Fall Birding Seminar: Mysteries of Sparrow ID ... Or, How to Figure Out Those LBJs

by Marci Buettgen

They dont call them Little Brown Jobs or LBJs for nothing. Sparrows seem harmless enough. Yet trying to identify them in the field can give most birders fits and temper tantrums since the distinguishing features are small and subtle.

To help crack the code, the Chicago Audubon Society will host a fall birding seminar, Mysteries of Sparrow ID, Saturday, September 16, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 North Pulaski Road, Chicago.

Moderator Jim Landing, Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Illinois Chicago, along with a panel of top birding experts from this region, will present a detailed review of sparrow species seen around Chicago. Landing, a highly respected local birder and birding advocate, has provided leadership in several major successful projects, such as the establishment of Montrose Point as a premier bird sanctuary and the restoration of Lake Calumet wetlands.

In 2002, he initiated a fall birding seminar series to explore one birding topic intensively. Past seminars focused on Confusing Fall Warblers, Hawks, and Herons. As of 2006, at the request of Landing, CAS is honored to take on the role of seminar series sponsor.

This years panel will be announced on the CAS website later this summer. Panelists from former years, representing a wide range of expertise and depth of knowledge, included Vic Barardi, Hawk Migration Association of North America; Josh Engel, Evanston North Shore Bird Club; David B. Johnson, co-author, Birds of Chicago; and Doug Stotz of The Field Museum.

Check-in for the seminar begins at 10:30 a.m, but seminar participants are invited to come early to join in the fall migration birdwalk offered by CAS at the Nature Center, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Ample free parking is available.

Participants are encouraged to bring along note paper or laptops and field guides plus snacks or a brown bag lunch. Coffee, soda and bottled water may be purchased for a nominal fee.

While there is no charge for this seminar, advance registration is required to guarantee seating, To register, phone Marci Buettgen: 773/878-4421, or, e-mail: mdbchgo@comcast.net.