7-Mar-22 – You don’t have to go far to birdwatch in Chicago. There are birds everywhere, according to Judith Pollock, president of Chicago Audubon Society, even in dense neighborhoods like Streeterville and the Loop.

Its unique geography makes Chicago a great spot for birdwatching – and unfortunately, bird collisions.

Birds tend to migrate at night, navigating by the stars. Many end up stuck over the lake, so they land on the shore. As a result, says Pollack, “you’ve got this spectacle of migration [that] is just phenomenal. Chicago is one of the best places to plug into that.”

Olive Park, near the water purification plant, and Grant Park, she says, are “phenomenal places to see birds.”

Even small pockets of trees make a big difference to birds flying as far as 300 miles overnight, says Christine Williamson, Conservation Committee Chair for Chicago Ornithological Society.

Carl Giometti, a South Loop resident, says that “any patch of green will suffice” for finding birds.

One popular spot, he says, is the tree-lined plaza east of Trump Tower (left) on the north side of the Chicago River. He says one of his fellow birders has seen more than 75 birds in that area over the years.

Lurie Garden is also a key place for birds, according to Giometti. And Williamson has seen robins eating berries from planters in the middle of Michigan Avenue.

Bird collisions, unfortunately, are common downtown.

“Some of these birds may not make it out of that area alive because of all the glass buildings around there,” says Giometti.

Spring best time for birdwatching

In the early spring – March through May – you should see waterfowl and the first migrants coming through, says Pollock, such as Red-wing Blackbirds and Meadowlarks. Spring is a great time to check for birds since the leaves have not grown in completely. But birds can be seen year-round; in February, many mergansers, large fish-eating ducks, can be seen on Lake Michigan.

(Right) An American kestrel, also called a sparrow hawk, in the South Loop. Photo by Carl Giometti.

Giometti says that in April and May he carries his binoculars to work just in case. Sometimes unusual and rare birds find themselves downtown. In 2019, Giometti found a Kirtland’s warbler, which had previously been listed as an endangered species, near the Lincoln statue in Grant Park.

The warbler has very specific breeding grounds – jack pine trees in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario – and only one or two are typically seen in the Chicago area. When Giometti confirmed that he had seen a Kirtland’s warbler, he says other birders working in the Loop ran from their offices to see it.

(Left) A male Kirtland’s warbler in a jack pine forest in Michigan. Photo by Joel Trick.

Trees are not the only places to see birds. You should look for birds at different levels, including the ground, in shrubs, at eye level, and in the canopy, Williamson noted. Or overhead, to possibly spot seagulls or even the peregrine falcons that hang out downtown.

Many great clubs like Chicago Ornithological Society or Chicago Audubon Society offer classes and walks where beginners can learn from more advanced birders.

Pollock recommends the Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology that can help identify birds, and eBird, which has data on hotspots and types of birds that have been seen in a given area.

Says Giometti, “just because you live in downtown Chicago doesn‘t mean that there aren‘t incredible nature spectacles to go see right outside your window.”