Every year baby birds take their first flight, first nibbles, and first steps out of the nest. But not all chicks reach their milestones at the same time.
Passing the Torch
So - I retired from being President in May! I’m very happy to say that Sunshine De Vries is now the President of the Chicago Bird Alliance. And I’m very very happy and proud about all the accomplishments we made together in the years that I was president.
Here’s a list of some of the highlights - with outstanding leaders thanked:
Changed our name to a more inclusive one
Made an annual plan and review it every year at our board retreat
Created a DEI plan
Added a new program - field trip leader training - to strengthen our organization and further our DEI (Thanks Antonio, Matt and Sunshine)
Significantly added to our field trips (Thanks Lindsay)
Started the Birding Gear Exchange (Thanks Woody)
Started our Native Plant Sale - and grew it bigger every year! (Thanks Nancy Bradt, Colleen McVeigh, Alix Gnoske)
Hired an executive director and upgraded the office manager job
Started The Urban Birding Festival (Thanks Matt)
Coordinated the Spring Bird Count (Thanks Alan)
Published a bird checklist (Thanks Alan and crew) and an illustrated mini-guide (Thanks Matt)
Held an Awards Ceremony (Thanks Jackie, Jessica and Alan)
Greatly expanded our advocacy (Thanks Dana, Andy, and Annette):
Started a Rat Contraceptive Pilot to reduce Rodenticide and save raptors (Thanks to too many people to name here but check our blogs)
Kept fighting for a bird-friendly building ordinance. (Ditto - thank you all! and especially Annette)
Worked with MWRD to change mowing practices and save nestlings of Eastern Meadowlarks, Savanna Sparrows and Dickcissels (Thanks Jeff Bilsky)
Grew our blog and our social media presence tremendously (thanks Jessica, Joseph, Winnie and Matt)
Stayed within our budget
Got our office and business affairs organized (Thanks Taylor and Matt)
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We couldn’t have done all this without a hardworking board who set the vision of a more inclusive and consequential organization. You all are amazing! I’m honored to have served with you.
And our staff, both of whom are beyond awesome!
And of course our partners, the public land agencies - Chicago Park District, Cook County Forest Preserves and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District - and too may non-profits to name although Veronica Kyle at the EcoWomanist Institute deserves a shout-out.
We’re an organization with a very small staff who has accomplished a lot through people power!
Thank you members, for giving me the opportunity. It was wonderful.
Stay tuned for a hello from Sunshine. I’m very much looking forward to our future.
Judy Pollock
Third Time's the Charm?
On July 23, the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy, chaired by Maria Hadden and crew (click the link!), held a hearing on bird-friendly building design. Yay! There was a panel of distinguished speakers which included Jeanne Gang, Bryan Lenz, Annette Prince (our secretary) and others, and about 40 supporters of a mandatory ordinance in the audience. The following committee members were present: Maria Hadden (49), Julia Ramirez (12), Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), Ruth Cruz (30), Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33), William Conway(34), Bennet Lawson (44), Matthew Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48). Remote participation: Timothy Knudsen (43); Non-members present: Chris Taliaferro (29)
It was a very hopeful meeting. Thank you to everyone who sent or gave a comment - 82 comments were received. You were great!
“We should have a bird-friendly ordinance that goes further and we’re going to work toward that,” Ald. Maria Hadden said at the end of the hearing.
Many words have already been written about it, so we’ll just link them.
Patty Wetli did a comprehensive story for WTTW and gave a great summary on Chicago Tonight. Fox 32 News, Chicago Tribune, CBS News, also did great storiesClick
Click here for a recording of the hearing.
Fingers crossed, this time we’ll get a good ordinance.
Highlights from Audubon’s 2025 Leadership Conference
Laborious or lackadaisical – different styles in nest building
During spring and summer, adult birds find mates, build nests, lay eggs, and raise their young. If we’re fortunate enough, we can carefully observe some or all of these activities, sometimes at close range. Here we’ll describe the nesting habits of three birds common to the Chicago area that have very different styles and skills in nest building.
CBA Leads Trial of Rat Contraceptive
Great news! We raised the full amount to pilot rat contraceptive for a year. Thank you, thank you!
Our trial will start in August. We have all the volunteers lined up and the training will be in early August..
The Chicago Bird Alliance is hosting a webinar on the Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program on Wednesday, July 30th at 6 pm Central. Project members will be on hand to answer questions, and to describe the dangers of rat poison and the alternative of contraceptives to control the rat population. Register for the webinar here.
Chicago Bird Alliance & Alderman Timmy Knudsen Announce Rat Contraceptive Pilot in Lincoln Park
Chicago, IL - Chicago Bird Alliance & 43rd Ward Alderman Timmy Knudsen are collaborating with several groups to pilot a year-long study of rat contraceptives, starting this summer. The non-toxic contraceptive is offered in food pellets called WISDOM Good Bites™, developed and produced by the non-profit WISDOM Good Works.
Through decades of use by the City of Chicago, it has been made clear that rat poison (rodenticide) does not substantially reduce rat populations. Moreover, it can be lethal to some birds and mammals, including pets. Our local wildlife — from owls and hawks, to squirrels, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and opossums — is in danger. Consuming rat poison directly or through poisoned prey causes a slow, painful death to any animal that accumulates enough of it.
Last spring, we saw the damage that rat poisons do. An entire Great Horned Owl family died in Lincoln Park just weeks after the owlet left the nest. All three causes of death were confirmed as rodenticide by Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn.
