With freezing temperatures, limited daylight and lengthy nights, many birds have eschewed Chicago for warmer climes. But there are still a number of hardy souls here, such as the Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, and Northern Cardinal. They have adopted diverse strategies that allow them to endure a Chicagoland winter.

We’re making progenitors!

Lately, it hasn’t always been apparent that the Chicago area is knee-deep in winter – for one thing, there’s been very little snow to be knee-deep in! However, many birds in our area provide a clue to the current astronomical season: their winter plumage. What we see in winter is non-breeding or basic plumage. Here we’ll learn about some dramatic and some subtle plumage changes in birds that we may see in Chicago this winter.

December marks the beginning of the Christmas Bird Count, and with the holiday season in full swing, the iconic song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has been playing relentlessly. But did you know that the birds in this classic song can essentially be found in Illinois? Learn which birds you can observe for the Christmas Bird Count that also show up in “The Twelve Days of Christmas!”

Did you know that Wild Turkeys, the symbol of Thanksgiving and November, have been sighted right here in Chicagoland? Learn about the history of turkeys in Chicago, from their reintroduction to save them from the brink of being wiped out to how they’ve rebounded so well that they’ve gained new, potentially uncharted, territory.

The Chicago area, and in particular the Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC), are fortunate to have several different types of natural habitats that birds need to thrive, including shrublands. Partnering for Birds, created by the Chicago Bird Alliance in collaboration with FPCC, uses data from the Bird Conservation Network and eBird to describe work-in-progress and birds of concern in the different habitats.