Welcome to COS!
Who is Chicago Ornithological Society? In short, our organization celebrates birds!
We are here to share experiences and enjoy some of Earth’s most inspiring fauna through field trips and educational programs in the Chicago region and beyond. We appreciate. We aim to increase public awareness on the urgency of conservation of birds and their habitat. We advocate. We grab shovels and get our hands dirty in local habitat restoration projects. We work. We spend time together and discuss how we can make the world a better place for birds — and each other. We support.
Everyone is welcome to join us, whether you are a beginner, an experienced birder, or have an interest in conservation and restoration for wildlife.
Contact us with any questions you have.
Join COS
Enjoy
We organize and host over 100 field trips taking place year round and throughout the Chicagoland area. We strive to make our trips inclusive to all experience levels and background. All trips are free and loaner binoculars available.
Volunteer
From conservation projects, to leading bird walks, to social media management, everything that we accomplish is through the power of volunteers. Volunteers are always welcome and needed as we work to make Chicago a haven for birds. Contact us to find your role with COS!
Learn
We produce dozens of educational programs a year featuring experts from across the field of birds and birding. These programs are public, free of charge, and feature renowned speakers, authors and researchers like Dr. Drew Lanham, Noah Strycker and Lynn E. Barber.
Advocate
Our organization keeps tabs on local developments that can impact bird life and habitat. We work with numerous partners across the environmental, political, and social spectrum to build a better city for people and wildlife.
It’s the Year of the Peregrine Falcon!
25 years ago, after a hard fought election campaign with six contenders and 42,000 ballots cast, the Peregrine Falcon was declared the city of Chicago’s official bird. COS is marking this milestone by declaring 2024 The Year of the Peregrine Falcon.
Join us as we celebrate with falcon themed trips, programs, and media all year long and take this opportunity highlight an incredible species with a long and important history in our city.
Upcoming Events
COS Blog
LaBagh Woods Project
COS began restoration work in 2015 at LaBagh Woods on Chicago’s North Side. We host regular work days to clear invasive buckthorn and to plant shrubs. After the spring of 2022, we have planted almost 4,000 new native shrubs, with more plantings to come. We hope this healthier habitat attracts and supports more birds. Click the button to learn more about this keystone project and to sign up as a volunteer.
Calumet Initiative
The Calumet Region on the south side of Chicago was once dominated by wetlands but decades of industrialization have severely damaged the health of this critical ecosystem. More recently, work has begun to restore and revitalize this unique community. COS has joined countless partners to lead the way in restoring the Calumet region to a healthy place for people and wildlife. We invite you to learn more about this initiative and support this important work through volunteering and donations!
Make Your Windows Bird Friendly
One pillar of COS’s mission is to advocate for bird conservation. We have partnered with Canada-based Feather Friendly to raise awareness and action on the issue of glass collisions. Glass collisions kill millions of birds every year. Chicago, unfortunately, has one of the highest rates of fatal bird strikes in North America. We want to educate and motivate our community to take action to protect migratory birds from this tragedy. Wherever you are, make your home and office bird-friendly this migration season! Feather Friendly has generously offered to contribute proceeds to COS with purchases of their DIY Kits. Use code COS10%Donation at checkout.
We have more plans in the works with this wonderful organization and we are excited to work together to make the world safer for birds!
Art courtesy of Miranda Brandon.