Cook County Birding Big Year: A Story of Passion, Disappearing Birds, and How We Save What’s Left

Celebrate spring migration at Brushwood with an educational and inspiring program and bird walk with Tarik Shahzad.

The guided bird walk begins at 1:00 pm at Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods.

At 2:00 pm, Tarik will present the story of his Cook County Birding “Big Year:” a personal challenge to identify as many unique species of birds as possible within a calendar year. With a retelling of his adventure, Tarik will impart his learnings about Cook County’s diverse natural spaces, the growing birding community, the steep decline of birds in our region, and how the environmental community can work to better protect our avian friends for generations to come. As a member of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois’ government relations team, he will weave in potential policy and advocacy solutions to our worsening biodiversity crisis.

About Tarik Shahzad

Born and raised in Chicago, Tarik Shahzad spent his childhood falling in love with nature at local parks and forest preserves. He continued his passion for nature at Middlebury College, graduating in 2020 with a degree in Environmental Policy.

After graduating college, Tarik honed skills in political organizing, communications, and ecological restoration. As an ecological restoration intern with Audubon Great Lakes, Tarik helped restore prairie and marsh habitat in Chicago’s southeast side for people and wildlife.

In March 2023, Tarik joined The Nature Conservancy’s Illinois chapter as an environmental policy advocate. His role focuses conservation and climate policy analysis, lobbying, and education to external audiences. His professional interests include coalition-building and centering environmental justice concerns in the policy-making process.

In his free-time, Tarik enjoys birding, volunteering at park and forest preserve stewardship days, trying new foods throughout the Chicagoland area, and leading nature tours across the region.