Barb Dougan

The DBC donated $2,000 to fund a restoration project managed by The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) from proceeds derived from the sale of the beautiful collection of decoys the family of longtime DuPage birder Craig Holderness donated to the Club in his memory. The donation will support the second year of habitat restoration at Violet Meadow, so named for the four native violet species that thrive there. Violet Meadow is part of TWI’s internationally recognized restoration site, the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in northcentral Illinois. This project focuses on restoring high-quality habitats across 292 acres in the Refuge’s northeastern […]

The DBC is looking for pictures of birds taken between December 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023. All photos are welcome: amateur, funny, imperfect, high-quality. The “story behind the shot” is also taken into account when judging. The judges want this to be a fun contest; no categories have been pre-defined for award-winners so every entry has a chance to win! If you would like to look at past DBC Photo Contest winners CLICK HERE. The contest is open to DBC members only. Photos may be taken anywhere (not just DuPage/Illinois). If a picture includes people, the submitter must have

The DBC’s Fall ’22 photo contest was a great success! The 27 entries were judged by John Hebert, Andie Duffy, Steve Constantelos, Natalie McFaul, and Mike Warner. Because of the variety and quality of the submissions, the committee had a very tough time deciding on which pictures to recognize. The committee wants to thank all the photographers for their entries. Go to Fall ’22 Photo Contest Winners to see all the winning images and the stories behind them. Go to Members Photo Gallery to see the winning photos only.  

Partnership to Restore Woodland Understory Will Benefit Birds — The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and DuPage Birding Club jointly announce a grant to restore a woodland understory near McKee Marsh at Blackwell Forest Preserve in West Chicago. The DuPage Birding Club is providing a $2,000 grant to the Friends of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County 501(c)(3) to fund the planting of nearly 100 native tree saplings and shrubs. The grant will advance a restoration project already begun at the site, which included the removal of nonnative buckthorn and honeysuckle shrubs. Newly planted native trees and shrubs

Due to expected inclement weather on Saturday, we are moving the Planting Day to Sunday, November 6, when it is expected to be sunny and mild. Can you spare a few hours to help the DBC plant native shrubs at a woodland in McKee Marsh? The Club is partnering with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County on a project to improve habitat for our forest birds by restoring the understory of a local woodland. We provided a $2,000 grant to the District to purchase 100 native shrubs and saplings to plant in an area of McKee Marsh where nonnative,

If you’re among the 45+ volunteers who gave of your time on behalf of the Club in the last year, we want to thank you at a luncheon Saturday, October 29, at Blackwell Forest Preserve. The event is open to anyone who has volunteered on behalf of the club in the last year. This includes Board Members, Committee members, field trip leaders, outreach volunteers, newsletter and website contributors, presenters, and any others who have helped out in the past year. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. with a walk to explore the new Springbrook wetland restoration project and look

The DBC’s Summer ‘22 photo contest was a great success, with 31 entries submitted! The photo contest entries were judged by John Hebert, Andie Duffy, Steve Constantelos, Natalie McFaul, and Mike Warner. Because of the variety and quality of the submissions, the committee had a very tough time deciding on which pictures to recognize. The committee wants to thank all the photographers for their entries. Go to Summer ’22 Photo Contest Winners to see all the winning images and the stories behind them. Go to Members Photo Gallery to see the winning photos only.  

The DBC is looking for pictures of birds taken between September 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. Photographs will be judged by a small team of DBC members. All photos are welcome: amateur, funny, imperfect, high-quality. The “story behind the shot” will be taken into account when judging. The judges want this to be a fun contest; no categories have already been defined for award-winners so every entry has a chance to win! The contest is open to DBC members only. Photos may be taken anywhere (not just DuPage/Illinois). If a picture includes people, the submitter must have permission from

Refresh your fall warbler ID skills with these videos on the DBC You Tube Channel: Fall Warbler Tidbits, Three Fall Warblers,  Four more Fall Warblers, Vireos without Wingbars, Warblers from Below, Part 1, and Warblers from below, Part 2.

DBC member Nancy Allured was recently profiled in the DuPage Forest Preserves feature called “Catching Nature,” which highlights people connecting with nature in our managed lands. Nancy shares her lifelong love of nature and how birding has been an ongoing way to connect to the natural world. She has a long history of volunteerism, including roles with the DuPage Forest Preserve, Bird Conservation Network, annual Hawkwatch, and DuPage Birding Club (currently one of our webmasters and a past member of the Board). Several DBC members have been featured in “Catching Nature” over the last few years. They include Denis Kania,