by Dave Brewer In late September, a state birding event, The Big Sit, was hosted by the Illinois Audubon Society. The event is very similar to a Global Big Day; a competition in which bird watchers counts as many species as possible in a 24-hour period. While Global Big Day involves moving from place to place to maximize the number of species spotted, The Big Sit competition is exactly as it sounds and stays in one place. A circle 17’ in diameter, called a "count circle”, is

​SPRINGFIELD, IL.  The Illinois Audubon Society has purchased 60 acres to expand the Green River Lowlands Preserve (Lee County.) This latest acquisition will expand the preserve to more than 1,000 acres of sand dunes, wetlands, savanna, prairie, sedge meadow and woodlands. The parcel lies adjacent to the 130-acre Queen of the Prairie tract (purchased in 2022) where volunteer stewards are currently restoring a 40-acre former agricultural field to grassland habitat. Deb Carey,

The Illinois Audubon Society has purchased a 20-acre parcel to be added to the Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve in Amboy, Illinois....

Isaac Stewart, Black Hawk East College, once again documented the federally-endangered Rusty-patched bumble bee at Gremel. It was near...

Ever hear of broom sedge? No, it’s not even a member of the sedge (Carex) family. It is more correctly Andropogon virginicus. Since 2016,...

2-4-2021 Bluebirds It is time for action! Even though the snow and ice are very evident, it’s time to clean and ready your bluebird...

Photo by Deb Walens Amboy Marsh volunteers have gone to lots of trouble to remove invasive woody brush in the ICECF grant area. If you...

Friday Dec. 21, 2020 As the volunteers are driving and walking to the ICECF grant work area (where we are industriously removing invasive...

While volunteers are removing invasive weeds and shrubs in the grant area, they are ALWAYS careful to leave untouched our great native...

One of our faithful volunteers was traveling to the grant work site this morning, and his sharp eye caught a snowy owl perched on an...

ENCAP Inc. is finishing up their work today on the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation grant for Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve. This...

December 4th, 2020 In a previous post we mentioned INAI. What is an INAI? In 1970, approximately 660 Illinois Natural Area sites...

The final day of November, one month after the grant began, volunteer steward Bob Chinn put in another long day (it was dark when he left...

PROGRESS REPORT - OUR FIRST MONTH! The Birdsong Chapter of Illinois Audubon Society (illinoisaudubon.org) was very pleased with the news...

ICECF Grant News Yesterday, the final day of November, volunteer steward Bob put in another long day (it was dark when he left the work...