My Personal Birding Hotspots

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) in the Illinois Beach State Park South Unit, Oct. 29, 2019

As I'm sure you've noticed by now, the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve and Illinois Beach State Park are my go-to sites for birdwatching. These sites are close and convenient (from my house, the Spring Bluff is about 1.1 miles north and the State Park's North Unit is 0.8 miles south).  But I don't frequent these locations for the proximity alone; these protected areas provide some of the most important bird habitat in northeast Illinois.

Spring Bluff Forest Preserve

This 229-acre preserve consists primarily of wetlands, prairie, and oak savanna communities.  It contains nine endangered plant and animal species and 114 resident and breeding bird species (LCFPD 2019).  What's more - the preserve is encompassed by the Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain.  The Wetland of International Importance stretches 15 miles along Lake Michigan's coast from Pleasant Prairie, WI to Waukegan, IL.  Its 3,914 acres meets three criteria for Ramsar designation: it contains high quality, representative community types; it provides critical habitat for federally protected species; and it's an important breeding and stopover habitat for dozens of bird species (LCFPD 2015).  The Ramsar site contains 14 different community types, half of which are wetlands and includes freshwater marsh, fen, sedge meadow, and seep wetlands (LCFPD 2015).  Around 1,236 acres of the site is designated as as critical habitat for the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), an endangered species in the Great Lakes region (LCFPD 2015).  Finally, more than 310 species of migratory birds rely on this site for stopover habitat (LCFPD 2015).  It should come as no surprise then that the National Audubon Society designated most of this area as an Important Bird Conservation Area.  And in 2018, the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve constructed a new observation deck in the middle of the preserve for birdwatching.  It is truly ideal place for birding.

Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Oct. 27, 2019

Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Nov. 9, 2019 

Illinois Beach State Park

This park is split into two sections: the North Unit and the South Unit.  There's no direct access from one to the other, but the entrances are only a couple miles apart.  In total, the park is 4,160 acres (1,925 acres in the North Unit and 2,235 acres in the South Unit) and stretches 6.5 miles along the Lake Michigan coastline (INHS 2018).  It's home to over 800 species of plants and animals, including more than 60 state and federally protected species (INHS 2018, NPS 2018).  Around 46% of the park's land is dedicated nature preserve, including the North Dunes Nature Preserve in the North Unit and the Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in the South Unit (INHS 2018).  The South Unit's preserve was also dedicated as a National Natural Landmark in 1980 by the National Park Service to conserve its diverse biological resources (NPS 2018).  The Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain Ramsar site runs through the North and South Units of the park as well.  Wetland communities in the park include marsh, sedge meadow, and panne (one of the Great Lakes region's rare interdunal wetlands) (INDR 2011).  Like the Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, the State Park also contains several personal and regional hotspots designated by other eBirders.  The North Unit even serves as the region's primary viewing location for the annual hawk migration.  Every year from August 30 to November 30, trained volunteers record migration data into the North American Raptor Migration database, HawkCount.

HawkWatch Participants in the Illinois Beach State Park North Unit, Nov. 7, 2019

Illinois Beach State Park North Unit, Nov. 12, 2019

Resources

1. Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). (2011). Illinois Coastal Management Issue Papers. Retrieved from https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/cmp/Pages/issue.aspx
2. Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS). (2018). Illinois Beach. Retrieved from http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/outreach/illinois-beach/
3. Lake County Forest Preserve (LCFPD). (2015). Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain—A Wetland of International Importance. Retrieved from https://www.lcfpd.org/assets/1/7/Lake_Plain_Fact_Sheet.pdf.
4. Lake County Forest Preserve District (LCFPD). (2019). Spring Bluff - Your Preserves: Lake County Forest Preserves. Retrieved from https://www.lcfpd.org/spring-bluff/.
5. National Park Service (NPS). (2018). National Natural Landmarks: Illinois Beach Nature Preserve. Retrieved from https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=ILBE-IL