Illinois
Hotspots

Photo copyright Eric Kleyheeg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

....Shawnee National Forest - This wilderness is a great
place to find woodpeckers, warblers, vireos and owls.
....Guide to Finding Birds at Fermilab. The diverse habitat
to be found on Fermilab's 6800 acres and the relative lack of disturbance combine to make Fermilab one of the best bird-watching locations in the entire Chicago area
....Chicago Area Birding Guide -  by Jim Frazier
This guide has beencreated to assist those visiting Chicago in finding some of the best places to bird. It is NOT comprehensive. Except for material prepared by others, the content is based strictly on our personal experiences, lore that we've learned and published material to supplement the enormous gaps in our knowledge.
....Places for Birding in the Chicago Far Western Suburbs -
DuPage County contains 54 county-owned forest preserves on a total of 22,303 acres. Many of these preserves are excellent birding locations. Some of the major ones are described on this site. See also Urs Geiser's Illinois and Chicago Net Birding for everything you ever weanted to know about birding in Chicago. 
....McLean County Site Guide - by Michael Retter. At first glance,
the area around Bllomington-Normal is an agricultural wasteland, but numerous oases within the county act as migrant traps. In fact, interesting birds (including a few specialties) may even be found in the thousands of corn and beanfields. 
....Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie - Wilmington, Illinois. 
Includes a section called Birds of Midewin - your guide to all that chirps, twitters, trills, and quacks at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.
....War Bluff Valley Sanctuary - War Bluff Valley Sanctuary, located in
Golconda, Illinois (Pope County), 500 acre privately owned by the Illinois Audubon Society.  Several miles of maintained hiking trails. Over 250 species of birds have been recorded at the sanctuary over the past 30 years. The sanctuary is maintained by the Shawnee Audubon Society -- local chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society.
....Wild Bald Eagles in Illinois - Where to Watch & Study
....Hyde Park Parakeets  - Feral Monk Parakeets in Chicago! 
My goal is to promote knowledge of this beautiful alien species residing in our neighborhood, and hopefully to allow others to experience the birds on the net and also in person. 
....Grassland Research Project - By Jennifer Nesbitt. As part of 
the grassland project, the fields of the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Illinois are being studied along with several other sites in Illinois. 
....Cypress Creek NWR, Illinois - Along the Cache River
in southern Illinois exists not only the largest and most valuable wetland in the state, but one that was recently dedicated (May 1996) as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention.
....See a Bald Eagle or Get Your Money Back - Visitors Enjoy 
Spectacular Viewing December through February - by Madelyn Miller. When  the winter blues set in this year, it’s time to plan a trip to the Quad Cities for the yearly Bald Eagle Days and Bald Eagle Watch held each January along the Mississippi River. 
....Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge -
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
....National Wildlife Refuges  - Illinois - Map showing
locations of all Illinois National Wildlife Refuges.
....The Nature Conservancy of Illinois - preserve profiles
including:
• Bluff Sprints
• Cache River
• Carpenter
• Cedar Glen
• Heron Pond
• Indian Boundary
• Nachusa
• Robinson 
....Trip Report: Southern Illinois, March 10 - 12, 1995, by Jim Frazier.
The Illinois Audubon Society sponsored a trip to Southern Illinois, near Effingham, in Jasper County to observe Greater Prairie Chickens, Northern Harriers, Short-eared Owls and Woodcock. 
....Trip Report: Across Illinois and East St. Louis Area, 
August 7-9, 1998 by Urs Geiser. Jonathan Simms and I attended a field trip of the Illinois Ornithological Society (IOS), led by Keith McMullen, in the East St. Louis area. Both of us were able to take off from work on Friday and spend the entire weekend birding. For both of us this was an opportunity to see some western and southern strays, and Jonathan's goal was to finish his first year in Illinois with an ambitious 250 species, although his more realistic target was 240. My expectations were a handful of new state-birds and one realistic life-bird. 

     No Information available on WWW 

....Chicago Audubon Society - Chicago - Calendar of Events
....Illinois Ornithological Society - Field Trips
....Prairie Woods Audubon Society - Rolling Meadows - Field Trips
....Shawnee Audubon Society - 
....Sinnissippi Audubon Society - Rockford, Illinois - Calendar of Events
....Thorn Creek Audubon Society - Park Forest - Field Trips
....DuPage Birding Club - Chicago - Field Trips 

....Quad Cities Bald Eagle Days - January 8-9, 2005 - Days Rock Island, IL

Bald Eagle viewing and programs. Phone: 309-788-5912
....Itasca Winterfest - January 16, 2000. Contact: Spring Brook
Nature Center, 130 Forest Avenue, Itasca, IL. 60143. TEL: (630) 773-5572.
....Bald Eagle Watch Weekend - January 22-23, 2000. Starved Rock State
Park and Illinois Waterway Visitor Center at Starved Rock Lock and Dam. 9 a.m to 5 p.m. both days. Come and enjoy live raptor programs, nature seminars, exhibits, children's activities. High-power scopes will be available for eagle- watching. Sponsored by I.A.S. and several partner organizations. For information on eagle numbers at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam, call 815-667-4054. For information on weekend activities, contact the Society at 217- 446-5085. 
....Birding Fest of Southernmost Illinois - April 23-25 2005. 
Ullin/Whitehill - IL The Birding Fest of Southernmost Illinois will include a "Big Day" competition as well as programs, a live bird demonstration, canoeing, and guided hikes for folks of all ages. The Event highlights the diversity of birdlife (over 150 species!) in Southernmost Illinois, the value of wild birds and the need to protect and restore essential floodplain forest and wetland habitat. Event proceeds go to watershed restoration in the Cache River Wetlands, a RAMSAR designated Wetland of International Importance.
....Annual Illinois Audubon Spring Fling - April 14-16, 2000. To be centered at
Effingham. Highlights will include field trips to see prairie- chickens and other grassland species, and the first arriving neotropical migrants. Keynote program to be given by renowned bird photographers/writers Richard & Susan Day. Members and guests welcome. For information, contact the I.A.S. office at 217-446-5085.
....Annual Southern Ilinois Weekend - sponsored by the Illinois Audubon
Society - May 19-21, 2000. For information and complete itinerary, contact Vern Kleen, 217-785-8690. 

     Check out the Illinois Birds list server
     Chicago Hotline: (847) 265-2118 
     DuPage County (Western, southwestern suburbs of Chicago) Hotline: 
(630) 406-8111
     Northwest Illinois Hotline: (815) 965-3095
     Check also Illinois RBA Archive