Here is a partial list of some of the best birding locations in northeastern Illinois with a focus on Lake County. We will continue to add to this list and welcome your suggestions of locations to add. Share your ideas through our contact form. In addition to this list, we also strongly recommend Illinois Birding by County, a user-contributed wiki that includes Lake County as well as the rest of Illinois.
Almond Marsh
Endangered Great Blue Heron Rookery and more in Lake County, Illinois Read more...
Bowen Park
Municipal park on prime deep ravine property with street-level woodland habitat. Easy walking in park; ravine walk optional. Read more...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Inland birding/gardener’s delight with 20+ gardens, ponds, conifers, hardwood forest, grassland and prairie habitats. Flat trails with some hills. Read more...
Daniel Wright Woods/Half Day Forest Preserve
Inland birding with woods, river, picnic grove and pond habitats, popular migrant stop. Easy trail/grass hiking. Read more...
Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve
Go soon because it might be turned into a golf course. But if you go, be prepared to see summer grassland birds as well as those of the Oak savanna. From the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan look for winter ducks with your scope. Read more...
Illinois Beach State Park / North Unit
Passerines, lakefront birds, possible sparrow migration and Hawk Watch. Land and beach birding. Easy to moderate hiking, stationary birding at Hawk Watch. Read more...
Illinois Beach State Park South Unit
Land and beach birding with migrating raptors, sparrows, gulls, terns and shorebirds possible. Open flat hiking thru oak woodlands, Dead River Trail, and grassy and wooded sand dunes, plus long sand beach. Kids enjoy viewing shorebirds at Middlefork Savanna. Read more...
Middlefork Savanna
600 precious acres of tallgrass savanna, wetlands, woodlands prairie and open field ecosystems offer a variety of habitat which attract a diverse breeding bird population as well as providing a restful stopover for migrating birds. Read more...
Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary
Chicago’s lakefront for passerines, shorebirds, terns and gulls. Including the famous, Magic Hedge, Montrose Point is a 15-acre bird sanctuary that attracts thousands of migratory birds of more than 300 different species. Read more...
Rollins Savanna
Inland prairie, grassland, savanna, marsh and pond habitats with some open woods; recently restored from farmland. Level walking on gravel trails, with more challenging hiking possible to get to ponds and marshes for waterfowl. Read more...
Volo Bog State Natural Area
Birding at Volo Bog State Natural Area 28478 W. Brandenburg Rd., Ingleside, IL 60041. Quick Data Volo Bog State Natural Area is located in Northwestern Lake County on Brandenburg Rd, approximately 2 miles North of Volo or 1 mile south of Fox Lake on Illinois Route 12. Volo Bog amenities include a Visitor Center and […] Read more...
Waukegan Beach, Harbor & Pines
Beach, dune and harbor habitat on Lake Michigan for shorebirds, gulls, terns and waterfowl plus a nearby passerine migrant trap. Read more...