This year in Chicago we had two Bald Eagle nests, with eaglets! All of the news reports mentioned that these eaglets were the first born within city limits in over 100 years. Why the wait? Well, it’s not just Chicago with the dearth of eaglets. Illinois overall has had relatively few eagle nests, much less eaglets, until recently. Here we take a look at the known, or at least published, local history of Bald Eagle nestings in the last 100 years, and successful strategies to increase the feasibility of future nests.

Dexter Patterson is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and huge bird nerd who wants everyone to experience the joy of birding. The Chicago Bird Alliance had the incredible opportunity to interview Dexter, and we are thrilled to share his responses!

Ospreys are fascinating predatory birds, and they’ve been sighted nesting around Chicagoland in recent years, as far as the suburb of Lemont, thanks to the method of hacking! Learn about the ongoing Illinois Osprey Hacking Project and how you can help these magnificent raptors in our exclusive interview with Tih-Fen Ting, Ph.D., head of the hacking project at the University of Illinois Springfield!

Has the thought ever crossed your mind that every avian species should be feted, with their uniqueness honored in song? Tommy Siegel (Jukebox the Ghost) and Billy Libby (Ingrid Michaelson), both world-touring musicians, have tasked themselves with creating the entrance music each bird deserves with their podcast Extremely Accurate Bird Songs. All episodes contain serious facts, amusing commentary, and original music for a specific bird, as well as an expert who critiques the song for accuracy.

Believe it or not, Fall Migration for birds is already underway in Chicagoland.

For the first time in roughly 100 years, baby Bald Eagles were born in Chicago earlier this year. While this stoic and iconic predatory bird has been seen more frequently in Chicagoland throughout the past 20 years or so, their history and presence in Cook County, and even beyond Illinois, goes farther back.

For anyone living or working in Chicago tired of reading about collisions and seeing fatalities prone on the sidewalk, please visit the Chicago Collisions Coalition website to learn more about what you can do now.

When rain is predicted you might open a weather app to check when the storm will roll in, viewing radar imaging to pinpoint the moment you need an umbrella. Weather radar is, of course, used to track precipitation. But not everything in the sky is a meteorological phenomenon - a perhaps lesser-known use of radar is bird migration monitoring.

The original story appeared in OutdoorIllinois Journal (outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org), a product of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and National Great Rivers Research and Education Center.

Join us for Female Bird Day by celebrating female birds.

Local birder and environmental policy advocate talks careers, rare-bird chasing, and the power of constituency.

Black and white plumage,

checkered with white spots,

a ruff of lace around the neck—

kings and queens of the lake,

dignified, graceful,

royalty among waterfowl.