The Urban Birding Festival 2026

The Urban Birding Festival is celebrating our 3rd year in and around Chicago from September 18-20. 2026. We'll be highlighting the extraordinary bird diversity present in the area with over 400 recorded species in the Chicago region. You will experience not only the birds, but also the places and community that make Chicago a great birding destination. We can’t wait to see you!

Registration Instructions:

• Please be sure of your selections before you complete your registration. Once you submit your registration, you can not modify it yourself; you must contact us to modify or cancel your registration, cba@chicagobirdalliance.org.
• Before completing this registration page please visit the field trips page on our website for full details of each trip: https://www.theurbanbirdingfestival.org/festival-schedule
• Parking - you can purchase parking for the Lincoln Park Zoo lot through the festival registration at a rate of $25 for the day (normally $35-45). The Lincoln Park Zoo parking lot is located directly south of the Nature Museum off Fullerton Ave. This discounted parking rate only applies if you purchase through this registration. (There is street parking around the museum on Cannon and Stockton Drives, but it can be filled up on weekends.)
• Trips that are full are periodically removed from this registration site to make it easier to navigate.
• Please contact cba@chicagobirdalliance.org with any questions regarding your registration. 

Registration Fee

There is a $30 registration fee for all festival participants to cover the administrative costs of the festival and grants you access to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum for Saturday and Sunday during the festival. The registration fee also allows you to attend free trips, enter the vendor marketplace, and attend many presentations at the museum. Additional fees apply to most activities: field trips, workshops, and evening programs. 

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations received on or before September 2nd, 2026 will be refunded less a 10% processing fee. No refunds will be issued after September 2nd. Festival organizers reserve the right to cancel or revise any event for any reason. If it becomes necessary to cancel a paid event (such as a field trip or dinner) for which you have a reservation, we will notify you and issue a full refund. No refunds will be issued for no-shows.

Further festival details on our website: https://www.theurbanbirdingfestival.org/details