Birding Tools: Hotlines, Birding Locations, Checklists

• The are no phone-based, internet-transcribed hotlines in Illinois anymore. Check IBET contributions for the latest information on rare birds.
• Information about IBET (Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts), a statewide birding e-mail discussion group, and recent transcripts.
• Seasonal checklist of DuPage County, Illinois (copied with permission from a printed list compiled by Denis Kania).
• Check and year list of the birds at Argonne National Laboratory, my place of work. Argonne is located in the south-east corner of DuPage County, in the western suburbs of Chicago. There is no public access for recreational visitors, but the bird list may be taken as representative for Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, which surrounds the laboratory.
• Birding at Greene Valley Forest Preserve between Woodridge and Naperville (DuPage Co. in the western suburbs of Chicago).

• Don't forget printed resources! Your indispensible companion is A Birders Guide to the Chicago Region by Lynne Carpenter and Joel Greenberg, Northern Illinois University Press (1999), ISBN 0-87580-572-5. For state-wide coverage you should consult Birding Illinois by Sheryl DeVore, Falcon Press (2000), ISBN 1-56044-689-7. Both are available locally and from the usual mail order places.

• The Illinois Birders Forum contains rare bird alerts, field reports, identification discussions, shared photos, and much more.
• The Illinois Rare Bird Alert is a compilation of the latest sightings of unusual birds across the state. Archives.
• Birding in DuPage County, Illinois by Eric Secker. Locations, species finding guide, photos, current as well as old DuPage rare bird alerts directly from the compiler, and much more.
• The birds of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory by Peter Kasper. Of special note are the recent sightings reports.
• The Montrose Primer, an online guide to birding the Montrose Point area in Chicago, by Bob Hughes with help from Geoff Williamson and Leslie Borns.
• The Gadwall website, containing the Chicago Area Birding Guide, and various other goodies, by Jim Frazier.
• The Chicago Region Birding Trail Guide, published by the Bird Conservation Network and the Chicago Department of the Environment. Available as a free download, or in print.
• Birding in Hyde Park (Chicago) by Carol Herzenberg.
• Birds of McDowell Grove F.P. (Naperville, DuPage Co.) by Bob Rowland.
• A Bird's Eye View of the Migratory Bird Route, an extensive web site by the City of Chicago's Department of the Environment, with birding locations, checklists, webcams, bird photographs, and conservation issues.
• The Southern Illinois Birding Fest is an annual event centered around a Big Day competition. It is held in late April.
• Information about Birdnotes, an e-mail discussion list for birders in Central Illinois (sponsored by the Champaign County Audubon Society).
• The Birding in Illinois page of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• Where to find European Tree Sparrows in St. Louis, also covers sites on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River (Randy Korotev).
• Lake Carlyle weekly birding report by Dan Kassebaum.
• McLean County Birding by Michael Retter.
• Photo gallery of Illinois birds assembled by Michael Retter. (Old)
• Where do you want to go birding in Illinois today? by Tina MacDonald.

Bird Conservation: Counts, Censusing, Species of Special Concern, Habitat Protection

• Christmas and Spring Bird Counts in Illinois.

• The Chicago area Bird Conservation Network (BCN), with links to bird monitoring data entry and much more. Also information about BCN-net, the e-mail discussion group of the Bird Conservation Network.
• Ornithology section of the Illinois Natural History Survey with a systematic species list for Illinois, annotated species accounts, and an on-line Breeding Bird Atlas.
• The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has a list of state endangered and threatened species (all taxa, not just birds).
• Chicago Bird Collision Monitors rescue migrating birds after they collide with downtown buildings, and they provide information to avoid collisions.
  If you find an injured bird (Chicago area): call the CBCM hotline (773) 988-1867, or contact one of the wildlife rehabilitation centers below:
  • Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation (847) 602-0628, in Barrington.
  • Willowbrook Wildlife Center (630) 942 6200, in Glen Ellyn.
  • Fox Valley Wildlife Center (630) 365-3800, in Elburn
• Monitoring Endangered Peregrines in Chicago, an "Expedition" of the Field Museum of Natural History (Mary Hennen).
• Hawks in the Sky by Vic Berardi, includes information on the raptor migration count at Illinois Beach State Park.
• Illinois Bluebird Project.
• The Purple Martin Society, NA with headquarters in suburban Burr Ridge (DuPage Co.).
• The Sierra Club Lake Calumet Wetlands Project.
• Chicago Environmental Network.
• Bartel Grasslands (southern Cook Co.).
• Orland Grasslands (southern Cook Co.).
• The Illinois Raptor Center is a raptor education and rehabilitation organization in Decatur.

Chicago Area Birding Organizations

• DuPage Birding Club: Activities include meetings and field trips (visiting birders welcome).

• Chicago Ornithological Society.
• Chicago Audubon Society.
• Illinois Ornithological Society.
• Illinois Audubon Society.
• Evanston North Shore Bird Club.
• Kane County Audubon.
• Lake Cook Audubon Chapter.
• Birding and bird-related organizations in Illinois and elsewhere.

Chicago Area Nature-Related Institutions

• Chicago Academy of Sciences and Notebeaert Nature Museum.
• Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
• The Morton Arboretum, a good birding place in DuPage County.
• Chicago Botanic Garden, a birding place in northern Cook County.
• Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, southern Will County.

Other

• A list of links to Illinois birders' personal home pages.
• A short write-up about the status and the identification of Streptopelia doves (Ringed Turtle-Dove and Eurasian Collared-Dove) in Illinois.

• The Birdzilla Blog by the naturalist and Chicago area resident, Joel Greenberg.
• Birds of the Great Lakes Region by the Great Lakes Information Network.

• Illinois and Chicago at Yahoo.
• Illinois at GORP (outdoor resources).
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois.
• Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois.
• Guide to the Forest Preserves of Lake County, Illinois.
• Forest Preserve District of Kane County, Illinois.
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Of particular interest may be the State Parks page.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Midwest Region, Illinois information page.
• A Naturalist's Tour of Southern Lake Michigan by Joel Greenberg, author of the recent book A Natural History of the Chicago Region (University of Chicago Press, 2002).
• Chicago weather.
• Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee Transportation Information Center, including a current expressway traffic congestion map.