‘It’s fun to bird with others’: Why DuPage Birding Club is going strong at 40 years
My family moved to Glen Ellyn from Chicago in 1997. Right away I joined the DuPage Birding Club, and 11 years later I took a turn as club president.
I’d be overstating things to say the club changed my life. But it certainly elevated my involvement with bird-watching, a pursuit I’d begun taking seriously just before migrating to suburbia.
Through DBC, I rapidly learned more about birds and made new friends. By attending the club’s bird walks, I became a better birder, spotting birds I never knew were possible and exploring the region’s best places to find them. Before long I was sharing the hobby with others by leading walks and writing this column.
I guess you can tell I’m thankful for the club’s formation 40 years ago.
It was late 1984 when a dozen birders gathered in a College of DuPage classroom to discuss the idea of starting a club. At a second meeting, also at COD, the name DuPage Birding Club was chosen and club bylaws were adopted. The date was Jan. 14, 1985. Within two years the club boasted 109 members. Membership today surpasses 350.
Club records list 23 founding members, and nearly half are still active. I contacted several of them and other longtime members to collect their thoughts about the club on its 40th anniversary. How, I asked, does DBC survive and continue to grow? And what makes it special?
Invariably, club veterans point to those bylaws. From the beginning, club rules ensured a rotating leadership team, supporting the notion that new leaders bring new ideas. DBC presidents, for example, may only serve one year. Board members also have limited terms.
Innovation encouraged
Diann Bilderback, a two-time past president, credits the planned turnover for keeping DBC fresh. In just the last few years, she said, “New leaders have introduced a YouTube education channel with almost 90 tutorials, a book club, an online Birding Adventures series for travelers, and novel field trips such as Bike ‘n Bird, bird sits and evening outings.”
Bringing good ideas to fruition takes a small army of volunteers, a key ingredient in DBC’s secret sauce. About 50 members regularly devote their time and talents. Jobs include planning and leading field trips, giving talks at schools and libraries, booking guest speakers, organizing events like club picnics, maintaining the website (dupagebirding.org), and publishing the monthly newsletter. Serving on the club’s board of directors implies an even deeper commitment, and yet new hands go up every year.
“I look at the role of president as a great opportunity for whoever takes the reins,” added Denis Kania, a founding club member and birding instructor at Morton Arboretum for 29 years.
Kania was DBC’s president in 2020. The club responded quickly and responsibly to the pandemic, conducting meetings via Zoom and taking the needed steps to enable bird walks to continue.
The YouTube tutorials began during this time. Kania narrates most of them, sharing information and tips about birding basics, binoculars, migration, helping birds, birding by ear, bird ID, and other topics. Homebound birders had plenty to watch and learn from, and the excellent videos continue to draw viewers.
Club membership hit record highs during the pandemic years as public demand for safe, outdoor activities skyrocketed. Fascination with Merlin, the sound ID app from Cornell, also ushered new birders into the hobby. Birding was suddenly cool!
It still is, of course, and DBC membership remains well above pre-pandemic levels. The club is ever mindful, however, that birders have options.
“With so many online educational and social media resources available, a bird club is just one of many ways to connect with the birding community and learn about birds, which was not the case in 1985 when DBC was founded,” said Bilderback. “But bird clubs do one thing better than online resources: they provide the social network that enhances the birding experience. It’s fun to bird with others, share experiences, and learn from each other.”
Seeing more birds, together
Most DBC members, I believe, would agree that organized field trips are the club’s main attraction. About 100 are offered per year, plus special field days like the Christmas Bird Count.
Birding in a group can especially benefit new birders who may need help with identifications and “getting on the bird.” Walk leaders enjoy sharing their knowledge, as do others who join the walks. Beginners needn’t feel intimidated, and there are no “dumb questions.”
Current club president Thelma Hulka well remembers her earliest field trips with DBC, more than 20 years ago. She was a fledgling birder and happy for some expert company.
“I think one of the main strengths of the club is that members are welcoming to new birders,” Hulka said. “On any walk, if a new person is there, you’ll hear the regulars offering up pointers and encouragement. Birders are just nice people.”
Bob Fisher and his late wife Karen were Hulka’s mentors, taking her under their wings as she put it.
DBC schedules frequent outings to birding hot spots throughout the region and beyond. Last month, 20 club members attended the Biggest Week in American Birding, a major festival near Toledo, Ohio. Last year the club traveled to Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin.
DBC’s regular meetings (eight per year) provide additional opportunities for socializing and learning. Featured guest speakers are generally from the Chicago region, but the club occasionally imports a nationally known “rock star.” Famous visitors have included George Archibald, Pete Dunne, Kenn Kaufman, Sandy Komito, Phoebe Snetsinger, Don and Lillian Stokes, and Scott Weidensaul.
The club once connected with Roger Tory Peterson, too. The late author and artist attended the second Midwest Birding Symposium held at College of DuPage in 1991. DBC and founding member Hal Cohen (who taught birding classes at COD) launched the event in 1989 and it took off.
According to Jody Zamirowski, another DBC founding member and past president, more than 800 birders attended the inaugural symposium, and even more showed up two years later to hear and meet the legendary RTP.
Meaningful motto
Nearly all DBC events are “open door,” with nonmembers welcome to attend. This year, in what must be kismet, the club adopted a new home for meetings: the College of DuPage, where it all began in 1985, in a much smaller room. Meetings previously took place in the basement of Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn for the past 30-plus years.
Birding is fun, and the joy it delivers is primary to DBC and other clubs in the region (see sidebar). But the hobby has a serious side, too, reflected in DBC’s motto Birding with a Purpose. Members are encouraged to get involved with projects that benefit birds, such as nest-season monitoring and other “citizen science” activities. Raising public awareness about birds and how to help them is another priority.
The club’s Grants & Donations program earmarks about $3,000 annually for student scholarships and conservation projects. Funding comes from member dues ($20/year), private donations and a popular auction event held every two years.
This happens to be an auction year. Mark your calendar for Oct. 9. All are welcome — DBC membership is not required. It’ll be a fun night and your chance to take home birding gear, bird art, books, gift baskets, special field trip experiences, raffle prizes and more.
Visit dupagebirding.org for information about Auction Night, field trips and how to join the club.
• Jeff Reiter’s column appears regularly in Neighbor. You can reach him via his blog, Words on Birds.
Chicago region bird clubs
The organizations below offer bird walks, regular meetings with guest speakers, and support for bird conservation. Membership figures are approximate as of May 2025.
Chicago Bird Alliance, founded 1971, 400 members. chicagobirdalliance.org
Chicago Ornithological Society, founded 1912, 717 members. chicagobirder.org
DuPage Birding Club, founded 1985, 350 members. dupagebirding.org
Evanston North Shore Bird Club, founded 1919, 250 members. ensbc.org
Fort Dearborn Chapter of IAS, founded 1973, 59 members. illinoisaudubon.org
Kane County Audubon, founded 1966, 273 members. kanecountyaudubon.org
Lake-Cook Audubon, founded 1964, 400 members. lakecookaudubon.org
Lake County Audubon, founded 1975, 1,200 members. lakecountyaudubon.org
McHenry County Audubon, founded 1961, 162 members. mchenryaudubon.org
Thorn Creek Audubon, founded 1973, 650 members. thorncreekaudubonsociety.org
Will County Audubon, founded 1971, 165 members. willcountyaudubon.illinoisaudubon.org