Jill, Josh and Ginny

Eva, Sig, Amy and Judy

Our guest speaker,Josh Engel, leads birding trips around the world and is a nature photographer. He is the owner of Red Hill Birding, a bird touring company. 

Josh discussed bird migration patterns which seems to be an activity that many birds do.  In North America, the general pattern is to winter in the southern U.S., the Caribbean or South America and fly north to the northern U.S or Canada to nest and breed.

The longest known bird migration is the Bar-tailed Gidwit who flies from Alaska to New Zealand non-stop for 7,000 miles.

In North America, the Blackpoll Warbler fles from South America to Alaska. 1700 miles in the  Fall.

Monty and Rose, the first Piping Plovers who recently nested at Montrose Point in Chicago, wintered in Texas and Florida, respectively, but managed to find each other in the Spring at Montrose Point.

Some migration facts:

• Songbirds migrate at night, a few hundred miles each night
• Birds avoid flying over water so shores are attractive to them
• Building lights attract birds which can be a cause of death of migrating birds unless precautions are taken
• The lights of Chicago may be an attraction to migrating birds which is why we have so many coming through
• 351 species of birds can be found at Montrose Point
• Oak trees are great for birds

Apps for birders:

• Birdcast - tracks migrations
• eBird - siting log
• Merlin - identifies bird songs

Web sites for opportunites to Learn in the Field:

• Red Hill Birding
• Chicago Bird Alliance
• Chicago Ornithological Society
• The Urban Birding Festival, September 13-15, 2025

Haley and Eva

Matt and Marilyn

Lucy and Eva

Our guest presenter was Matt Iglesias, Executive Director of the Chicago Bird Alliance. 

Some of the changes being observed:

• Laying eggs earlier by 1 week, some longer
• Migration is earlier
• The timiing between birds and their insect food source has been decoupled
• Changes in geographic distribution has occurred, e.g. robins are seen throughout the winter in Chicago
• Bird body sizes are changing by becoming smaller with longer wings
• 1 in 4 birds are no longer around since 1970
• If there is a 3 degree C increase in atmospheric  temperature, 1/4 of state birds would leave

Resources:

Audobon Research - Survival by Degrees 

Our guest presenter was Haley LeRand, Executive Director of Global Gardens.
Haley spoke about an urban farm located in Albany Park which supports refugees who grow organic vegetables for sale and home consumption.

Speaker and professional garden coach, Amy Powers, spoke about her mission to teach everyone to get in touch with nature and learn how to manage their own landscape. She emphasized transitioning your existing garden to a more drought tolerant ecosystem with friendly native plants.

Amy can be reached at PowersPlants for a consulltation.

We visited the Jens Jenson-designed Garfield Park Conservatory for their wonderful Spring Flower.Show followed by lunch at a local restaurant.

Our monthly programs are usually held on the 1st Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Warren Park Field House, 6601 N. Western Ave. Chicago.

We usually feature a social get-together with refreshments followed by a guest speaker.

To view program and activity offerings from previous years, click here.

Dona Vitale

Native nursery plants

Root growth on a native plant

Natives in the wild

Members gathered at Warren Park to socialize, enjoy desserts and learn about the Green Room which is maintained by NGS volunteers,