Home Tweet Home, Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day!
Release Date: 04/29/08
Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with the Chicago Park District at Home Tweet Home on Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to noon atMontrose Point Bird Sanctuary, 4400 North at Lake Michigan. This event is free for all ages.
Get a bird’s eye view as birding enthusiasts can watch birds migrate to their spring homes. Learn all about our feathered friends, meet live birds of prey, play games and make a bird craft to take home.
“Chicago’s lakefront plays such a critical role for birds migrating in the fall and spring seasons,” said Timothy J. Mitchell, Superintendent of the Chicago Park District. “As stewards of the lakefront, the Chicago Park District will continue to strive to provide a necessary rest stop for these long distance travelers. Last year the lakefront was designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society solidifying this area’s importance to the avian population.”
The Important Bird Areas (IBA) program, developed by the National Audubon Society, designates key habitats critical to bird conservation. Nationally, there are more than 2,000 IBAs in 48 states. The 48 IBAs in Illinois include the Lake Calumet area on Chicago’s Southside, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, and the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois and Naval Station Great Lakes in northeastern Illinois.
Important Bird Areas (IBA) provide habitat essential for breeding, feeding, wintering or migration of one or more species of birds. IBAs may be large or small, publicly or privately owned and have characteristics such as high bird diversity, populations of threatened species or unusually large numbers of birds. Sites nominated as IBAs are evaluated based on standard scientific criteria to ensure their statewide significance to birds. Land managers, scientists or the general public may nominate sites.
Chicago’s lakefront, which was one of 48 sites chosen statewide, is especially significant because it provides rich habitat for almost eight million migratory birds traveling between their summer and winter homes. The unique geography the lakefront offers our fine-feathered visitors includes dunes, wetlands, woodlands, savannas, prairies and lagoons.
Connecting the community to nature is important today as signs of Nature Deficit Disorder are prevalent in the community. As part of Chicago Wilderness’s Leave No Child Inside initiative, the Chicago Park District offers its residents an opportunity to connect with nature through a wide variety of outdoor education programs such as Home Tweet Home.
Leave No Child Inside
Chicago Wilderness, a group of more than 220 public and private organizations working together to protect the Chicago region’s natural spaces, helps conserve the diversity of plants and animals and enrich local residents’ quality of life. Last year, the organization launched the Leave No Child Inside initiative, which is a multi-year plan with the ultimate goal of fostering generations of children that care enough for nature to protect it. Richard Louv's 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder , calls attention to the role of nature in healthy child development. The book has mobilized groups across the country into a nationwide movement dedicated to reconnecting kids and nature.
- Contact Phone: 312 742 7529