Those of us working through the COVID-19 era may be tiring of video conference calls. It's easy to get Zoomed out, dreading the next "virtual" meeting. But a Zoomer about birding? That's different. I couldn't wait to log on for the 2020 Illinois You...

The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton has introduced “Footsteps of The First,” a small-group travel program combining cultural exploration and military history in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad. The new program offers learni...

The First Division Museum at Cantigny Park in Wheaton has introduced "Footsteps of The First," a small-group travel program combining cultural exploration and military history in partnership with Academic Travel Abroad. The new program offers powerf...

I've gushed before about the wonderful simplicity of birding, how all you need is a pair of binoculars and a field guide. Today, I'm recommending a third item, the regional checklist. I don't mean a list of species with check boxes. Picture, instea...

On occasions when I simply must see a rock dove, I know where to go. A small flock hangs out on the utility wires outside the Glen Ellyn McDonald's on Roosevelt Road. They are what I call sticky birds, loyal to a site. Pigeons have a steady weaknes...

Almost three inches of hard rain can make a mess of a newly mulched landscape. I saw this when stepping into my backyard on May 15. But mulch wasn't the only thing that migrated during the night. The yard was messy with warblers, too. You could fee...

Ask people why they watch birds and you'll get all kinds of answers. A common one is that birds are beautiful. Nice to look at. Colorful. Those who feel this way are in luck. This month, pandemic or not, is spring migration's prime time. Some of bir...

In terms of everyday life, what have you missed most during the COVID-19 crisis? My selfish answer would be sports on TV. In particular, the start of the baseball season and The Masters and PGA golf tournaments. Oh, yeah, I watch more than birds. ...

I attended a different kind of bird walk in February. More accurately, it was a "ramble," the term Kane County Audubon uses for hastily organized birding adventures. This one began at 5:15 p.m., across from the Paramount Theater in downtown Aurora....

I made a pretty safe prediction in my last column: A bird will surprise you in 2020. It already happened to me, on the day after Valentine's Day. I had just entered my car about 9 a.m. outside the YMCA in Glen Ellyn. At that moment, a large dark bir...