Ideas for summer birding

(published 7-29-26)

This Loggerhead Shrike and its mate enjoyed nesting
success at Fermilab this summer. Photo by Chris George.

One of the best things about birding is that birds are everywhere. There’s always something to see. And as Yogi Berra once said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

The seasonality of birding, however, means that certain times of the year are better than others. It’s natural to feel a little let down when the daily excitement of spring migration winds down in early June.

July and August are typically a little slow. Songbirds are busy raising families. Most are quieter and harder to detect in the leafy trees. But never fear, excellent birding opportunities abound!

Here are some ideas to keep your bird on until fall migration revs up around Labor Day. You can do some of these things without even leaving home—another upside to birding.

 A Rufous Hummingbird perches on a Humm
Blossom feeder. Photo by Jackie Bowman.

Create a hummingbird haven. If you have hummingbirds visiting your garden or feeder, be thankful. Watch them all you can. Check your trees for a nest, too, although finding one is a longshot. The local Ruby-throated Hummingbird population gradually increases in summer as fledglings come of age. In fact, I find September to be the best month in terms of feeder activity. Be ready. Unless you have swarms of hummers, I recommend a low-capacity feeder that’s easy to clean. My favorite model is the 4-oz. Humm Blossom by Aspects. (Wild Birds Unlimited stores carry the same feeder marketed as the Mini High Perch.) Whatever feeder you choose, hang it in a shady spot, if possible, so the nectar stays fresh longer. Placing two feeders at least 20 feet apart can bring in more birds.

Go shorebirding. Fall migration is a longer, drawn-out process than spring migration. For some long-distance travelers it begins in July! I’m speaking of the shorebirds, including sandpipers, avocets, godwits, plovers, and assorted “peeps.” In late summer you’ll find them on beaches, sod farms, and fields where “fluddles” have formed.

This Red Knot visited Waukegan Beach in May,
Photo by Nat Carmichael.

The shores of Lake Michigan are a natural magnet, especially Chicago’s Montrose Point and Illinois Beach State Park in Lake County. In DuPage, Wood Dale/Itasca reservoir is a premier shorebird hotspot, along with the 83^rd Street wetland adjacent to Greene Valley Forest Preserve. Muirhead Springs in Kane County can also be productive. At the inland sites, birders scout for mudflats—prime feeding grounds for these birds with epic journeys ahead.

Pick an easy target. Shorebirds can be tricky to ID, but at least they are visible. Try pursuing other species that spend time in the open. In June I rode my bike to the sprawling ComEd facility in Lombard, to view nesting Monk Parakeets. I found a small group foraging on the ground and more birds at their nests. The Daily Herald recently featured the parakeets in a front-page story by Jake Griffin, which inspired my excursion.

One of the resident Monk Parakeets in Lombard. 
Photo by Mark Levesque.

The exotic birds are colonial nesters, making them easy to observe. Their green feathers, large size and loud voices also help!

The Purple Martin colony at Cantigny Golf in Wheaton is worth a stop, too. Catch them before they head south in early August.

Active rookeries of Great Blue Heron and Double-crested Cormorant are fascinating as well. In Chicago, you can observe a colony of Black-crowned Night Heron, a state-endangered species, on the grounds of Lincoln Park Zoo.

This summer, local birders have a special opportunity to view a rare visitor, Loggerhead Shrike, another endangered Illinois species. Fermilab in Batavia is hosting a nesting pair, first discovered in late March. Three fledglings were confirmed in June. The birds like to perch on the fence surrounding the bison pasture.

Find the birds of summer. Thankfully, not all birds go mute during the dog days. Take a walk in the woods, or along the edge of one, listening for Eastern Wood-Pewee, Indigo Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo, and Warbling Vireo. Try using Merlin, the free app, to help ID the birds you hear or to confirm your suspicions. Hopefully you’ll get eyes on the singers, too.

Hit the road. If you still have some gas money in your budget, consider a trip to the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wis. It’s well worth the 175-mile drive. Get details at savingcranes.org.

If you travel to ICF, add a stop at Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Mayville. Nesting American White Pelicans should be there, and watch for Black-necked Stilt, Black Tern and Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Another bird-filled destination is Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, near Joliet. Bobolink and Dickcissel are almost a lock, and you could see Henslow’s Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird and Blue Grosbeak.

