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.

NEW! Located along a segment of the North Branch of the Chicago River, Linne Woods in Morton Grove has become a favorite hotspot of top local birders. Paved and unpaved trails run through a mix of bottomland forest, upland woods, prairie openings and streamside habitat in this Cook County forest preserve, sometimes yielding up to 21 species of warbler in a single morning during peak migration along with a rich of mix of other birdlife.

Directions: Linne Woods is located on Dempster Street just 1.2 miles west of the Edens Expressway just east of Lehigh Avenue. Meet by the picnic shelter at the far north end of the parking lot.

Leader: Pieter Bonin 540-454-9394

Please register for the Linne Woods walk HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.

Migration should be in full swing at this hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor, where the right weather and wind conditions can yield a wide variety of migrants. This has been one of the few places in Lake County to find nesting Hooded Warblers for the last several years. 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.

Leader: John Leonard 847-845-5563

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

With woodland, savanna and wetland habitats, Sedge Meadow is a great place to look for warblers, flycatchers, vireos and other spring migrants (one previous chapter walk here yielded a Brewster’s Warbler, a hybrid Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warbler that is rarely reported in the Chicago area) as well as resident species.

Directions: The preserve is located on Wadsworth Rd., just east of US 41. Meet at the Sedge Meadow entrance, which is the first parking lot east of US 41 (NOT the canoe launch lot).

Leader: Donna Kenski 847-347-3474

Please register for the Sedge Meadow walk HERE so that we can get a headcount and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.