Register now for the Chicago Bird Alliance Environmental Awards Brunch and Annual Meeting!

The Forest Preserves of Cook County (FPCC) are 70,000+ acres of diverse habitats and recreational areas, and Adam Bianchi is the one in charge of overseeing it all. As the General Superintendent of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, he manages a balance between preserving the land and ensuring people can enjoy the natural resources inherent to the area. The Chicago Bird Alliance had the privilege of interviewing Adam and learning more about his background, his conservation philosophy, and his priorities for FPCC, among other items of note.

It may seem obvious that birds are heavily reliant on plants to survive – they nest in trees, they eat berries and seeds for sustenance, and they feast on the insects that use flora for their own advantage. But not all bird-plant relationships are equal.

Still looking for the perfect gift, or are you ready to treat yourself after a long year? Check out the CBA gift guide! We’ve included ideas for last-minute holiday presents that tie back to the Chicago Bird Alliance, from Rosemary Mosco being the keynote speaker at the Urban Birding Festival and Amar Ayyash speaking at the annual member meeting in March, to recognizing local birder and involved CBA member Riley Phoebus Mazok and, most importantly, appreciating the Piping Plovers who made Chicago their home. These gifts are sure to make any Chicago birder merry this holiday season!

Picture a nest of cattails, sedges and weeds, lit by the spring sun, that holds an olive-colored, gray-speckled egg. Every day for 30 days or so, beginning in April and ending in May, the proud parents take turns incubating this egg. Finally it cracks open, revealing a Greater Sandhill Crane chick covered in down feathers…

If birds ever observed their human neighbors parading around one October night, looking decidedly unlike themselves, and wanted to celebrate their own version of Halloween, some could hide their identity with little effort. Below are five examples of ways one bird can look like another, given their existing similarities

For the second year in a row, the now 2-year-old Urban Birding Festival was a hit with birders from within and outside the Chicagoland area. It was an incredible opportunity to appreciate urban bird life, make new connections, and spot some lifers!

Rosemary Mosco is a multi-hyphenate who pairs serious science with humor. She is known, in part, for her webcomic, Bird and Moon, where each comic strip brilliantly utilizes jokes to teach about nature. Her latest book, The Birding Dictionary, focuses on birding terms and the witty definitions really stick in your mind. And if you ever had any questions about pigeons flit through your head as you watched these birds strut past you – or even if you hadn’t – you need to read the heavily researched yet accessible A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World's Most Misunderstood Bird.

The results are in for the 2025 Chicago Bird Photography Contest! This contest, held jointly by the Chicago Park District, Chicago Ornithological Society, and Chicago Bird Alliance, ran from March 15th to August 1st and featured six categories. The submissions were very impressive and it was difficult to whittle it down to one winner and three runners up.