This former farmland was preserved as open space in the 1960s and restored by the Lake County Forest Preserves over the years, leaving a blend of marsh, woodland, prairie and grassland habitats that can yield nearly 50 species on a good day in mid-September. eBird reports at the same time in 2024 included noteworthy sightings ranging from Golden-winged, Connecticut and Bay-breasted Warblers to Brown Thrasher, Philadelphia Vireo, Marsh Wren, Green-winged Teal and more.

 Directions: Cuba Marsh is located at 24205 W Cuba Rd. Take Lake Cook Rd. west, turn north on Ela Rd. and west on Cuba Road to the preserve parking lot.

 Leader: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107

Please register for the Cuba Marsh walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Join us to look for fall migrants as well as resident birds like Pileated Woodpecker at one of the birdiest forest preserves in Lake County. Daniel Wright Woods and Half Day Forest Preserve are linked by a footbridge over the Des Plaines River, providing crucial habitat for songbirds that utilize the river as a rest stop on their migratory journeys. Both preserves can be equally productive, providing a two-in-one opportunity for a great birding morning.

Directions: From Waukegan Rd., turn west on Everett Rd. in Lake Forest, drive to the end (St. Mary’s Rd), and turn left (south) into the parking lot. Meet in the parking lot at Everett and St. Mary’s Roads.

Leader: Jerry Hampton 630-400-0755

Please register for the Wright Woods walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Coyote populations in the Chicagoland area have surged over the last few decades, thanks to factors ranging from abundant food sources and lack of predators to their exceptional ability to adapt to human environments. Today there are an estimated 2,000 of these wild canines in Lake County, 4,000 in Cook County and 30,000 statewide. Anissa Chaudhry, an environmental educator with the Lake County Forest Preserve District, will discuss the coyotes’ presence among us, their role in the ecosystem, and the special adaptations they’ve made to establish territories in our cities and suburbs.

One of the top migrant hotspots in the northern suburbs, this Cook County forest preserve boasts the extensive woodland trails and a shoreline by the restored lagoons that attract virtually every species of warbler seen in the Chicago region as well as migrating thrushes, flycatchers, vireos and more. Ospreys nesting on the west side of the preserve may also be present, along with multiple waterbird species and flyover raptors.

Waterproof shoes are advisable in case the woods along the lagoons shoreline are wet.

 Directions: Meet at the Willow Rd. entrance just east of the Edens Expressway (the sign says Erickson Woods). From the north, take the Edens southbound and exit at Tower Road. Turn left (south) on the Frontage road to Willow Road. Turn left (east) on Willow and cross over the Edens to the Erickson Woods entrance. Park at the north end of the parking lot.

Leaders: Pieter Bonin (540) 454-9394 and Jeff Bilsky (801) 842-4013

 Please register for the Skokie Lagoons walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

With a long history that includes a stint as a tree nursery, this Lake County Forest Preserve moves from pine grove to prairie to oak woodland to provide a rich variety of birdlife. Migrating warblers, thrushes, vireos, kinglets, grosbeaks and sparrows should be present along with resident species as fall migration continues.

Directions: The entrance to Lyons Woods is located at the corner of Blanchard and Sheridan Roads, north of Bowen Park and south of York House Road.

Leaders: Maureen Marsh (352) 317-5130 and Wanda Supanich (224) 433-1675

Please register for the Lyons Woods walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

This hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor is a great migrant trap that can be filled with fall warblers, flycatchers and other landbirds winging their way south at this time of year. Resident Pileated and Red-headed Woodpeckers and Barred and Great-horned Owls are other possible highlights at this site, which is both an Illinois Nature Preserve indicating its ecologically high-quality land and a Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Directions: From Deerfield Rd., turn north on Riverwoods Rd., drive to Ryerson entrance. Enter preserve and follow the signs to Brushwood Visitors Center. Meet in the Brushwood parking lot. NOTE: The gates open at 6:30 am.