Migrating Common Nighthawks are a beloved August
spectacle for birders. Photo by Dave Irving.

Check the evening skies. Mid-August is one of my favorite times of the year, when we begin to see migrating Common Nighthawks during the last few hours of daylight. This species—not related to hawks—is an easy add to your yard list. Your driveway or any other spot with open sky above is all you need. Calm and clear conditions are best. The pointy-winged flyers will stream over through early September, sometimes in large groups. They’ll be gobbling insects to fuel their journeys to South America.

As if your summer to-do list isn’t long enough, here are a few more ideas:

• Visit the DuPage Wildlife Conservation Center (formerly Willowbrook) in Glen Ellyn. The newly upgraded campus is a vital community resource treating thousands of injured birds and animals every year. There’s a trail for birding, too.
• Read “Return of the Oystercatcher,” an uplifting new book by Scott Weidensaul.
• Watch “Listers” on YouTube, a humorous inside look at birding culture.

One more, if you get the chance: Take a child on a short bird walk. Treat it like a treasure hunt, perhaps with a goal of finding 10 kinds of birds. Start a list. You might just light a fire.  

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

The 400 Club

Membership belongs to a select few Illinois birders

(published 6-10-26)

Birders crave "accidentals," like this Roseate Tern at
Illinois Beach State Park last month, a first-in-state
 record of the species. Photo by Matt Zuro.

How many times can I call in sick or leave work early without losing my job? It’s a question Bruce Heimer ponders with regularity. The Elmhurst electrician is a bird chaser. When a rare species is spotted in Illinois, one he hasn’t seen before, he’s out the door.

“Chasing” is a way of life for a select cadre of birders like Heimer who seek to grow their Illinois life list at every opportunity. Of those, a small number have equaled or surpassed 400 species—a challenging milestone that can take decades to achieve.

Membership in the so-called 400 Club is open to all, but so far fewer than 20 birders have joined. Because here’s the thing: When your Illinois list approaches 400 species, it’s hard to see anything new. Birders in such rarified air are lucky to add one or two species a year.

The Illinois official bird list totals 460 species. Of these, about 325 are “regular” in the state—generally found every year. Another 30 or so are rated “casual,” detected far less often.

That leaves about 100 species on the all-time list that are either extinct or “accidental.” Often the accidentals are first-time records, like the Great Kiskadee in Channahon in 2020, and the Broad-tailed Hummingbird in Champaign in 2023.

Roseate Tern joined the list of legendary sightings on May 23. About 75 birders hurried to Illinois Beach State Park that day to witness the vagrant seabird, an Illinois first.

For 400 Club members and wannabes, the accidentals are must-see birds. Fortunately, digital technology has made chasing them easier. The internet, smartphones, and free apps like Discord and eBird changed the game. Reports of an avian Elvis now arrive instantly.

Keeping score

Wauconda wonder: This Lazuli Bunting, a surprise
visitor from the West, was Illinois species No. 400
for two area birders and a life bird for dozens 
of spectators. Photo by Stephen Hurst.

Birders of all stripes document their progress on Listers Corner, a data repository on the Illinois Audubon Society website. The category to watch is “Illinois Life List.”  

The first person to report 400 species on Listers Corner did so in 2013. It’s likely, however, that several birders hit the mark sooner. We can’t know for sure, because not all birders choose to post their numbers.

We do know the 400 Club is growing. Listers Corner showed three people at 400 or more species in 2018. Today it’s about a dozen, with several birders peeking in the clubhouse window with Illinois life lists in the high 390s.

Two Chicago birders, Joe Lill and Geoff Williamson, joined the club in April thanks to a wayward Lazuli Bunting using a feeder in Wauconda. Homeowner Jan Merl welcomed birders to her yard to ogle the rare visitor, a western species.

The state’s top listers know each other well. They travel to the same places to get glimpses of the same elusive birds. Sometimes they arrive in the same vehicle, tamping down the notion that these birders are fierce rivals. The 400 Club members I contacted were all about the birds and just doing what they like to do.

Chicagoan Andy Sigler claims an Illinois life list of 420 species, and probably none is higher. A truly statewide birder, Sigler has observed at least 200 species in each of the 102 counties, itself a remarkable achievement.

This out-of-range Bewick's Wren, spotted near Chicago's 
Adler Planetarium in April, offered a rare viewing
opportunity. Photo by Marky Mutchler.