Matt Igleski, Executive Director of Chicago Bird Alliance, says, “Witnessing the devastating effects of rodenticide poisoning in real-time, with the family of Great Horned Owls in Lincoln Park, is a wake-up call. We believe that this pilot will not only prove to be more effective at controlling rats, but it will also save urban raptors from suffering needless deaths due to rodenticide poisoning.”
One of the most frequent constituent service requests received by the 43rd Ward is for rat abatement. Often in alleys, rats impact all Chicagoans' quality of life. Alderman Timmy Knudsen, says “Chicago’s current use of rat poison is not reducing the targeted population. When any strategy consistently does not work, it is essential that we as government officials innovate for a more effective approach. I am proud to partner with Chicago Bird Alliance to bring a ‘rat birth control’ pilot to Lincoln Park, and I am confident this pilot will achieve positive results. When it does so, I look forward to pitching this program to City Council to scale this approach city-wide so that the rat population is reduced in every Chicago neighborhood.”
There is a strong team of experts behind this initiative:
Scientist and rat expert Dr. Maureen Murray of the Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife Institute is conducting the study.
Alderman Knudsen helped select a site in the 43rd Ward., and his team is notifying neighbors
The Department of Streets and Sanitation Deputy Commissioner, Gloria Pittman, is working alongside our team to track the results of he pilot. If successful, we will continue our partnership with the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Bureau of Rodent Control to replicate this pilot in other wards.
Wisdom Good Works is supplying the contraceptive pellets.
Deputy Commissioner Gloria Pittman expressed the department's interest in the contraceptive to enhance its current strategy, "The Department of Streets and Sanitation remains committed to utilizing proven, effective methods to manage the rodent population. Though rodenticide is the most well-known, our rodent management methods are diverse, including cart and refuse management, construction and demolition coordination, and community education and door-to-door engagement, which we have expanded to more areas in the city. We welcome any and all new approaches that demonstrate measurable success in enhancing our current efforts, and look forward to monitoring this pilot closely for future expansion."
The trial will take place near Lincoln Park, where the owls met their deaths, and is slated to begin in late July. The food pellets are dispensed in special rat-feeder boxes.
For more details, visit https://chicagobirdalliance.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/save-the-owls.
Chicago Residents - Action Opportunity
Good News for Ducks not Dumps!
2025 Bird Outing Leader Training Program Highlights
Congratulations to the 34 birding leaders who successfully completed the Bird Outing Leader Training program, hosted by the Chicago Bird Alliance (CBA) and the EcoWomanist Institute (EWI)! There were two cohorts offered this year, with one meeting on Saturdays from April 5th to May 17th and the other on Tuesdays from April 8th to May 20th. Each week the groups met at Rainbow Beach in South Chicago to learn different aspects of birding and to build a community.
Bird Conservation Volunteers Needed
No birds -- or just unbirded?
Illinois Spring Bird Count 2025: Volunteer for Cook County!
Designing a Backyard That Welcomes Birds — and Keeps Cats Safely Enclosed
Spring is one of the most critical seasons in a bird’s life cycle. As temperatures rise, millions of birds migrate north to their breeding grounds, seeking food, shelter, and safe nesting sites along the way. For many species, backyards in urban and suburban neighborhoods aren’t just flyover zones — they’re essential rest stops or even permanent habitats. That’s why what homeowners choose to plant, build, and illuminate can make a huge difference. Check out some tips by our friends at Cat Topia to make your backyard more welcoming to birds, and keep your cats safely enclosed.
The Quest to Make a Bird-friendly Planet
Although Earth Day comes once a year, it is important to make every day bird-friendly. There is already a heavy loss of avian life, with a decline of around 2.9 billion birds since 1970, and it would be calamitous if this trend were to continue. The following are five types of pollution to keep in mind and their detrimental effects on class Aves
The EcoWomanist Institute
The 2025 Bird Outing Leader Training program will be kicking off in April, and this initiative wouldn’t be possible without the support of Veronica Kyle and the EcoWomanist Institute (EWI). The mission of this inspiring organization is to focus on societal and environmental issues that affect women of African descent, who are typically the healers of their community, and underserved communities in general.
Exciting Update Regarding Pilot Study for Rodenticide Alternative!
A Review of Trish O’Kane’s 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑: 𝐴 𝑀𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑖𝑟
If you like reading a good memoir, or if you’re needing inspiration as Earth Day 2025 comes around, you should pick up Trish O’Kane’s 2024 volume, Birding to Change the World: A Memoir. It is, in her own words, a “braid of science, personal story, and an activism story” that comes as close to riveting as any memoir can.
The Consequences and Responses regarding the Bird Flu
The Perfect Vagrant Fallacy
This article looks at gull identification through the lens of evolutionary biology and genetics. It discusses when it becomes necessary to move beyond rigid taxonomic categories and instead focus on variation in genes and traits. For birdwatchers, who can only deal in observable traits, this approach is crucial to avoid unwarranted assumptions about genetics—assumptions that can lead to false confidence when assessing vagrancy or hybrid ancestry.
Progress for Bird Friendly Chicago
There is progress! In June experts in avian conservation, urban planners, architects, City of Chicago Departments and other relevant experts will provide policy recommendations on bird-friendly design. Data on which new construction developments have selected bird-mitigation options from the Sustainable Development Policy during the year since the updated policy was released will be considered.