Bird Outings

Chicago Bird Alliance has been leading bird walks for over 30 years, in all areas of Chicago, on the north and south sides, and surrounding suburbs. Check out our detailed reports for past walks, and join us for an upcoming walk listed below.

All are welcome! Membership is not required, and people with all experience levels - including no experience - are encouraged to join us. We love to help anyone that is interested in learning about birds and birding.

Wear comfortable clothes and bring binoculars if you can.

We have walks every Saturday morning at Wooded Island in Jackson Park, weather permitting; at North Park Nature Center every Saturday during migration; and at other locations and dates as noted below.

Featured
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Mar 8
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Chicago Bird Alliance Annual Member Meeting
Mar 13
old irving brewery
Chicago Bird Alliance Annual Member Meeting
old irving brewery

2025 Member Meeting - Come meet fellow CBA members for our annual gathering to discuss business and birding over brews! Light appetizers and a drink will be provided.

old irving brewery
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Mar 15
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Birding Outing at Steelworkers/Park 566
Mar 23
Birding Outing at Steelworkers/Park 566

While most bird lovers don’t associate March with spring migration, a unique and underappreciated suite of bird species can be seen starting to migrate. Given the right conditions spectacular movements of robins, blackbirds, geese, and cranes may be seen, sometimes numbering in the thousands.

Unlike with the warblers of peak spring, the migrants in March are often seen actively migrating in the hours after sunrise. With a smaller number of species to worry about, this makes for an ideal opportunity to start learning how to identify birds in flight.

For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Mar 28
Evanston
For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Evanston

Join CBA for this unique fundraiser and experience!

Evanston
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Mar 29
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Birding Outing at Washington Park
Mar 29
Birding Outing at Washington Park

Join us for a Saturday morning bird walk in the Hyde Park neighborhood’s “under-birded” Washington Park!

Designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Washington Park contains 35.7 acres of prairie, wetlands and lagoons. Its many habitat types attract a wide variety of bird species.

For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Mar 30
Evanston
For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Evanston

Join CBA for this unique fundraiser and experience!

Evanston
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Apr 5
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Apr 12
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Apr 19
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
Izaak Walton League of Des Plaines & Chicago Bird Alliance Spring Migration Bird Walk
Apr 22
Izaak Walton League of Des Plaines & Chicago Bird Alliance Spring Migration Bird Walk

Celebrate Earth Day with a guided bird walk—discover spring migrants and local wildlife in Algonquin Woods!

Wooded Island Birding Outing
Apr 26
Jackson Park
Wooded Island Birding Outing
Jackson Park

Chicago Bird Alliance has hosted walks at Jackson Park every Saturday, year ‘round (weather permitting), for over 50 years! We traverse a distance of about two miles, walking through Wooded Island and Bobolink Meadow. The walks are free and open to all, and newcomers are warmly welcomed.

Jackson Park
For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Apr 27
Evanston
For the Birds! Flying Squirrel Experience Fundraiser
Evanston

Join CBA for this unique fundraiser and experience!

Evanston
Illinois Spring Bird Count 2025
May 10
Illinois Spring Bird Count 2025

The Illinois Spring Bird Count (ISBC) is a yearly bird count that consists of volunteers conducting bird censuses in all 102 counties in Illinois. The research derived from this count is important in helping understand the impact of climate change on birds, and changes in bird populations statewide.

SOLD OUT - Colombia: An Andes Introduction
Jul 17
Bogota, Colombia
SOLD OUT - Colombia: An Andes Introduction
Bogota, Colombia

Red Hill Birding will donate $100 to CBA for every member who registers for this tour!

Colombia is famous among birders for having the highest species list of any country in the world— more than 1850 species!

Bogota, Colombia

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