Upcoming CHICAGO-AREA Day TRIPS
These half-day trips visit some of the best birding spots in the Chicago area and beyond. This schedule of trips is heavily weighted towards May, the peak of spring migration. Standard half-day trips cost $60/person and all trips have a maximum of 8 participants. With a few exceptions, trips start at 7:30am. All trips are self-driving, led by an expert Red Hill Birding guide (see guide bios here). Depending on the timing of each trip, we may visit other nearby sites as time permits. These trips will run rain or shine, unless the weather is expected to be particularly bad.
Interested in a day trip that you don’t see listed here? We can set up a custom tour of the region for you throughout spring. Contact us for more details.
UPCOMING HALF-DAY TRIPS Trips start at 7:30 am and last until about noon and cost $60/person, with any exceptions noted below.
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (Only one spot remaining!) South Shore Waterfowl — Cook County Guide: Steve Huggins The south shore of Chicago can be incredibly productive for waterfowl and early migrants in April. Join Steve and visit some of our best birding locations, including Rainbow Beach and Park 566. The chance for a rarity is always possible in this region, and you know we’ll be searching!
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 Evening Woodcock Walk at Middlefork Savanna — Lake County* Guide: Josh Engel A spring tradition in Chicagoland! Join Josh for an evening tour in search of one of our most unique early breeders. We'll meet at 5 pm and take a walk around the meadow, before returning to the parking lot and waiting for woodcock hour. They are often found close to the parking lot and Josh will have a flashlight to help us see the birds in the dark. Maybe we'll get lucky and see a Great Horned or Short-eared Owl as well.
*Please note the cost of this tour is $40, and we will allow for 10 participants
Thursday, April 10, 2025 Thorn Creek Woods - Will County (Only three spots remaining!) Guide: Steve Huggins
Thorn Creek in early April is an excellent location for migrants like sparrows, and kinglets. The surrounding habitat is worth visiting; we will bird the area as time allows. Join Steve in search of early migrants and wonderful resident birds like Barred Owl and Pileated Woodpecker.
Saturday, April 19, 2025 Skokie Lagoons - Cook County (Tour full! Contact us to join waitlist.) Guide: Jeff Bilsky Join Jeff Bilsky at his local patch! Jeff knows Skokie Lagoons well, and this trip is timed to seek out some of our favorite early migrants like Louisiana Waterthrush and Blue-headed Vireo. We could also see some of our first warblers of the season.
Sunday, May 4, 2025 McHenry Dam - McHenry County (Only one spot remaining!) Guide: Lisa Maier McHenry Dam is a top birding location in May, so you might as well go with a local expert! Warblers will be on the rise and there should be many migrant sparrows, vireos and thrushes around. The Fox River can hold lingering waterfowl and breeding Bald Eagles, too. If time allows, we will also visit Moraine Hills State Park.
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve - Lake County (Tour full! Contact us to join waitlist.) Guide: Adam Sell Join Adam Sell at his birding home away from home. Although well-known in the area of raptor migration in the fall, Fort Sheridan is also an excellent migrant trap in Lake County during the spring. Situated along Lake Michigan, we will spend the morning searching the whole preserve for migrants near the peak of migration and early breeders like Henslow’s Sparrow setting up territories. If time allows, we will visit the nearby Lakeshore Preserve.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 Horner Park & Chicago River Walk - Cook County (Tour full! Contact us to join waitlist.) Guide: Steve Huggins Urban birding at its finest! Join Steve at one of Chicago’s classic urban parks at the peak of spring migration. We will be on the lookout for species like Blackburnian and Magnolia Warblers, Orchard Oriole, Clay-colored Sparrow and more! We will also spend time birding along the North Branch of the Chicago River, an important corridor for many migrant species.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 Highland Park Hotspots - Lake County (Only two spots remaining!) Guide: Josh Engel Join Josh at his favorite local spots near his new home in the suburbs. Starting at the Lakeshore Preserve, the parks and wooded areas near Highland Park can be incredible for migrants, and later in May, birds like Yellow-bellied Flycatcher and Canada Warbler can be around.
Saturday, May 24, 2025 Ryerson Woods Forest Preserve - Lake County (Tour full! Contact us to join waitlist.) Guide: Jeff Bilsky One of the top hotspots in the county, Ryerson Woods in late May is a must-stop for birders. Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers become more numerous and many of our favorite migrant warblers will still be moving through. It is also the peak for more difficult warblers like Mourning and Connecticut, which we will seek out.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Goose Lake and North Branch Conservation Area - McHenry County (Tour full! Contact us to join waitlist.) Guide: Adam Sell Goose Lake is a unique wetland, with several rare breeding birds, in particular Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black Tern, and Common Gallinule, along with Marsh Wren, Pied-billed Grebe, and more. Nearby is North Branch Conservation Area, a beautiful grassland area with Grasshopper and Henslow’s Sparrows, Bobolinks, and other characteristic birds of the Midwest prairie in summer. This trip will involve 3-4 miles of walking (but we do walk slowly!).
Saturday, May 31, 2025 Glacial Park Conservation Area - McHenry County Guide: Lisa Maier McHenry County’s Glacial Park is a top location for breeding birds and late migrants. With a mixture of oak woodlands, prairie and marsh, it’s easy to rack up a nice bird list. Some birds we could encounter include Virginia Rail, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Willow Flycatcher, Orchard Oriole, Dickcissel, American Redstart and more! Depending on water levels, Glacial Park can be a prime location for migrant shorebirds, too.
Sunday, June 1, 2025 Penny Road Pond (Spring Creek Forest Preserve) - Cook County (Only two spots remaining!) Guide: Josh Engel This is a great (and underbirded!) spot in late spring to find breeding grassland birds--possibly including Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, Henslow's Sparrow, and Sedge Wren. The adjacent woods host warblers, cuckoos, and other migrants.
