NEW!
One of Lake County’s newest forest preserves.
“You’ll be taken in by this preserve’s rolling hills and scenic vistas.”
The most prominent natural features of Raven Glen are Timber Lake, which is a glacial lake, Hastings Creek, scattered wetlands and rolling terrain with oak and hickory groves.
Directions:
Main entrance is at 41080 North U.S. Highway 45 (Route 45 south of Route 173 and north of Miller Rd.
Leader: Kerry Swift 847-323-6878
Lakefront birding at Calumet Harbor, Steelworkers Park, Park 566, Rainbow Beach, LaRabida and more. We’ll be looking for winter ducks, scoters, loons, special gulls and anything else we can find.
Leader: Josh Engel (224) 213-2280
Map of the Area:
Multi-stop trip begins at Forest Park Beach in Lake Forest and heads north to Waukegan Harbor and other Lake Michigan overlooks.
Directions:
From northbound US 41, exit Deerpath Road and turn right (east). Continue east on Deerpath Road to Lake Road. Turn left (north) then right on service road down to lakefront.
Leader: Jeff Sanders 847-675-7172
The Illinois River hosts an incredible number and diversity of waterfowl in November. The top spot of all is Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, known by birders as Hennepin. We’ll meet Red Hill Birding’s Josh Engel at 4 pm Friday at our hotel, do some pre-dinner owling in the evening, then bird the refuge and adjacent woodlands on Saturday until about 3 pm before heading home. Maximum 8 participants; Lake/Cook Chapter membership required. For details and fees, email renabird3@gmail.com.
This event is a placeholder for a potential “flash event.” NO DATE has been set.
Winter waterfowl in the harbor and nearby Stateline Beach, plus a chance for Snow Buntings. January birding can yield great winter specialties such as Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks and Rough-legged Hawks. But the seasonal weather determines everything.
We will communicate this Flash birding event, if it happens, via our Lake Cook Audubon email list. To insure you are on this notification list, subscribe here.
Leader: Cici Birnberg 847-945-8500
The Lower Rio Grande Valley is home to 540 bird species with specialties ranging from Green Jay, Great Kiskadee and Almatira Oriole to Buff-bellied and Black-chinned Hummingbird, Curve-billed and Long-billed Thrashers, Aplomado Falcon and many others. We’ll be based at the Alamo Inn B&B, a favorite birders’ getaway, and visit top hotspots in three counties with experienced local guides.
We’ll arrive midday on Wednesday January 12 and have four full days of birding Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a choice of leaving Monday January 17 or staying an extra day for a 2.5-hour drive to see wintering Whooping Cranes and other wintering and resident species.
Maximum 9 participants; Lake/Cook membership and COVID vaccination required. For a detailed itinerary and pricing, email Kerry Swift (swift.kerry@gmail.com)
Meet-and-greet the resident birds of prey at Wings and Talons, a nonprofit raptor education organization in Itasca. Highlights will include a Gyrfalcon – the largest falcon in the world and a rare sight in Illinois because ‘Gyrs’ reside in the High Arctic.
Limited participation; Lake Cook Chapter member priority. Registration required. Email renabird3@gmail.com to register.
Annual Illinois Ornithological Society event.
Pre-registration required. Watch the Lake Cook Audubon email or visit www.illinoisbirds.org for details. Attendance is limited. Members of Illinois Ornithological Society get advance opportunity to register.
The Gull Frolic is a unique winter event at Illinois’ premier gull-watching hotspot: NorthPoint Marina. Bring your binoculars, scope and cold weather gear, and join birders outside of the yacht club to enjoy close study of some of our harder-to-find winter species such as Iceland (Thayer’s Iceland and Kumlien’s Iceland) and Glaucous Gulls! A variety of waterfowl typically make an appearance too (scoters and other diving ducks), along with the occasional raptor, owl, or winter finch. Birders wearing bright orange hats will be available to help answer questions along the “boardwalk”.
Our annual search for migrating loons and other waterfowl will be a multi-stop tour that begins at Diamond Lake in Mundelein and proceeds to other lakes in the area based on scouting reports.
This is mostly a car driving field trip and not much walking for the entire morning. Bring a spotting scope if you have one.
Directions to Diamond Lake:
From Rt. 22, take Rt. 83 north to Diamond Lake Rd., turn right, and drive ½ mile to the Gale Street Inn parking lot on the right.
Leader: Jeff Sanders (847) 675-7172
Check out Lake Glenview for migrating waterfowl, one other waterfowl stop, then drive a short distance to Air Station Prairie to listen and watch for American Woodcocks ‘peenting’ and doing their mating displays at dusk. Dress for ticks. Meet at the southeast corner of Glenview Park District’s Park Center on Chestnut Avenue.
