Cantigny Park will play host to its annual French Connection Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12, at the park, 1S151 Winfield Road, Wheaton. The free-admission festival debuted in 2008. The French theme commemorates an important chapter in...

Remember that scene in “The Big Year” when Brad, played by Jack Black, is showing bird photos to his father? The two are scrolling through images on the back of a digital camera. When American golden plover comes up, Brad gets excited and says it’s ...

I’d arranged to interview the Deese brothers at Mallard Lake. It was near their home in Bloomingdale, and the name of the place seemed appropriate given the purpose of our meeting. But while the mallard is a common species, it is rare indeed to fin...

As birders, we are spoiled by an abundance of outstanding local venues to enjoy our craft. There is probably a birding “hot spot” within five or 10 miles of your home. Bird-watching at the nearest forest preserve or just the backyard is enough for ...

There is a popular spring birding festival in northwest Ohio called The Biggest Week in American Birding. This year’s dates are May 4-13, which makes it a really big week, indeed. In May, birders will apply any reason they can to get outside. Create...

From its beginning in 2004, this column has been mostly silent when it comes to gulls. There is a good reason for that. Gulls scare me. This was true in the literal sense when I was a boy. Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” took care of that. Gulls were...

Two photographers from Batavia and one from Sugar Grove recently were honored as the top three finishers in Cantigny Park's annual Cantigny in Focus amateur photo contest. The winners were selected by visitors to the park. The winners are: First p...

Bird names can be misleading as most of us know. Case in point, the red-bellied woodpecker, whose pinkish underparts are one of its least conspicuous field marks. Or the Nashville warbler, a species that not only doesn't live in its namesake city b...