Who We Are:

The Southern Illinois Audubon Society (SIAS) is an organization of 100+ individuals who enjoy feeding, locating, and viewing wild birds and generally share an appreciation of nature.   We have members of all ages and all walks of life, from as far north as Springfield and as far south as Metropolis.

The SIAS is an affiliate of the Illinois Audubon Society. Organized more than a century ago and headquartered in Danville, IAS is a non-profit conservation, education, and lobbying group that specializes in preserving habitat for birds through ownership and stewardship of important blocks of land.

What we do:

We offer monthly programs on nature related topics and organize nature outings to various locations, all free of charge and open to the public. Our members provide educational programs for local schools and other organizations and take part in volunteer programs directed at conserving birds and their habitats.

The Southern Illinois Audubon Society

  • sustains local bluebird trails.  Some of our members monitor boxes from March through August, at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. More than 5,000 Eastern Bluebirds have been fledged through this project.
  • conducts multiple bird conservation surveys.  Members conduct Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas and Spring Bird Counts, Shawnee National Forest nesting bird surveys, shorebird surveys, and other surveys as requested.
  • supports avian ecology throughout Illinois  SIAS supports habitat preservation and avian research projects in Illinois through donations to the Illinois Audubon Society and the Illinois Ornithological Society.
  • coordinates the Birding Blitz of Southernmost Illinois.  This birdwatching contest fundraiser for Friends of the Cache supports habitat preservation and restoration in the Cache River Wetlands.
  • has given thousands of dollars to local organizations.  Each year we raise and donate money to many worthwhile projects in our area such as Free Again Wildlife Rehabilitation, the Science Center of Southern Illinois, Friends of the Cache, and GreenEarth of Carbondale.

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Birding Blitz - 2024

April 27   Late April - early May is the top time for birding in southernmost Illinois. Winter migrants are lingering while spring and summer species are arriving in full force. There are plenty of species to be located in the eleven southernmost counties of Illinois. In this area you'll find lots of places to go birding including three wildlife refuges, six big lakes, over a dozen state parks and a 280,000-acre national forest.
Learn more at the BirdBlitz 2022

I share the belief of many of my contemporaries that the spiritual crisis pervading all spheres of Western industrial society can be remedied only by a change in our world view. We shall have to shift from the materialistic, dualistic belief that people and their environment are separate, toward a new consciousness of an all-encompassing reality, which embraces the experiencing ego, a reality in which people feel their oneness with animate nature and all of creation.
    -- Dr. Albert Hoffman