This hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor is a great migrant trap that can attract the first wave of spring warblers, vireos and sparrows. 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: Charlotte Pavelka and Doug Reitz 847-347-8416
Please register for the Ryerson trip HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
One of the top migrant hotspots in the northern suburbs, this Cook County forest preserve boasts 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 should 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: Ed and Rebecca Rice 847-420-0734
Please register for the Skokie Lagoons/Erickson Woods bird walk HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
Birding at IBSP South Unit takes you through marsh, dune, swale, oak woods and Lake Michigan beach habitats, providing a rich mix of passerines, waterfowl and raptors. The park should be hopping with a rich variety of warblers and other migrating songbirds, along with a handful of shorebirds and harder-to-find species like Sedge Wren and European Goldfinch. This is also the only reliable spot in Lake County for Brewer’s Blackbirds, which are rare summer residents in Illinois.
Directions: IBSP South is located between Bowen Park in Waukegan and North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor. From Sheridan Road (IL 137), turn east on Wadsworth Rd. a few blocks north of Emily’s Pancake House and drive 2 miles into the park. Park in the Nature Center parking lot. (Be sure you go to the South Unit – also called Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park – and not the North Unit at 7th Street.)
Leader: Donna Kenski 847-347-3474
Please register for the IBSP South Unit bird walk HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
In addition to being one of Lake County’s birdiest forest preserves during migration, Daniel Wright has become a reliable spot for Pileated Woodpecker – a species that was largely absent from the county just a decade ago. 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 and often yielding over 20 species of warblers on a good day.
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.
Leaders: Charlotte Pavelka and Doug Reitz 847-347-8416
Please register for the Daniel Wright Woods bird walk HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.