Marsh Park.  Walking will be on paved paths; we'll make an approximately 1.5-mile loop. This is a joint Evanston North Shore Bird Club and Chicago Ornithology Society trip. Leader: Carl Giometti.  Register at least 24 hours in advance with Pamela Feldman, madder@comcast.net.

Field Trip: Big Marsh Park

Sunday, April 30, 2023

7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Come experience spring migration at one of Chicago's most successful restoration projects.  The entire trail system at Big Marsh Park is now open, allowing access to the entirety of the park.  Shorebirds, songbirds, marsh birds and more! Meet at the Ford Calumet Environmental Center at Big Marsh Park.  Walking will be on paved paths; we'll make approximately a 1.5 mile loop. This is a joint Evanston North Shore Bird Club and Chicago Ornithology Society trip. Leader: Carl Giometti. 

Canal Shores Golf Course North Loop

Sunday, April 30, 2023

Canal Shores Golf Course is a great place to see spring migrants. Meet on Maple Avenue in Wilmette just west of the Canal and walk the golf course’s north birding loop. Free street parking. Participation limited to 15 people. Register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com.

Field Trip: Perkins Woods

Thursday, May 4, 2023

Look for warblers and other migrants (and a great display of spring wildflowers). 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the corner of Ewing Avenue and Grant Street.  Park along Ewing Avenue.  Leader: John Bates..

Field Trip: Waukegan Beach

Friday, May 5, 2023

The lakeshore in Chicagoland during spring migration can be one of the more dynamic birding experiences.  When conditions are right, migrant warblers, vireos, sparrows, and more can be concentrated along precious lakeshore habitat.  In Lake County, the top location for early morning lakeshore birding must be Waukegan Beach.  We will search for migrant shorebirds and waterbirds along the beach before heading to bird the adjacent woods and park.  After finishing up at Waukegan, we will then head to Illinois Beach State Park to continue our search for migrants.  At the south unit of Illinois Beach State Park, we will look for Virginia Rail and Sora, Sandhill Crane, and we could even spot a roosting Whip-poor-will if we are lucky.  

Registration is required and space is limited to 10 participants.  Register with libbyhill@comcast.net.  Leader:  Adam Sell. Note: we will start at Waukegan Beach https://goo.gl/maps/RcupVYBNAQfZezr48 at 7:00 a.m. and then proceed to Illinois Beach State Park https://goo.gl/maps/hXFN5WV8UGtBR7tT7.  The rain date for this trip will be Monday, May 8.

Field Trip: Techny North

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Sunday – May 7, 7:30 a.m.

Techny North

This site has a combination of water and grasslands and a birdy woods. Look for shorebirds and other migrants and whatever else we an find. Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot behind the “Sheraton Hotel, facing Techny Basin.  We have seen Eastern Meadowlarks and hawks in the grasslands. Turn north at Founders Drive off of Willow Rd. Leader: Owen Woodhouse.

Field Trip: Canal Shores Golf Course South Loop

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Canal Shores Golf Course South Birding Loop

Canal Shores Golf Course is a great place to see spring migrants. Meet at 7:30 a.m. on Lincoln St, Evanston, just east of the North Shore Channel. 

Free street parking. Participation limited to 15 people. Register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com.

Field Trip: Montrose

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Join us for morning migration at Montrose. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at handicapped parking. Leaders: Libby Hill and Nancy Halliday.

Field Trip: West Ridge

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

We will look for spring warblers, other migrants, local raptors, etc.  Meet at 7:30 a.m. at West Ridge Nature Center Park main entrance (5801 N. Western Ave.) Free street parking on both sides of Western Avenue. Leader: Scott Judd

Field Trip: Perkins Woods

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Look for warblers and other migrants (and a great display of spring wildflowers). 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the corner of Ewing Avenue and Grant Street.  Park along Ewing Avenue.  Leader: John Bates.

Field Trip: Skokie Lagoons

Friday, May 12, 2023

These trips pack a great list of warbler species during spring migration. Meet at 7:30 a.m. at Erickson Woods Forest Preserve parking lot. Turn north into the parking lot from Willow Road just east of the Eden’s Expressway. Leaders: Ed and Rebecca Rice.

 

Field Trip: Northwestern University Campus

Saturday, May 13, 2023

A World Migratory Bird Day event!

The NU campus has long been a stopover for migrants of all kinds headed north. Park on the lakeside of the upper deck of the south parking lot off Sheridan Road and Clark Street, north of Clark Street beach, at 8:00 a.m.  Leaders: Libby Hill and Sarah Flax.

Canal Shores Golf Course North Loop

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Canal Shores Golf Course is a great place to see spring migrants. For Canal Shores North Birding Loop, meet on Maple Avenue in Wilmette just west of the Canal and walk the golf course’s birding loop. Free street parking. Participation limited to 15 people. Register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com.

Field Trip: Montrose

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Join us for morning migration at Montrose. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at handicapped parking. Leader: Libby Hill 

Field Trip: The Grove, Glenview

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

The Grove, Glenview. Look for warblers and other passerines.  Meet at 8:00 a.m. at The Grove: east side of Milwaukee Avenue, just south of Lake Avenue, in the second parking lot that leads to the Interpretive Center.  Leader: Nancy Halliday.

Field Trip: Perkins Woods

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Look for warblers and other migrants (and a great display of spring wildflowers). 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the corner of Ewing Avenue and Grant Street.  Park along Ewing Avenue.  Leader: John Bates.

