Eaglet heads poke above the top of their nest in 2023. Fingers crossed for a repeat in 2024. (Will County Forest Preserve / Chad Merda)

All signs are pointing to another successful year of bald eagle mating in Will County.

Sandhill cranes. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Midwest Region)

Red-winged blackbirds, American robins, and sandhill cranes are among the species of birds Chicagoans have spotted in recent days on the leading edge of spring migration. But wait — according to the calendar, it’s still winter.

Shedd’s newest rescued sea otter pup explores the aquarium’s otter habitat. (Brenna Hernandez / Shedd Aquarium)

The still-unnamed pup arrived at Shedd Aquarium in November 2023 and recently made his public debut after acclimating behind the scenes.

A memorial for Monty and Rose, held in 2022, at the site now named in their honor. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Park District Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to rename the plovers’ Montrose Beach meeting spot the Monty and Rose Wildlife Habitat.

Baby leatherback sea turtles head to the sea at sunset on Indonesia’s Lhoknga Beach in February 2023. (Chaideer Mahyuddin / AFP / Getty Images)

Of the 1,189 creatures listed by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, more than one in five are threatened. They include species from all sorts of animal groups — whales, sharks, elephants, wild cats, raptors, birds and insects, among others.

A monarch butterfly cozies up to milkweed in a Chicago yard. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Aster Hasle, a conservation scientist at the Field Museum, said, “Our role in the Midwest is to build that population back up. There is a lot that we can do here to provide habitat that’s going to help.”

A rendering of a proposed new White Sox stadium and surrounding development, including housing, at The 78 site. (Credit: Related Midwest)
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Any development on the Chicago River should address concerns about climate resilience, biodiversity, sustainability and pollution, advocates say. "It would be an enormous mistake to not take that seriously," said Margaret Frisbie, of Friends of the Chicago River.

A rendering of the Invert on the Southeast Side. (Courtesy of the Invert)
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Developers have a massive underground warehouse dream for the Southeast Side. But for some, the project is potential environmental and public health concern.

A person walking a dog along the Chicago lakefront. (WTTW News)

Temperatures reached a high of 57 degrees in Chicago on Thursday. As the city experiences an El Nino year, 2024 is seeing temperatures about 1 to 3 degrees above average.

Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets Sept. 18, 2021, near Emmett, Kan. (AP Photo / Charlie Riedel, File)
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Environmental and public health groups hailed the new Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Wednesday as a major step in improving the health of Americans, including future generations. 

Honey locust seed pods blanket the ground in Albany Park, late January 2024. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

In a winter that hasn’t seen much in the way of snow, honey locust pods are picking up the slack in terms of blanketing lawns, parkways and sidewalks, and piling inches deep along curbs.

The Field Museum’s rare copy of John J. Audubon’s “Birds of America” is now on public view. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

The Field Museum’s rare copy of John J. Audubon’s “Birds of America” is now on public display, as part of an exhibit that doesn’t shy away from Audubon’s complicated legacy.

Woodstock Willie got an assist from meteorologist Tom Skilling. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Neither groundhog saw its shadow, indicating an early spring.

Tapeko, one of Brookfield Zoo’s bottlenose dolphins, gets a big welcome home from Melissa Zabojnik, a senior animal care specialist. (Jim Schulz / CZS-Brookfield Zoo)

The zoo’s seven bottlenose dolphins will spend the next six weeks getting used to their new and improved digs.

 The moon covers the sun during a solar eclipse in Piedra del Aguila, Argentina, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (AP Photo / Natacha Pisarenko)
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The alignment of sun, earth and moon will plunge the city into darkness, and as long as the maddeningly unpredictable Northeast Ohio weather cooperates, people will view a spectacle that lasts just under four minutes but occurs only three times in a 638-year span above the city.

(Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels)
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Advocates say the proposed ordinance aims to combat climate change and reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, while critics believe it would increase cost and risk reliability.