Will County Audubon Society (a chapter of Illinois Audubon Society) and the Forest Preserves of Cook County are co-sponsoring a hummingbird festival on August 19, 2023, at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center in Lemont, Illinois, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
The highlight of the festival will be the capture and banding of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, our smallest North American bird. This hummingbird banding will be conducted between the hours of 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. only. Vern Kleen, one of only three licensed hummingbird banders in the state of Illinois, will conduct the capture and banding operations. Vern will provide details about the life history of hummingbirds and why they are banded. This festival is one of many that Vern conducts throughout the state.
As you enter Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, you will experience the hummingbird migration route. Gates will open at 8 a.m., and the festival will start at 9 a.m., ending ~1 p.m. There is no vending on site. Food sources are several miles away.