From the Field

Following in the footsteps of early 20th century naturalist Elizabeth Kerr

Jun 13, 2023 4:15 pm

A 4-day old whip-poor-will chick. Like their parents, developing chicks have cryptic coloration that allows them to go unseen on the ground.

Waiting for the sun to set to find a rare bird

Jun 30, 2022 8:00 am

When most people are just getting home from their workdays, I’m about to start mine. I am a researcher studying the breeding behavior of the Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), a cryptic bird that is primarily active after sunset as it forages on the wing for moths. So – for the summer, at least – I also am nocturnal.

Bird banding for conservation

May 14, 2022 8:00 am

The Phillips Tract Migratory Bird Banding Station in Urbana, Illinois, is up and running for the spring season!

Blue and green-winted teal and northern pintail seen on the Illinois River during an aerial waterfowl inventory over Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge in Havana.

Counting ducks from 500 feet above

Dec 21, 2021 8:15 am

Josh Osborn has a unique job. The Navy veteran turned ecologist leads the waterfowl aerial inventories from the Illinois Natural History Survey's Forbes Biological Station in Havana. Taking to the skies every autumn and spring during migration seasons, Osborn makes regular educated estimates of the number and types of birds flocking along 212 miles of the Illinois River and 214 miles of the Mississippi River.