Is birding a sport? That’s up for debate even within the birding community, but you can’t say the activity isn’t competitive. There’s not one, but two March Madness-style tournaments involving birds underway.

The Chicago Ornithological Society has resumed small group bird hikes. Masks are a must, as is social distancing. 

Dr. Lester Fisher has led a remarkable life, from taking care of Gen. George Patton’s bulldog Willie during his service in World War II to a more than four-decade association with Lincoln Park Zoo, where he started out as a part-time veterinarian. 

After self-imposed winter breaks, Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo are reopening to guests, with a number of safety precautions in place due to the coronavirus. Here’s what to expect.

Reports that millions of 17-year cicadas will emerge from underground in the Chicago area this spring aren’t true. They’re coming in 2024. 

Forget Duke versus North Carolina. This annual contest raises the rivalry stakes, pitting species against species in this annual winner-takes-all online tournament that’s as educational as it is weird.

Animals that wouldn’t be able to survive on their own in the wild are getting the care they need, and are helping educate the public, at five forest preserve nature centers around Cook County. But during COVID-19, people aren’t allowed to go inside these centers, so the animals and their caretakers reach out virtually.

The Chicago Park District announced Tuesday that lakefront parks and playgrounds will reopen, nearly a year after they were closed due to the coronavirus.

“The people, wildlife and wetlands of the Calumet area have borne more than their share of pollution, and it’s time for the City of Chicago to find a different way,” conservation organizations said in support of the General Iron hunger strikers.

Humans are making Earth a broken and increasingly unlivable planet through climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. So the world must make dramatic changes to society, economics and daily life, a new United Nations report says.

Students from across Chicago voted on the name for the Shedd’s 5-month old Pacific white-sided dolphin calf.

There’s a misperception that birds such as geese and ducks need help finding food when it snows. If they couldn’t cope with Chicago’s winters, they wouldn’t be here, experts say. 

The landscape has been pretty bleak of late. Here to brighten our outlook: The Garfield Park Conservatory has announced its indoor gardens will reopen to the public at the end of February.

The 18,000-acre restoration site continues to evolve, as this home of the former Joliet Arsenal gradually returns to its native prairie state. 

It’s Groundhog Day. Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring?

An Amur tiger that underwent hip-replacement surgery only to dislodge the orthopedic implant within hours has been operated on again, officials at a suburban Chicago zoo said Monday.