A bird you might miss in the Barrington area unless you know something of its habits and movements is the common nighthawk (Chordeilus minor). Late August and early September is the perfect
If there were a prize offered for the most elegant among songbirds, the cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) would be a serious contender. Sleek, crested, black-masked, suavely-toned in fawn and yellowish plumage with
One of the more stunning species that nests in the Barrington area is the scarlet tanager (Piranga olivacea). Even a momentary glimpse of the bird elicits a visual – and often audible
Update: On the morning of June 9, 2015, Jim Bodkin and George Pierce of Citizens for Conservation with Robert Sliwinski, the original engineer of the rookery structure, paddled to the Baker’s Lake
A frequently overlooked bird that returns to the Barrington area each spring, sometimes as early as late March, is the eastern towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). I learned its name as the rufous-sided towhee
If you have been the least bit attentive to bird activity or song these days, no doubt you have noted the return of red-winged blackbirds to the Barrington area. My mother-in-law does
As I write this profile near the end of a frigid February, there is little indication that migrants will begin to return to the Barrington area anytime soon. So I’ll focus not
It’s that time of year again! A new season of eleven upcoming Spring Bird Walks & Hikes with naturalist Wendy Paulson will kick off on April 3rd. All are welcome to explore
Recently a friend emailed me about a scene he observed outside the window of his kitchen in the early morning: “There is this Downy Woodpecker that has been roosting each night in
Citizens for Conservation, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and the Village of Barrington have once again collaborated to complete the ultimate recycling project! This weekend they gathered to refurbishing the
If you’ve always wanted to pitch in and help Citizens for Conservation refurbish the rookery island in Baker’s Lake with our discarded Christmas trees, here’s your chance! All are welcome to join
The migrant birds mostly departed the Barrington area a couple months ago. A few may linger – some bluebirds, robins, perhaps even a yellow-rumped warbler or two. Some may be able to
Is there any sound more attention-catching than the bugle of the sandhill crane? Loud, deliberate, trilling, it is apt to emanate from the skies above any clear day in November as flocks
Most of the neo-tropical migrants, long-distance fliers that spend the non-breeding season in Central or South America, have left the Barrington area by October. But migration still continues, dominated by migrants which
Thinking of the Midwest and its birds, one does not readily envision shorebirds, those species generally associated with coastal beaches. But every August and September, many shorebirds that have nested in the