Follow our grand prairie bird alliance Page on Facebook to learn about upcoming events.

winter fun!

Join us at Red Raccoon to learn how to play Wingspan, the best bird game ever! Did you receive Wingspan as a gift because you were told it is the best bird game ever? Did you purchase it for yourself, saying you could figure it out with YouTube videos? Are you, like some of the GPBA board members, STILL unable to play it? Red Raccoon to the rescue! No prior knowledge required. Professional game players will be on hand to help even the most hapless board game players.

When: Saturday, February 14 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: Red Raccoon, Downtown Bloomington, 301 N. Main

spring bird walks

Stay tuned for spring walks!

Educational talks and Expert Speakers

Over the years, we have been able to bring in some wonderful speakers to share with us their studies and expertise in many different areas including conservation, environmental legislation, local projects, and world events. Join us for these complimentary programs in the fall, open to the community.  For up-to-date information, please join the Grand Prairie Bird Alliance page on Facebook.

Whip-Poor-Whil Presentation, March 30

The Grand Prairie Bird Alliance and the Illinois Wesleyan University Biology Department will sponsor a public presentation about bird ecology on March 30, 2026.  The presentation will be held at 7 p.m. in room C101 at the Center for Natural Science (CNS), 201 Beecher Street, Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU), Bloomington.  Parking is available in the lot just north of the CNS on Beecher Street.

Description: Holly Coates, a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois, will talk about “What the Whip-poor-will Teaches Us About Forest Management.”  Eastern Whip-poor-wills are nocturnal, ground-nesting birds with have a distinctive call that is sometimes repeated for hours on end by males during the breeding season.  Unfortunately, whip-poor-will populations have declined substantially over the past several years.  As Midwestern forests become denser and more uniform, they lose the open, complex structure whip-poor-wills need to forage and move. Holly’s talk highlights how forest management influences whip-poor-will abundance and persistence, showing that restoring structural diversity can help support this declining and iconic bird.