chapter meeting

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

7:00 PM

Lions Field House – 270 Elkhorn Road (Hwy 67), Williams Bay, WI

Free to attend and open to the public!

Join the Lakeland Audubon Society at its March 2026 chapter meeting. This meeting will feature a guest speaker (Carolyn Lueck) who will talk about the film she produced: Sharing Our Shore and the Return of the Piping Plover to Waukegan Shores. After an introduction and some background information, we will show the film.

About the talk: The endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover population is federally protected. Habitat loss due to beach development and other causes reduced the population to less than 12 pairs in the 1980s, and all of them were in Michigan. Before then, 500 to 800 pairs of piping plovers had nested in the Great Lakes Region. The Waukegan area used to be the primary nesting area for the plovers in Illinois. Conservation efforts have helped the species rebound to 88 breeding pairs last summer, the highest number since the species was declared endangered, according to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team.

Sharing Our Shore and the Return of the Piping Plover to Waukegan Shores chronicles the life of Blaze and Pepper – two charismatic Great Lakes Piping Plovers who were captive-reared and released on the shores of Waukegan in 2023. Against all odds, they returned in 2024 and successfully fledged three chicks – Juniper, Sage, and Willow – marking a remarkable milestone for this endangered species and for our local conservation community.

The film showcases the dedicated efforts behind Lake County Audubon Society’s conservation program, Sharing Our Shore – Waukegan, and the special role it plays in raising awareness and protecting the unique lakefront habitat vital to the plovers’ survival and success. The film includes photos and videos captured by volunteer monitors and celebrates conservation, volunteerism, and community action along the Lake Michigan shore.

The film was written and produced by Carolyn Lueck, who will introduce the film and will host a Q&A after the screening. She will share firsthand experiences from the 2024 and 2025 nesting seasons and offer insights into what it takes to protect a federally endangered species right here in Lake County, Illinois.

About the speaker: Carolyn Lueck is President of the Lake County Audubon Society and Committee Chair of their Sharing Our Shore – Waukegan initiative. She started monitoring the endangered Great Lakes Piping Plovers in 2023. After spending one morning on the beach monitoring four captive-reared piping plover fledglings that were released on a beach in Waukegan, IL, she knew her life would never be the same.

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Bird Walks at Big Foot

Join us for a Bird Walk near the shores of beautiful Geneva Lake. We will follow the park’s trails while on the lookout for birds and other wildlife. Meet in the main parking area to the right of the entrance station a little before 11:00 AM. A state park sticker: $28 or daily pass: $8 ($13, $3 if age 65 or older) is required to enter Big Foot Beach State Park.

Please contact us if you are interested in attending a walk.

Kevin Dickey – https://lakelandaudubon.com/contact/ or +1 (262) 729-9702

Visit the events page to see a list of our scheduled bird walks.

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bird walks at white river

Get out and enjoy one of the best parks Walworth County has to offer. We’ll walk the trails and be on the lookout for birds and other critters. We’ll also watch for plant blooms and other interesting elements of nature. Meet at the kiosk by the parking lot a little before 11:00 AM.

Please contact us if you are interested in attending a walk.

Kevin Dickey – https://lakelandaudubon.com/contact/ or +1 (262) 729-9702

Visit the events page to see a list of our scheduled bird walks.

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Christmas bird count results

Lake Geneva CBC-2025 (Data)

For anyone who is interested in the final numbers of last year’s CBC, simply click on the link below: