News

Wesley the Owl by Stacey O’Brien is the DBC Book Club’s next read. Widely lauded by the nature community and a New York Times Bestseller, Wesley the Owl tells the story of the special relationship that developed between an injured Barn Owl and the woman who adopted him and committed two decades of her life to his care when it was determined he could not live as a wild bird. The next book club will meet September 10, at 7:00 p.m. All members are welcome! Please contact Mike Warner at mwarner2543@gmail.com if you’d like details on participating.

With more than 50 beautiful photos submitted, the Photography Contest Judges had a really tough time selecting this quarter’s winners. The entries were judged by Andie Duffy, Steve Constantelos, Natalie McFaul, Thelma Hulka, and Mike Warner. Best of Show went to Tim Duitsman for his stunning photo of a Cedar Waxwing about to nab a Cicada. Go to Members Photo Gallery to see the winning photos only.

With migration season behind us, it’s time to give our resident birds some attention. June is a great  month for sparrow watching, as the birds are singing and active. And of course, it’s nesting season, so  young birds in varied plumage may confuse us. The following four recommendations are excellent  summer viewing at the DBC Education Channel on YouTube […]

Organized birding at Cantigny Park, in partnership with DBC, started in 2008. Cantigny employee and DBC Past President Jeff Reiter and Cantigny Volunteer Joan Campbell have kept the monthly walks going ever since. With Jeff’s retirement next month, Joan needs some helpers! Cantigny wants to keep offering a monthly walk, and ideally an “Accessible Birding” session every month, too. This is an opportunity to become an official Cantigny volunteer, which comes with nice perks. And, of course, leading bird walks is the absolute best volunteer job at the park! If you are interested, please send an email to Liz Omura,

All are invited to Cantigny on Wednesday, June 19, for a presentation by local author, artist, educator and naturalist Christopher Cudworth. He will discuss his latest book, Nature is Our Country Club, which focuses on the environmental impact of golf and golf course sustainability. More broadly, it’s about nature appreciation and the many positive aspects of spending time outdoors. Books will be available for purchase and signing. Whether you play golf or not, all birders will appreciate Chris’s important message. His talk begins at 7:00 p.m. inside the Cantigny Visitor Center. It is free to attend and parking is also

Contributed by Natalie McFaul The first DBC field trip to Horicon Marsh was a great success! It was two days of good birds and good company. A friendly group of 17 people participated in the DBC field trip and had some pretty exciting birding experiences. Friday evening, we took a leisurely two-hour pontoon ride into the marsh. We watched White Pelicans fly in as Troy Kirchhoff and Rick Vant Hoff from Blue Heron Landing pointed out birds and shared stories and a little history of Horicon Marsh.  Photo by Sherry Courtney Saturday morning there was a field trip led by

The Bird Conservation Network (BCN) is actively recruiting new monitors for the annual BCN Survey. Start your summer strong by joining the dozens of other birders who spend a few mornings each summer monitoring our breeding birds. Now in its 25th year, this important community science project relies on birders with at least three years of experience to count birds during the June breeding season. Training sessions will be available to review the protocols and help you enhance your skill-set for birding by ear. Have some favorite birding spots? Chances are good that one or more of them is an

Best of Show, photo by Henry Meade The DBC’s Winter ‘24 photo contest was a great success! We had many excellent photos submitted.  The entries were judged by Andie Duffy, Steve Constantelos, Natalie McFaul, and Mike Warner (we’re looking for another judge so contact Mike at mwarner2543@gmail.com if interested). Because of the variety and quality of the submissions, the committee had a very tough time deciding on which pictures to recognize; the committee would like to thank all the photographers for their entries. Go to Winter ’24 Photo Contest Winners to see all the winning images and the stories behind

The DBC is looking for pictures of birds taken between March 1, 2024, and May 31, 2024, for the Spring 2024 Photo Contest. 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 predefined for award-winners so every entry has a chance to win! NOTE: The judges usually do not give out more than one award to the same author if they submit multiple images. If you would like to look at past DBC Photo Contest winners

Butterfly, Dragonfly and Fungus Monitoring Opportunities. Though DBC is “all about the birds,” DBC member Kathy Lech of DuPage Forest Preserve is looking for volunteers to monitor for Dragonfly and Butterfly Monitoring plus Fungus Monitoring. Required training classes will prepare you for the field work. Contact Kathy at klech@dupageforest.org. Health Status of Local Aquatic Species Now Available. The Urban Stream Research Center (USRC), the only one of its kind in Illinois, gave a well-received presentation at a recent DuPage Forest Preserve Board meeting on the status of aquatic wildlife in the county. Six different species of mussels totaling nearly 29,000