Van Trip - Chicago's Black-crowned Night Heron Rookery

Name: Van Trip - Chicago's Black-crowned Night Heron Rookery
Start: 2026-05-02T08:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-05-02T15:00:00-05:00
Location: Lincoln Park Zoo

Schedule

Sat May 02 2026 at 08:30 am to 03:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Lincoln Park Zoo | Chicago, IL

Join us for a special van trip on Saturday, May 2 to see the Black-crowned Night Heron rookery at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.
About this Event

· Cost - $40 +Eventbrite fee – This includes transportation, parking, and all remaining proceeds donated to the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project.

· Meeting time and location – 8:30 am CDT at the Indiana Welcome Center (7770 Corinne Dr, Hammond, IN)

· Departure from Indiana Welcome Center – 8:45 am

· Arrival to Lincoln Park Zoo – 9:45 am

· Return to Indiana Welcome Center – Between 2:30 and 3:00

Trip Itinerary

Participants will meet our vice president, Matt Kalwasinski, at 8:30 am CDT at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond and load into a passenger van to head to Lincoln Park Zoo. Upon arrival, the group will meet a volunteer from the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron project to learn about the history of the rookery and the conservation-focused research underway. Then, the group will get a special guided tour of the rookery and have time to observe and photograph the herons and their various mating behaviors. It is estimated that there are between 300 and 400 nests in the colony!

After a break for a snack (bring your own or purchase something at the zoo), the group will bird the southern portion of the zoo, including South Pond, to see what spring migrants are around.

Around 1:00 pm, the group will head back to the Indiana Welcome Center, arriving between 2:30 and 3:00.

Special note – After registering, any additional donations made will go entirely to the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron project.

Registration is limited to 14 participants.

About the Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project

The Chicago Black-crowned Night Heron Project is a collaborative conservation initiative aimed at protecting and studying the state-endangered Black-crowned Night Heron. It focuses on monitoring the large colony at Lincoln Park Zoo and urban habitat usage to support the species’ survival in Illinois. In addition to tracking and research, the project aims to identify and protect new nesting sites along with raising awareness about these magnificent birds. Search “Black-crowned Night Heron Project” on Facebook for more information.