Directions:
Meet on the sidewalk near the Glenview Park District Park Center. Turn East from Patriot Blvd. Travel to the southeast corner of the development. You will see Lake Glenview and parking lot adjacent.
Target birds are Smith’s and Lapland Longspurs, plus the first wave of shorebirds.
Directions:
Take I-55 to Exit 279A, Route 45-LaGrange Rd. south; turn west on 179h St., then south on 104th Ave about two blocks. Then left/east into grassland.
One of the jewels of Chicago birding, thanks in part to massive volunteer restoration efforts, LaBagh can be teeming with migrants on a good day.
Pre-registration required.
Send an email to renabird3@gmail.com Your participation will be confirmed or you will be placed on a waiting list. Please only attend if you receive a confirmation.
Leader: Jeff Skrentny 773 677 8852
Directions:
The preserve is located at the corner of Cicero and Foster Ave. Enter LaBagh on Cicero north of Foster. We will meet in Picnic Grove #3.
(Do NOT go to the Irene Hernandez Picnic Grove lot on Foster)
Every year since 1972, volunteers have participated in this one-day count across the entire state of Illinois to help measure bird populations.
If you’re interested, contact renabird3@gmail.com
Local songbird magnet for Mother’s Day. Lake County warbler hotspot along the Des Plaines River, a rich oak and maple woodland where migrants frequently land on their journey north.
Leader: Charlotte Pavelka and Doug Reitz 847-549-8814
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.
Another hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor that can yield some of the most sought-after migrants, like the Hooded Warbler that nested there last year and the Cerulean Warbler that hung out at eye level for 20 minutes on a Lake/Cook outing a few years ago.
Leader: Donna Kenski 847-347-3474
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.
Best spot in Chicagoland for Black Terns, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Common Gallinules and more.
Directions:
From IL 137 (Buckley Rd.), turn slight right onto W. Peterson Rd., right onto IL 60, left onto IL 120/Belvidere Rd., right onto N. Richmond Rd./IL 31, and left onto Harts Rd. into preserve. Drive to dead end, turn left, then left into Kettle parking lot.
Migration should be peaking, Montrose should be jumping, and if we’re lucky, Piping Plovers, will have returned to nest in the dunes.
Leader: Ted Wolff (312) 498-5559
Directions:
From Lake Shore Dr. take the Montrose Ave. exit east, turn right at the Bait Shop at Montrose Harbor Dr., park near sanctuary entrance and feed parking meters OR park on Montrose before or after Bait Shop for free.
Over 116 species of birds have been observed in the preserve including resident populations of waterfowl and herons. The site contains an interesting wet meadow which is dominated by sedges, rushes and a few wetland forbs such as meadow rue, marsh aster, and curly dock.
Directions:
Preserve is located on west side of Old McHenry Road, ½ mile south of Rte. 22 / Half Day Rd, in Long Grove
Leader: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107
Located on Lake Huron, Tawas is one of the busiest migrant spots in the Midwest and also home to breeding Kirtland’s Warblers.
Limit 12. Member priority. Email renabird3@gmail.com for details.
This Lake County Forest Preserve property is a great spot for lingering migrants and nesters, with species including Blue-winged, Hooded and Cerulean warblers spotted singing and possibly breeding at the same time last year.
Directions:
The entrance is on Blanchard Road, just west of Sheridan Road, north of Bowen Park and south of Yorkhouse Road.
Leaders: Nancy Tikalsky 773-655-0269
Woodland trail loops around through multiple habitats that can be filled with songbirds, savanna birds and water birds. Prior years walks here included Hood Warbler and a Brewster’s Warbler, which is a hybrid Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warbler.
Directions:
Preserve is on Wadsworth Rd., just east of US 41. Park at Canoe Launch entrance.
Leader: Donna Kenski (847) 347-3474
NEW!
One of Lake County’s newest forest preserves.
Considered a birdwatcher’s paradise, more than 116 species of birds have been observed here, including a resident population of waterfowl and herons–the site’s namesake. Six state endangered bird species, black tern, black-crowned night heron, yellow-crowned night heron, osprey, Forster’s tern, and three state threatened bird species, brown creeper, pied-billed grebe and red-shouldered hawk have been found in the area.
Directions:
Entrance is at 22890 N Old McHenry Road, Lake Zurich, approximately 1/2 mile south of Route 22.
Leader: Jennifer Hovey 815-347-2286