Sunday, April 30 , 2023
12:00 – 4:00 PM
Volo Bog, Ingleside, IL
Sunday, May 7, 2023
12:00 – 4:00 PM
Glacial Park, Ringwood, IL
Brought to you by the Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, International Crane Foundation, McHenry County Audubon, and the McHenry County Conservation District.
Learn all about birds at this special event.
Activity Stations and Bird Passports are available Sunday April 30, 12:00-4:00 p.m. at Volo Bog and Sunday May 7th, 12:00-4:00 p.m. at Glacial Park. Get your passport stamped as you participate in over a dozen games and activities! More stamps = more prizes, including our ever-popular Audubon plush bird that sings its song when squeezed! Door prizes include binoculars, photo prints, and more.
Also on May 7th!
A licensed bird bander will be catching, banding, and releasing migratory birds at the Four Season Nature Preserve located at N1889 Co Trunk H, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Google map link. This activity will be from 8:00am to 9:30am. Come see songbirds up close! Then, join us at Glacial Park at 10:00am for a special presentation by Stephanie Schmidt, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation. See program description Cranes! for more information.
Cranes!
Illinois is home to the Sandhill Crane and the endangered Whooping Crane. In the 1940s both Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes reached drastically low population sizes. Today Sandhill Cranes are one of the most populous cranes in the world and there are over 650 wild Whooping Cranes, around 76 of which will migrate through northern Illinois each year.
While their population numbers are growing, both Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes continue to face threats. Join Stephanie Schmidt, Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation, to learn about the cranes of Illinois and Wisconsin. Stephanie Schmidt is the Whooping Crane Outreach Coordinator for the International Crane Foundation. Stephanie grew up in the Kettle Moraine area in southeastern Wisconsin, a region that is known for its many Sandhill Cranes and ignited her early love for birds, wetlands, and nature. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison to earn her bachelor’s degree in Zoology and Environmental Studies in 2018 and in 2022 she earned her master’s degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
World Migratory Bird Day 2023 will focus on the topic of water and it’s importance for migratory birds. Read more on the World Migratory Bird Day website.