Field Trip: Skokie Lagoons

Friday, May 19, 2023

These trips pack a great list of warbler species during spring migration. Meet at 7:30 a.m. at Erickson Woods Forest Preserve parking lot. Turn north into the parking lot from Willow Road just east of the Eden’s Expressway. Leaders: Ed and Rebecca Rice.

 

Field Trip: Northwestern University Campus

Saturday, May 20, 2023

The NU campus has long been a stopover for migrants of all kinds headed north. Park on the lakeside of the upper deck of the south parking lot off Sheridan Road and Clark Street, north of Clark Street beach, at 8:00 a.m.  Leaders: Libby Hill and Sarah Flax.

Field Trip: Canal Shores Golf Course South Birding Loop

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Canal Shores South Birding Loop.  Meet on Lincoln St., Evanton, just east of the North Shore Channel.  Free street parking. Participoation limited to 15 people.  Register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com

Field Trip: Kankakee Sands

Sunday, May 21, 2023

Sunday – May 21, 6:00 a.m.- all day

The Kankakee Sands trip is back!.  Near Morocco, Indiana, this 8,000-acre prairie and wetland restoration was originally part of the 500,000-acre Grand Marsh of the Kankakee River.  The site is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, which describes it as a “birders paradise” with over 200 species recorded since restoration began in 2001. The destination is a two-hour drive from Evanston and carpooling is recommended and may be arranged through the trip leader. 

Plan on an all-day trip. Meet at the Old Orchard Parking lot at 6:a.m. for carpooling and return no later than dinner hour, depending upon the birding. We will enjoy a bountiful continental breakfast, courtesy of leader Mark Vaughan, at the picnic shelter at the 10,000 acre Willow Slough Fish and Wildlife Area adjacent to Kankakee Sands. (The last trip in 2019 was a 2-hour breakfast because of the abundance of Red-headed woodpeckers, flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, bluebirds and warblers.)  Lunch will be in a nearby local restaurant in Morocco. Leader: Mark Vaughan.

Register with libbyhill@comcast.net.

Field Trip: Ryerson Woods, Riverwoods

Tuesday, May 23, 2023
May 23 Tuesday, Ryerson Woods, Riverwoods
Meet at 7:30 a.m. at Brushwood Center parking lot for this spring migration walk.  Target species include various flycatchers and late migrant warblers among many others.  Who knows, we might even glimpse a Pileated woodpecker or an owl! Leader:  John Leonard.
Register with libbyhill@comcast.net.  

Field Trip, NEW: Harbert Payne Park, Evanston

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Harbert Payne Park, Evanston (pin HERE)

Look for late spring warblers and other migrants in one of Evanston's newest ecologically managed sites along the North Shore Channel. Meet at the parking lot at the intersection of Bradley Place and McDaniel Avenue, enter from Main Street.  Leader: Judy Pollock.

Field Trip: Perkins Woods

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Look for warblers and other migrants (and a great display of spring wildflowers). 

Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the corner of Ewing Avenue and Grant Street.  Park along Ewing Avenue.  Leaders: John Bates and Josh Engel.

Field Trip- NEW: Emily Oaks Nature Center

Friday, May 26, 2023

Emily Oaks has wonderful established trails and a pond. We will be looking for warblers and other late spring migrants.

Meet at 7:30 a.m. in the Emily Oaks Nature Center parking lot, 4650 Brummel Street, Skokie.  We will bird outside the nature center until it opens at 8 a.m.  Leader:  John Bates.

Field Trip: Canal Shores Golf Course North Loop

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Canal Shores is a great place to see spring migrants. Meet on Maple Avenue in Wilmette just west of the Canal and walk the golf course’s birding loop. Free street parking. Participation limited to 15 people. Register with Matt Rooney at matthewarooney@gmail.com.

Field Trip: Plum Creek

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Saturday – June 24, 7:30 a.m.

 

Plum Creek Forest Preserve,  11th Annual trip!. Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the forest preserve parking lot on the east side of Burnham Rd., about 1 mile south of Sauk Trail. We'll spend the morning at Josh's favorite local summer birding spot, looking especially for grassland and woodland birds that are otherwise uncommon so close to Chicago. This includes birds like Henslow's and Grasshopper Sparrows and Dickcissel in the prairie and Acadian Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, and Tufted Titmouse in the forest. We’ve also found some interesting snakes, butterflies, and other creatures on this walk. Return before lunch. Leader: Josh Engel. Limit of 10, Register with libbyhill@comcast.net

South Dakota: Badlands and Black Hills June 18-24 2024 TRIP FULL, WAITING LIST AVAILABLE

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

South Dakota: Badlands and Black Hills.

A partnership with Red Hill Birding and ENSBC.  ENSBC members have  first preference.

Western South Dakota is a classic summer vacation destination. The abundance of public lands, dotted with small towns and tourist attractions, provides a fantastic cross section of landscapes, birds, and Americana. This trip will take in Badlands National Park, with its incredible rock formations; the Black Hills, an outpost of the Rocky Mountains which reach an elevation of over 7,000ft; and the vast Great Plains north of the Black Hills. Birdwise, this is very much the West, featuring birds like American Dipper, Rock and Canyon Wrens, Lark Bunting, Ferruginous Hawk, and Burrowing Owl (not to mention bighorn sheep, bison, and other western mammals).

The trip promises to be a combination of birds and culture and spectacular scenery.

Cost: $2,790 per person sharing Single room supplement: $770 plus airfare,  tips and personal expenses.

Maximum 12 participants.

Guides:  Josh Engel and Steve Huggins.

Link to itinerary coming soon (after 1_31_23)