All Events
From guided bird walks to interactive learning sessions and meetings, the Champaign County Audubon Society offers a variety of regular events throughout the year (although we typically take off the summer!).
Heritage Park/Kaufman Lake Bird Walk
Join us for a walk at Heritage Park and Kaufman Lake, adjoining parks in the city of Champaign, and participate in the CCAS Spring Bird-a-thon! This event helps raise money for CCAS and helps the parks departments take inventory of the bird species occurring at their sites. Migration will be in full swing and we should see plenty of songbirds, raptors, waders, and other fun surprises at these two excellent Champaign Park District hotspots!
You must RSVP in advance! Limit: 10 people. Use this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/hbiBsgUCguxnqqHv7
Leader: aerin tedesco; please email aerin at aerintedesco@gmail.com if you have questions, or have signed up but cannot make it after all.
We will mainly be on paved paths but may need to walk on gravel paths or grass at some point.
Please bring binoculars if you have them. We will have some pairs to loan.
The meeting spot will be emailed to participants.
Homer Lake Bird Walk
Join us for this walk at the Homer Lake Forest Preserve and participate in the CCAS Spring Bird-a-thon! This event helps raise money for CCAS and helps the Champaign County Forest Preserve District take inventory of the bird species occurring at their sites. Migration will be in full swing and we should see plenty of songbirds, raptors, waders, and other fun surprises at this excellent CCFPD hotspot near Homer, IL in southeast Champaign County!
You must RSVP in advance! Limit: 10 people. Use this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/8AhHpyQaym1eLUos6
Leader: aerin tedesco; please email aerin at aerintedesco@gmail.com if you have questions.
The meeting spot will be emailed to participants. We will carpool between areas we want to bird.
This trip can be a bit muddy at times and we will be walking primarily on wood chip and grass paths. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.
Please bring binoculars if you have them. We will have some pairs to loan.
Middle Fork Field Trip
Join CCAS’s Field Trip Chair Aerin Tedesco at this absolute gem of a birding hot spot in central Illinois! Middle Fork River Forest Preserve includes Point Pleasant Wetland as well as two excellent waterfowl and shorebird viewing areas. We'll also see plenty of songbirds, waders and raptors.
This trip can be a bit muddy at times. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Please bring binoculars and a scope if you have one.
You must RSVP in advance! Limit: 10 people. Use this link to sign up: https://forms.gle/FFg4JrcVtHJ6sMcZ6
The meeting spot will be emailed to participants. We will carpool between areas we want to bird.
Danville Field Trip
Meet at the Anita Purves Nature Center Parking lot at 6 AM!
We will leave the parking lot just after 6 AM and head over to some Vermillion County parks just west of Danville. We'll probably take a drive through Kickapoo State Recreation Area and make a stop or two, but we'll spend most of the morning at Kennekuk County Park making multiple stops. We will then head over to the observation tower at Heron County Park and walk around the boardwalk and likely be done around 11:00 or noon.
Bring a lunch if you would like. We will be looking for late migrants, some breeding species such as Yellow-throated Chat, Prairie Warbler, and tanagers, and some water species at Heron County Park.
Middle Fork Field Trip
Join us at Middle Fork River Forest Preserve as we walk out to the Point Pleasant Wetland to search for wetland species. We will also bird along the trail on the way out looking for neotropical migrants and other birds in the pools along the way. The walk is about a mile or mile and a half one way but we'll go slow as we'll be birding the whole way!
Meet at the North Waterfowl Area parking lot (coordinates: 40.385101, -87.979106) at 8 AM!
Annual Sandhill Crane Migration
Join us for our annual trip to Jasper-Pulaski Fish & Wildlife Area to witness one of nature’s greatest spectacles: the Sandhill Crane Migration! Every fall, tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes descend on the fields of Jasper-Pulaski for their evening roost.
Meet at the Anita Purves Nature Center at 1:30 PM to carpool/caravan for a day of birding followed by a sunset visit to the preserve to watch the Sandhill Cranes fly in. You don’t want to miss it!
Illinois River Fall Birding
Join us for a day of birding in Havana! Meet at the Anita Purves Parking Lot at 6:00 AM to carpool or drive together. Colin Dobson will be leading this trip and we’ll be carpooling/following Colin around for the day!
We will look for warblers and other migrants at Sand Ridge State Forest, then focus on ducks, shorebirds, and other birds for the rest of the day at Chautauqua and Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge. At least 100 species of birds are possible!
No sign-ups or pre-registration is required. Hope to see you there!
Ongoing CCAS Events
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Sunday Morning Bird Walks
Guided bird walks are held on Sunday mornings during the spring and fall migration seasons: March through May and September through October.
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Spring Bird-a-Thon
Held each year in May, the Bird-a-Thon is our annual fundraiser. It starts the Sunday after the Illinois Spring Bird Count and lasts one week.
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Christmas Bird Count
The National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) provides a rich dataset that scientists have used to learn about trends in bird populations since 1900!