Bird monitors said the gull colony is probably stressed in some way, either from lack of food, not enough room on the roof or extreme heat.

Chicago’s indomitable piping plovers have welcomed three chicks, with a fourth still possibly on the way, plover monitors have reported.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its natural areas, the Chicago Park District, in partnership with The Nature Conservancy of Illinois, has installed 20 fairy houses in parks across the city. Here’s where to find them.

ComEd treated some hard-working members of its team to the ride of their lives as a way to educate the public about the utility company’s use of goats to manage overgrown vegetation around hard-to-reach power lines.

Hundreds of songbirds have died in Indiana from a mysterious illness, prompting wildlife officials in that state to ask residents to remove all bird feeders. Officials in Illinois say they have yet to receive reports of similar infections.

While they await the arrival of their own chicks, Chicago’s beloved piping plovers have just become grandparents — four times over.

A man who said he sprayed trees in a Naperville park to protect them after an anxious dog chewed off the bark has been ticketed by authorities.

What’s up with the mushrooms that appear and then quickly disappear after wet weather? Where do they come from, and where do they go?

This year’s contest is sure to be more competitive than ever, with expanded eligibility and the doubling of winners’ cash prizes.

In the eyes of the law, pets are property when it comes to divorce, but new ways of working out custody of the dog, cat or parrot have sprung up with special mediators and “petnups” to avoid courtroom disputes.

The dog was one of 34 animals — 33 dogs and one cat — imported by an animal rescue organization from Azerbaijan to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on June 10. 

There are natives and then there are plants known as “nativars,” and wildlife can tell the difference.

Just a week after losing their first nest to a skunk attack, Monty and Rose have produced a second nest and laid one egg, the Chicago Park District announced. 

“Trees need care like streets need repairing,” said Malcolm Whiteside, deputy commissioner for Chicago’s Department of Forestry, who threw his support behind the creation of an Urban Forestry Advisory Board.

The latest chapter in the saga of Chicago’s beloved plovers, Monty and Rose, is a sad one, with wildlife officials reporting the couple’s 2021 clutch of eggs has been lost to a skunk attack. Plover monitors are hopeful the couple will build a second nest. 

Oxygen levels have dropped in hundreds of lakes in the United States and Europe over the last four decades, a new study found. And the authors said declining oxygen could lead to increased fish kills, algal blooms and methane emissions.