Leaders: Ed and Rebecca Rice (847) 420-0734

Please register for the Ryerson Conservation walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Join us to bird one of the most important sites for biodiversity in Illinois, named for the waterway known as the Middle Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River that transects the property. Featuring a rare tallgrass savanna ecosystem as well as wetland, woodlands, prairies and open fields, this preserve is a prime spot for viewing fall migrants like Fox, White-crowned and Lincoln’s Sparrows as well as Sandhill Cranes, Wilson’s Snipe, Northern Harrier and a variety of migrating waterfowl. Special mid-October sightings in recent years have included Harris’ Sparrow, Purple Finch and the spectacle of hundreds of undulating Pine Siskins swooping over the fields. European Goldfinch are also becoming increasingly common sightings here.

Directions: The preserve is located at 1401 Middlefork Dr in Lake Forest. From Route 60, take Route 43 north to Westmoreland Dr./Middlefork Dr. Turn left to the parking lot.

Leaders: Charlotte Pavelka and Doug Reitz (847) 347-8416

Please register for the MIddlefork Savanna walk here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

NEW! The 61-acre Jean and John Greene Ravine is a Lake Forest Open Lands property that contains rare ravine, bluff and lakeshore natural communities. It is home to seven state endangered and threatened native plant species and provides important resting habitat for migratory birds along the Lake Michigan flyway, including resident Red-headed Woodpeckers.

NOTE: In addition to land birding, we will be taking the stairs to the beach to check for waterfowl. Those with mobility issues can continue to bird along 1.7-acre trail.

Registration is required and limited to 15 cars due to limited parking. Please register here to confirm your spot.

Directions: The Greene Nature Preserve is located at 797 Sheridan Road, Lake Forest, directly north of the Fort Sheridan Preserve cemetery entrance and US Army Reserve base. Look for the stone pillars. NOTE: the entrance is gated but the leaders will meet to let you in.

Leaders: Maureen Marsh (352) 317-5130 and Wanda Supanich (224) 433-1675

Any time is a good time to bird this jewel of a preserve, but fall birding here provides the bonus of an organized hawk watch that has been in operation since 2013 to monitor the migration of raptors along the western shore of Lake Michigan. From the savanna in the center to the bluff and lakefront on the east, historic parade ground on the south and military cemetery on the north, early October can be filled with birdlife. Be prepared to walk the preserve as well as hang out at the hawk watch to look for raptors with birders who can identify approaching buteos and accipiters when they’re just specks in the sky.

Directions: Access the Preserve from Sheridan Road at the stoplight at Old Elm. Follow the access road to the stop sign and turn left (east). Continue east to Gilgare Lane. Turn left and continue to the parking lot. Meet at the Hawk Watch picnic tables at the west end of the parking lot.  (Map)

Leaders: Pieter Bonin (540) 454-9394 and Rena Cohen (847) 971-1107

Please register for the Fort Sheridan trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Peregrine Falcons were added to both the federal and state endangered species lists in the 1970s because of eggshell thinning caused by DDT exposure, but the bird has made a remarkable comeback since DDT was banned in 1972. In Illinois, where not a single peregrine chick was born from 1951 to 1998, there are now more than 20 breeding pairs including many in the Chicago metropolitan area – thanks in large part to reintroduction and monitoring efforts led by the Chicago Peregrine Program. The Field Museum’s Mary Hennen, who has headed the program since 1990, will join us to discuss the decline of the species, the museum’s role in identifying the cause, how the population has been restored, and how the birds are now banded, monitored and studied to help ensure their ongoing survival.

The shores of the Great Lakes were once home to nearly 800 pairs of Piping Plovers. By 1990 that number had dropped to 13, all in Northern Michigan. As of this summer, the Great Lakes population of this tiny shorebird had rebounded to a record 85 nesting pairs, with 124 chicks fledged in the wild in four states and Canada. But despite those numbers and the star power of Monty and Rose, the first of their species to nest in Cook County in 71 years when they bred on Montrose Beach in 2019 in a lineage that has continued every summer since, Piping Plovers remain on the federal endangered species list because 150 breeding pairs are necessary to have a solid population.  Dr. Sarah Saunders, a quantitative ecologist with Audubon Great Lakes, will join us via Zoom to discuss the recovery effort and research that is helping protect the species.