“I’m more interested in motivating myself than impressing other people,” Sigler said, explaining his listing pursuits. Besides, he said, building a big state list depends mostly on having no time constraints. “Four hundred is just a number . . . It doesn’t say anything about birding ability.”

Sigler cherishes the Ross’s Gull he discovered at Cook County’s Gillson Park in 1978, the first record in Illinois and only the third in the Lower 48.

Heimer, who considers Sigler a mentor, is newer to the game. He remembers being in the 400 Club for about two weeks after bagging a Chestnut-collared Longspur in Chicago in 2024. Then came the news that Hoary Redpoll would no longer count as a distinct species, dropping him back to 399. He regained 400 last year with a Cassin’s Kingbird in Lake County.

Reaching 400 Illinois birds was a singular goal for Heimer. For others, such as Bob Fisher, a Downers Grove birder, the milestone happens naturally over time.

Fisher and his late wife, Karen, traveled throughout Illinois for birds, a shared passion. On Listers Corner, they still lead the “Buddy List” category.

“It was about the adventure,” he said. “Four hundred was not a goal but an outcome because we enjoyed chasing [rare] birds.”

Midwest birders raced to Quincy in 2015 to see 
this ultra-rare Ivory Gull. Photo by Jackie Bowman.
 

A White-winged Dove in Kane County was Fisher’s 400^th Illinois bird and he’s since added 10 more. Karen’s total, preserved on Listers Corner, was 386 when she passed away in 2018.

Border games

Ornithological research sometimes results in changes to the official list of countable birds. European Goldfinch, for example, was declared a countable Illinois species in 2024. Birders who had already seen one got to add a bird to their life list without even leaving home. But it can go the other way, too, as with Hoary Redpoll.

Listing rules can be as quirky as the hobby itself, but birders follow a code of honor that ensures fair play. In the case of geographic borders, another human creation, listing can turn almost comical.

Joel Greenberg, a 400-clubber from Westmont, recalls a trip to the Ohio River to add Least Tern. He witnessed several but had to wait until the birds crossed the northern bank to count them as Illinois birds. The river’s airspace, he knew, is considered Kentucky.

From end to end, Illinois runs about 400 miles—a fitting distance for birders in the 400 Club, who endure long road trips routinely. Greenberg’s Ohio River experience came just after he’d driven 350 miles to check off Bachman’s Sparrow in Johnson County.

This Lewis's Woodpecker, an Illinois first, shocked
feeder watchers at Ballard Nature Center
near Effingham, in 2019. Photo by Leroy Harrison.

Although Steve Bailey now lives in Mundelein, he’s thankful that for many years his home base was Danville. Starting from east-central Illinois often helped minimize his rare bird chase miles.

Bailey fondly recalls some amazing Illinois visitors, even keeping a side list of his 38 “best birds.” Among them are Ancient Murrelet, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Northern Wheatear. He’s proud of the Curlew Sandpiper he discovered in 1986 while checking a remnant prairie pothole in Vermilion County.

Al Stokie also knows the exhilaration of finding a “mega.” He’ll never forget the Ivory Gull he spotted on a Christmas Bird Count in 1991, at Montrose Point in Chicago. “It’s the only really rare bird that I actually found myself,” Stokie said. To his relief, fellow birders soon verified the gull.

Some birds get away. When that happens, avid listers feel the pain of missing what can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Cindy Alberico, a Crest Hill resident, chased the state’s first Painted Redstart in 2022. She was on the scene at Lakewood Forest Preserve in Lake County, but the one-day-wonder ghosted her.

“It was hot and buggy and after slogging through those woods for about forever I finally convinced myself that it just wasn’t worth it. I still regret it.”

Alberico’s pursuit, it must be noted, was compromised by a bum shoulder she’d recently dislocated. Her memory brightens when recounting the Gyrfalcon she discovered in LaSalle County, in 2003, and a Black-backed Woodpecker finally viewed in Will County, in 1986. “I think I looked for that bird five or six times before I got it.”

Persistence is right up there with time and a full tank of gas when noting the essential assets of our state’s most prolific bird listers. A treasure hunter’s mentality comes in handy, too.

Members of the 400 Club, present and future, are standing by, eager to chase down our state’s next history-making bird.   

Copyright 2026 by Jeff Reiter. All rights reserved.