Stories by Patty Wetli

Fewer than 100 whooping cranes migrate through the eastern U.S. A family of three paid a visit to a Kane County forest preserve Nov. 9-10 while winging their way to Florida.

A 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit north central Illinois Wednesday morning, shortly before 5 a.m., the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting.

During their first-ever spacewalk, astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara spent hours outside the International Space Station, successfully replacing hardware on the station’s solar array. But a tool bag became untethered and is now orbiting Earth.

North America’s eponymous birds — those named for people — will all receive new names. The decision made by the American Ornithological Society has drawn praise from some quarters and provoked vehement opposition elsewhere.

Clocks roll back to standard time at 2 a.m. Sunday.

The 45-foot Colorado Blue Spruce will take centerstage during an official tree lighting ceremony on Nov. 17 at 6 p.m.

This weekend, nearly 80 sites across the greater Chicago region will be collecting pumpkins for composting, part of a nationwide push to keep food waste out of landfills.

An ordinance amendment would require library hosts to obtain a permit before setting up a “public bookcase” in the public way, and would limit permit holders to institutions.

The epaulette shark pup hatched Aug. 23, born from what staff believe was an unfertilized egg. 

Love it or hate it, the stunt works for the station. In 2022, the LITE’s ratings doubled between November and December.

The scariest thing this Halloween is the weather forecast for trick-or-treaters.

From carnivorous plants to blood-sucking sea creatures, nature serves up plenty of frights, lots of them found right here in Illinois.

Monday’s meeting of the McPier board was dominated by discussion of the mass death of 1,000 birds in a single day, killed after colliding with McCormick Place. Bird conservationists want a solution in place by spring migration.

The National Weather Service isn’t even trying to sugarcoat the forecast for Halloween. It’s all downhill from here.

The fall foliage season got off to a slow start in the Chicago region but is making up for lost time. We’ve rounded up some resources to help you make the most of Mother Nature’s spectacular, but short-lived, autumnal display.

The Chicago organization is joined by chapters in Detroit and Wisconsin in dropping “Audubon” and adopting the more inclusive, collaborative “Alliance.”

Shedd Aquarium’s newest rockhopper penguin, hatched in June, just took its first swim with the entire colony and the results were mixed. 

Caretakers will pass out more pumpkins to animals during Brookfield's “Boo! at the Zoo” event Saturday and Sunday.

"For the first time in a long time, it is not the budget of an agency in a holding pattern, keeping long-term, pressing needs at bay," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. "For Fiscal Year 2024, we are moving forward."

Sterling Bay’s first completed structure at its $6 billion Lincoln Yards riverfront development was constructed with bird-friendly glass. The use of the material is one of several features intended to minimize the sorts of deadly bird collisions Chicago just witnessed in record numbers.

While the full tally of dead will never be known, wildlife advocates are certain of one thing: The vast majority of bird losses in the past week were preventable.

When people veer off designated trails, they damage vegetation, compact soil, contribute to erosion and also create pathways for new invasive plant species.

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities for migrating birds and Thursday’s “insane abundance of migratory action” led to “insane mortality,” birders said. The remedy is as simple as flipping off a light switch.

The 45th running of the Chicago Marathon will take place Sunday.

Tensions remain as the fight over the building has been seen by some as a symbol of the struggle to maintain Humboldt Park’s longstanding Puerto Rican heritage in the face of gentrification.

More than a year after the State of Illinois sold off the abandoned 23-acre Damen Silos property to MAT Limited Partnership, the fate of the silos — a favorite of urban explorers — is still up in the air.