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.

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.