(Jerry Goldner)

An owl loving Chicago photographer takes us along as he shoots a majestic snowy owl during the last “invasion” in 2014.

Dead birds collected by the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors were given to the Field Museum's Bird Division. (Josh Engel / The Field Museum)

For migrating birds, Chicago can be a dangerous place. But scientists, architects and volunteers are now teaming up to make the city a leader in bird-friendly design. The story is told in WTTW's online series “Urban Nature.”

Each year tens of thousands of volunteers participate in more than 2,000 Christmas Bird Counts throughout the Western Hemisphere. (Camilla Cerea / Audubon)

There are many Christmas traditions, but one that is especially beloved by people who love birds is the annual Christmas Bird Count. Learn more.

The population of the monarch butterfly -- seen here in Chicago's Grant Park -- has declined by more than 80 percent over the past two decades. A 2016 study claims the decline of milkweed plants in the Midwest is a contributing factor. (Oriol Gascón i Cabestany / Flickr)

Their annual migration from North America to Mexico has been called “one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world,” but the monarch butterfly is not only in decline – it’s closer to extinction than previously thought, research shows.

You don't have to be an expert birder or ecologist to enjoy songs and calls from native and foreign birds in Chicago this time of year. Here's what to listen for.

Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood has long been a haven for the bright green monk parakeet, but its presence – and recent decline – is shrouded in mystery.

Weather permitting, the Chicago area will be treated to prime time, front-row seats for a rare astronomical phenomenon Sunday evening when a total lunar eclipse of a simultaneous harvest moon, supermoon and blood moon rises above the horizon.

www.kKoontz.com

Jay Shefsky takes a road trip to see 15,000 Sandhill Cranes in Indiana. Jay and his Field Museum guide, Josh Engel, get a surprise along the way.

Every year at this time, Sandhill Cranes migrate south. But this year, the skies over Chicago seem to be full of them. Field Museum ornithologist Josh Engel explains why.

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Chicago Crime, Ambulance Shortage & Owl Photographer

We share what you had to say about Chicago crime, the city's apparent shortage of ambulances, and Jay Shefsky's profile of an owl-loving nature photographer in tonight's viewer feedback.

Jerry Goldner is crazy about owls. Illinois has nine species and Goldner has photographed them all, along with more than 200 other types of birds. Jay Shefsky tagged along with him recently as he photographed what may turn out to be Chicago’s last Snowy Owl sighting of the season. View an interactive graphic about the various owl species in Illinois.

A very rare Burrowing Owl was spotted along Chicago's lakefront.

This spring, a nest of bald eaglets hatched in Cook County -- the first in over a century. Now, at least one of those young eagles has gone through the difficult process of fledging, or learning how to fly. 

Image credit: Jerry Goldner

The eagles have landed. We show you some of the first images of a pair of American Bald Eagles, and their newly hatched eaglets, nesting in a Cook County Forest Preserve.

Snowy Owl. Image credit: Jerry Goldner

Chicago is in the midst of a snowy owl invasion! We talk with a birder and a Field Museum scientist looking to uncover the hidden city dangers facing these beautiful creatures.