With a gravel trail that winds around wetlands, woodlands and open prairies, this Lake County Forest Preserve offers ample opportunities to spot migrating passerines including late warblers and early sparrow arrivals as well as waterfowl and shorebirds depending on water levels. The entrance to the preserve features a Black Angus bull statue atop a stone tower, marking the property’s former use as a farm that bred and raised beef cattle.
Directions: Ray Lake Forest Preserve is located at 23275 W Erhart Rd in Grayslake. From Route 22/Half Day Road heading west, turn north on Route 83, drive 0.8 miles to Gilmer Road and turn left, then 8 miles to Erhart Rd. Bear right on Erhart. The preserve entrance and parking lot are located on Erhart Road between Gilmer and Fremont Center roads.
Leader: Donna Kenski (847) 347-3474
Please register for the Ray Lake trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
NEW!
This Lake County Forest Preserve features a gravel trail that winds around wetlands, woodlands and open prairies, offering ample opportunities for early spring migrants ranging from passerines to waterfowl and shorebirds depending on water levels.
Directions:
The entrance and parking lot are located on Erhart Road between Gilmer and Fremont Center Road.
Leader: Beau Schaefer (847) 337-3602
As a followup to our April 4 spring warbler workshop, this Beginner Warbler Walk is for all warbler and spring migrant lovers (beginners and otherwise!). The trails in this Lake County Forest Preserve move from pine grove to prairie to oak woodland, providing an ideal stopover for migrants as well as breeding habitat for favorites like Blue-winged Warbler.
Directions:
The entrance is on Blanchard Road, just west of Sheridan Road, north of Bowen Park and south of Yorkhouse Road.
Leader: Adam Sell (847) 910-7813
With its Lake Michigan beach and “Magic Hedge” bushes serving as a welcome stopover for birds migrating along the Mississippi Flyway, Montrose is a world-famous birding hotspot that has attracted more than 300 species – including some of the rarest birds ever recorded in the state. Late September can be hopping with late fall warblers, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes and wrens, as well as early fall sparrows, scattered shorebirds and other bird “magic.”
Directions: From Lake Shore Dr. take the Montrose Ave. exit east, turn right at the Bait Shop at Montrose Harbor Dr., park near the sanctuary entrance and feed parking meters OR park on Montrose before or after Bait Shop for free.
Leader: David Rupp (812) 679-8978
Please register for the Montrose trip here so that we can get a head count and contact you in the event of a date change due to weather conditions.
Spring migration at Chicago’s favorite birding hotspot has been fabulous this past week, including dozens of warblers and other spring songbirds, several species we don’t usually see in our area, and the return of Imani (the offspring of Monty and Rose, Montrose’s famous Piping Plovers) to the dunes.
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. Meet at the sanctuary entrance.
Leader: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107
Discover the wonders of spring migration at one of the area’s best hotspots, thanks to its location on the Des Plaines River. Bring binoculars (not opera glasses), wear sturdy shoes, and see why spring is birders’ favorite season. Optional gathering for coffee after the walk.
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: Rena Cohen 847-971-1107
The trail beginning at the Des Plaines River canoe launch loops through woodland, savanna and wetland habitats that can be filled with a wide variety of bird species. One previous chapter walk here even yielded a Brewster’s Warbler, a hybrid Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warbler that is rarely reported in the Chicago area.
Directions:
Preserve is on Wadsworth Rd., just east of US 41. Park at Canoe Launch entrance.
Leader: Kerry Swift (847) 323-6878
2023 Spring Gathering
May 19-21, 2023
McHenry County
Sponsored by Illinois Audubon Society
Co-hosted by McHenry County Audubon
Field Trips Guided by Red Hill Birding
Details & registration at Illinois Audubon Society website.
This underbirded migrant hotspot was Lake County’s first forest preserve, created in 1961, and features five miles of trails along oak forest and wetlands.
Leader: Rena Cohen (847) 971-1107
Directions:
Preserve is located on north side of Rte. 173 just east of Hwy. 41.
Park in the first parking lot on your right after you turn into the Preserve from Route 173
Lake County’s largest forest preserve can be hopping with migrants on a good day, and last year yielded the first-ever state record of Painted Redstart.
Directions:
From westbound Route 176, turn left (south) onto Fairfied Road. Within a 1/4 mile turn right (southwest) onto W. Ivanhoe Road. Do NOT turn left into the Lakewood Forest Preserve parking lot. Continue southwest on Ivanhoe Road about 1/4 mile to the first road on your left (past big white house on corner). This road is gravel and unnamed. Drive down this road to a small parking lot and public toilets. (Map)
Leader: Donna Kenski (847) 347-3474
Start your Mother’s Day with a (bird)song! This Lake County warbler hotspot along the Des Plaines River is a rich oak and maple woodland where migrants frequently land on their journey north.
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 & Doug Reitz (847) 347-8416
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 & Doug Reitz (847) 347-8416
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.
This hotspot along the Des Plaines River corridor can yield some of the most sought-after migrants, like the Hooded Warbler that nested there for several years 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.
Migration should be peaking, Montrose should be jumping, and if we’re lucky, Piping Plovers, will have returned to nest in the dunes.
Leader: Rena Cohen (847) 971-1107
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.
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
