The importance of Black Americans in conservation and environmentalism is GREATLY underrepresented and it requires some digging to learn about the significant past and current Black contributors and advocates of birding, conservation, and environmental justice.
Calling all shutterbugs and bird enthusiasts! We want you to capture the vibrant avian life of Chicago through your lens and participate in the inaugural "Chicago Birds Photography Contest." Photographers of all experience levels are invited to compete with winning submissions eligible for eternal bragging rights and cash prizes!
This time of year, owls become the focus of many nature lovers. The presence of humans can be stressful for owls, so it’s important to understand more about owls and follow simple guidelines to ensure their safety.
In the interest of being more mindful and considerate in our gift buying, supporting Black and BIPOC businesses and creators, and - and well, BIRDS! - here is an alternative list of ideas to make your 2022 gifting thoughtful, fun and bird friendly!
During spring and summer, adult birds find mates, build nests, lay eggs, and raise their young. If we’re fortunate enough, we can carefully observe some or all of these activities, sometimes at close range. Here we’ll describe the nesting habits of three birds common to the Chicago area that have very different styles and skills in nest building.
Great news! We raised the full amount to pilot rat contraceptive for a year. Thank you, thank you!
Our trial will start in August. We have all the volunteers lined up and the training will be in early August..
The Chicago Bird Alliance is hosting a webinar on the Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm Central. Project members will be on hand to answer questions, and to describe the dangers of rat poison and the alternative of contraceptives to control the rat population. Register for the webinar here.
Chicago Bird Alliance & Alderman Timmy Knudsen Announce Rat Contraceptive Pilot in Lincoln Park
Chicago, IL - Chicago Bird Alliance & 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen are collaborating with several groups to pilot a year-long study of rat contraceptives, starting this summer. The non-toxic contraceptive is offered in food pellets called WISDOM Good Bites™, developed and produced by the non-profit WISDOM Good Works.
Through decades of use by the City of Chicago, it has been made clear that rat poison (rodenticide) does not substantially reduce rat populations. Moreover, it can be lethal to some birds and mammals, including pets. Our local wildlife — from owls and hawks, to squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and opossums — is in danger. Consuming rat poison directly or through poisoned prey causes a slow, painful death to any animal that accumulates enough of it.
Last spring, we saw the damage that rat poisons do. An entire Great Horned Owl family died in Lincoln Park just weeks after the owlet left the nest. All three causes of death were confirmed as rodenticide by Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
Matt Igleski, Executive Director of Chicago Bird Alliance, says, “Witnessing the devastating effects of rodenticide poisoning in real-time, with the family of Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park, is a wake-up call. We believe that this pilot will not only prove to be more effective at controlling rats, but it will also save urban raptors from suffering needless deaths due to rodenticide poisoning.”
One of the most frequent constituent service requests received by the 43rd Ward is for rat abatement. Often in alleys, rats impact all Chicagoans' quality of life. Alderman Timmy Knudsen, says “Chicago’s current use of rat poison is not reducing the targeted population. When any strategy consistently does not work, it is essential that we as government officials innovate for a more effective approach. I am proud to partner with Chicago Bird Alliance to bring a ‘rat birth control’ pilot to Lincoln Park, and I am confident this pilot will achieve positive results. When it does so, I look forward to pitching this program to City Council to scale this approach city-wide so that the rat population is reduced in every Chicago neighborhood.”
There is a strong team of experts behind this initiative:
Scientist and rat expert Dr. Maureen Murray of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute is conducting the study.
Alderman Knudsen helped select a site in the 43rd Ward., and his team is notifying neighbors
The Department of Streets and Sanitation Deputy Commissioner, Gloria Pittman, is working alongside our team to track the results of he pilot. If successful, we will continue our partnership with the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Bureau of Rodent Control to replicate this pilot in other wards.
Wisdom Good Works is supplying the contraceptive pellets.
Deputy Commissioner Gloria Pittman expressed the department's interest in the contraceptive to enhance its current strategy, "The Department of Streets and Sanitation remains committed to utilizing proven, effective methods to manage the rodent population. Though rodenticide is the most well-known, our rodent management methods are diverse, including cart and refuse management, construction and demolition coordination, and community education and door-to-door engagement, which we have expanded to more areas in the city. We welcome any and all new approaches that demonstrate measurable success in enhancing our current efforts, and look forward to monitoring this pilot closely for future expansion."
The trial will take place near Lincoln Park, where the owls met their deaths, and is slated to begin in late July. The food pellets are dispensed in special rat-feeder boxes.
For more details, visit https://chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/save-the-owls.
Congratulations to the 34 birding leaders who successfully completed the Bird Outing Leader Training program, hosted by the Chicago Bird Alliance (CBA) and the EcoWomanist Institute (EWI)! There were two cohorts offered this year, with one meeting on Saturdays from April 5th to May 17th and the other on Tuesdays from April 8th to May 20th. Each week the groups met at Rainbow Beach in South Chicago to learn different aspects of birding and to build a community.
Spring is one of the most critical seasons in a bird’s life cycle. As temperatures rise, millions of birds migrate north to their breeding grounds, seeking food, shelter, and safe nesting sites along the way. For many species, backyards in urban and suburban neighborhoods aren’t just flyover zones — they’re essential rest stops or even permanent habitats. That’s why what homeowners choose to plant, build, and illuminate can make a huge difference. Check out some tips by our friends at Cat Topia to make your backyard more welcoming to birds, and keep your cats safely enclosed.
Although Earth Day comes once a year, it is important to make every day bird-friendly. There is already a heavy loss of avian life, with a decline of around 2.9 billion birds since 1970, and it would be calamitous if this trend were to continue. The following are five types of pollution to keep in mind and their detrimental effects on class Aves
The 2025 Bird Outing Leader Training program will be kicking off in April, and this initiative wouldn’t be possible without the support of Veronica Kyle and the EcoWomanist Institute (EWI). The mission of this inspiring organization is to focus on societal and environmental issues that affect women of African descent, who are typically the healers of their community, and underserved communities in general.
If you like reading a good memoir, or if you’re needing inspiration as Earth Day 2025 comes around, you should pick up Trish O’Kane’s 2024 volume, Birding to Change the World: A Memoir. It is, in her own words, a “braid of science, personal story, and an activism story” that comes as close to riveting as any memoir can.
This article looks at gull identification through the lens of evolutionary biology and genetics. It discusses when it becomes necessary to move beyond rigid taxonomic categories and instead focus on variation in genes and traits. For birdwatchers, who can only deal in observable traits, this approach is crucial to avoid unwarranted assumptions about genetics—assumptions that can lead to false confidence when assessing vagrancy or hybrid ancestry.
There is progress! In June experts in avian conservation, urban planners, architects, City of Chicago Departments and other relevant experts will provide policy recommendations on bird-friendly design. Data on which new construction developments have selected bird-mitigation options from the Sustainable Development Policy during the year since the updated policy was released will be considered.
When you think of romance between birds, perhaps Monty and Rose, arguably Chicago’s most famous bird couple, come to mind. This Piping Plover pair captivated Chicago from 2019 to 2021. But every year, numerous birds around the Chicagoland area signal their willingness to pair up, mate, and form a family. Ardor to a bird comes in many varieties. It can be…
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.
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