Swing into Summer

I’m happy to say that summer has arrived at Lincoln Park Zoo. This weekend we’ll be fully open for the season, ready for sunny days and plenty of visitors.

This past week has certainly felt like summer, walking around the zoo. I’ve seen Chilean flamingos stretching their wings at the newly filled Waterfowl Lagoon. The three-week-old European stork chicks are growing bigger every day at Regenstein Birds of Prey Exhibit.

At Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo, we’ve hosted Baltimore orioles, spotted sandpipers and scarlet tanagers. Today I even saw barn swallows flying to nests they’ve built on the vertical slats we installed beneath the Lester E. Fisher Bridge for that very purpose. That was an exciting sign that summer is here.

Starting Saturday the zoo will shift to summer hours, with buildings open until 5 p.m. on weekdays and 6:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Zoo grounds won’t close until 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively, giving you more time to soak up the wildlife and warm weather.

You can also sit down for a meal at our summer restaurants. Relax next to the pond at the Patio at Café Brauer with a Boardwalk Burger or specialty blueberry-infused ale from Goose Island. Or go local with a sustainable snack at the Café at Wild Things, the zoo’s two-star certified green restaurant. Both will have their menus ready for you this weekend.

Of course, one of the best parts of summer is welcoming new arrivals. In addition to the stork chicks, lion Sahar and red river hog Lily at Regenstein African Journey, we also have some new cactus mice at Regenstein Small Mammal–Reptile House. They’re very active—and cute—in exploring their desert habitat. Come this weekend to see them yourself.

Kevin Bell