Under the guidance of the club’s Grants and Donations Committee, the DBC has awarded $1,000 to the Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance for the purchase of a high-resolution viewing scope. The scope will be installed in the Welcome Center at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie for visitor use. One focus of the scope will be the viewing of an active Bald Eagle nest located ¼ mile west of the Welcome Center. It will also be used by U.S. Forest Service rangers and volunteers to provide visitors the opportunity to view, learn about, and appreciate the many special bird species that frequent and reside at this 30-square mile gem of our Chicago Wilderness region. We’re glad the Illinois Ornithological Society annually brings projects like these to our attention. Next summer there will be a club field trip to Midewin to look for grassland birds and take a peek through the new scope, hosted by a Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance member. You can find a new guide to Midewin’s birds on their homepage: https://www.fs.usda.gov/midewin/.