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Lake Cook Chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society
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Bird Watching at the
Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area
21850 N. Riverwoods Road Deerfield, Illinois 60015
River, Woods and Migrants
As you hike down by the river and through the dense forest with towering trees, Ryerson gives you the opportunity to see the woods of Lake County as the early settlers did. It is a pristine forest that has seen little change though the world changes around it.
Designated an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, Ryerson is a beautiful northern flatwood forest that, besides birds, is home to many rare plant species. The Des Plaines River runs straight through the heart of the forest preserve and is an important flyway for many passerine species during both spring and fall migration.
Whether scanning the trees along the river, craning your neck deep in a hardwood forest, or flushing a bird out of the meadows, Ryerson gives you a settler’s eye view of many migrating and breeding species.
Birds to See
In the spring and fall, Ryerson is a great place in Lake County to find warblers. A good spring day can yield 25 or more species. This is also a great place to see tanagers, thrushes, flycatchers, orioles, woodpeckers and other species. Species of interest include:
- Northern Parula
- Hooded Warbler
- Blue-winged Warbler
- Golden-winged Warbler
- Black-throated Blue Warbler
- Connecticut Warbler (late May)
- Prothonotary Warbler
- Veery
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
Birding Ryerson
It is best to start your day early at Ryerson. The parking lot next to the Brushwood Mansion is most active when the sun just begins to warm up the trees. Whether donning their spring best or becoming those confusing fall warblers, the Brushwood parking lot (clearly labeled as you enter the preserve) is a great place to start your day for warblers, vireos and other passerines. Also, check the blooming trees around the mansion. A quick walk around them can yield many warbler species.
South of the parking lot is a small section of prairie with a few large oaks and a small creek, making this a great habitat to find migrants. In spring, this is a good location to find an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched high on a tree or on the tepee-like structure nearby. Rarities have also shown up here, including a Western Kingbird in the spring of 2009.
From the Brushwood parking lot, take the trail south and follow the maps to another highlight - the Des Plaines River The trails along the river can hold many warbler species during fall and spring migration. Be sure to check the trees around the Ryerson Cabin. If lucky, you could find a Prothonotary Warbler. They nest in some years along the river.
To see species that can’t be found on the river or deep woods, head for the oak savanna and new Visitors Center near the farm on the west side of the preserve.
In the spring and fall, this area can hold many warblers including Blue-winged, Golden-winged and Mourning as well as Swamp, White-crowned and Lincoln’s Sparrows. Even a Nelson’s Sharp-tailed or Le Conte’s Sparrow can be in the weedy fields. Breeding Baltimore Orioles and Eastern Bluebirds can be seen here, too.
To reach this area from any of the two cabins along the river, walk north to the main trail running east to west. Taking that trail west from the Ryerson Cabin or east from the Smith Cabin, take the only trail intersection that heads north, marked by a trail marker with a map. Another option is heading back to the Brushwood parking lot and taking the road north towards the new Visitor Center.
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