Riverwood Forest Preserve is the newest natural area under the care of DeKalb County, Illinois. Born from a “2020 acquisition and land preservation and grant partnership with the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation”, Riverwood is a conservation work in progress. It is already showing spectacular results. The former Oak Club Golf Course is 103 acres
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Here in the Midwest we get a fair bit of snow. When the snow fills the rural fields, it pushes many birds out to the edge of the country roads. If you are newer to birding, you may be wondering, What are those birds by the road in winter? The three most common “shoulder” birds
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Conversations With Birds by Priyanka Kumar is a fun collection of essays about the author’s birding adventures. Born in India, Kumar moved to the United States and then lived in several states before landing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A lover of outdoors, it took her longer to form a deep connection to birds, to
To celebrate our one-year anniversary of dating, my boyfriend and I planned a camping trip to southern Illinois. We wanted to visit locations like Snake Road, Heron Pond, and Trillium Trail, all within the massive Shawnee National Forest. Here is how our trip went. Arrival We left at 5:40 in the morning and drove the
The weather was finally nice again this past weekend, so to enjoy the sun and the wildlife it brought with it, we went hiking in our local area and photographed what we saw. Birds were not especially active when we went, although we did see two Red-tailed Hawks, some Turkey Vultures, some woodpeckers, and many,
Continue reading Enjoying the Sun with Golden-crowned Kinglets and Other Wildlife
I have been a birder for my entire life. I would often go birding with my aunt, my uncle, my mom, or my grandparents. As I got older, however, we all had less and less time to go birding. Now, as an adult, I have been getting back into birds and nature in general, and
Continue reading 5 Methods for Finding New and Interesting Birds
Spring is at our doorstep, and with the nice weather comes a plethora of new birding opportunities. To make the most of the dawn of spring, Michael Ostrowski, a botanist and photographer, and I, the newest writer for the Birdfreak team, made our way to Will County in search of spring. While there, we saw
Each spring I try to participate in the annual Spring Bird Count in northern Illinois. In the last 15 years I may have missed two or three. Counting birds is a great excuse to get out and go birding, even if life is extra busy. This year I headed out into the field with my
