All Birding

Giant Goose Ranch is one of the most unique family vacation destinations in the Midwest. It is a hybrid property somewhere between a campground, a sportsman’s club, a vacation resort, a working ranch, and a private recreational farm. By combining all the best attributes of each type of property, along with the creativity and conservation of the Herman Brothers, we Read more...

Once a private duck-hunting club, the 2,247-acre Anderson Lake and adjacent 230-acre Carlson Lake were purchased by the state in 1947 and put under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. These lakes are floodplain lakes, receiving overflow from the nearby Illinois River during flood periods. The complex is known for its waterfowl population, primarily Mallard and Wood Read more...

An officially designated “Important Birding Area” (IBA), and purchased in the 1980’s by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, this 4,363-acre complex of freshwater marshes, shallow lakes, and deepwater habitat, boasts over 100 individual bodies of water which offer some of Illinois’ most sought after fishing. During hunting seasons Banner Marsh is a very popular place with Illinois outdoorsmen. Diverse Read more...

Big Creek Park features a pool with a capacity to hold 400 bathers, a water slide, pool side furniture with umbrella’s and a concession stand. Other features of this park include a recreation center for teens and seniors, frisbee golf course, dog park, skate park, walking/biking paths, playgrounds, pavilion, lighted tennis court, basketball hoops and a baseball diamond. Read more...

So named because (legend has it) the area once served as a “blind canyon” where Indians ran buffalo for capture, this 298-acre park has long been a natural favorite. Much of Buffalo Rock State Park is set high atop sandstone bluff carved by the young Illinois River just after the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Two park trails, the River Read more...

Camp Wokanda, acquired from W.D. Boyce Council of the Boy Scouts of America, offers a beautiful 316-acre woodland setting, including a lake for fishing. The camp, with dining hall, sleeping cabins, program buildings and tent camping, offers a variety of naturalist tours, environmental education, and rental options to groups interested in a secluded, close-to-nature gathering. Located just 20 minutes from Read more...

Acquired in 1970 by the LaSalle County Conservation District, the 333-acre Catlin Park (open May-October) is a mix of bluff land oak-hickory forest, chinquapin oak savanna, maple-basswood dominated steep ravines, and tallgrass prairie habitats. Cottonwood, sycamore, and hackberry dominate the bottomland forests. Ash, basswood, and black cherry dot the landscape. These trees produce a cornucopia of nuts and fruits; provide Read more...

Owned and operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, this 4,480-acre site contains elements of several habitats: Oak-hickory forest, riparian forest, floodplain shrub, marsh, and open lake. Note the prairie plant display garden at the refuge headquarters. Although known primarily for its waterfowl, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge also attracts numerous other bird groups into its forests, marshes, and lakes. Read more...

To promote predictable navigation of the Illinois River, the United States and State of Illinois in the 1870s and 1880s constructed locks and dams at Henry, Copperas Creek, LaGrange, and Kampsville. The Copperas Creek Lock and Dam were completed in 1876. The dam raised the river five feet from Copperas Creek, near Banner, to Henry, Illinois, nearly 60 miles north. Read more...

Peoria Park District’s 740-acre Detweiller Park is a popular multi-use destination for folks who enjoy golfing, soccer, volleyball, hiking, birding, fishing, and boating. Detweiller Drive, which runs through much of the park, features one of the finest, most diverse collections of oaks; and the early spring show of blooming redbuds should not be missed. The fall foliage of the oaks, Read more...

This 459-acre site is comprised of oak-hickory forest and open shrubland. Running Deer Trail, an extensive hiking/mountain biking/cross country trail, runs through the park, crossing several cobble-bottomed brooks and creeks. In 2003, Dirksen Park along with McNaughton Park, were entered into the Illinois Land and Water Reserve Program, designed to protect and improve woodland habitats using restoration management techniques. Dirksen Read more...

The Donnelley/DePue State Fish and Wildlife Areas complex, home to a $1 million State Duck Stamp Project, is managed primarily for migratory waterfowl. Frank C. Bellerose, world-renown waterfowl expert, has designated this area. Read more...

Measuring nearly 600 acres in size, Canton’s Lakeland Park is a prime example of the possibilities involved in restoring ecological integrity to strip mining sites. Much of the park’s terrain is tallgrass prairie habitat. In those sections which have been allowed to restore themselves, grassland birds such as meadowlark, sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Woodcock, Bobolink, and others frolic in the Read more...

Initiated in 1925, the Marshall State Fish & Wildlife Area presently includes about 6,000 acres spread over 3 different units along 10 miles of Illinois River shoreline. All three sites are worth a stop if touring the river for spring and fall migrations of waterfowl or shorebirds and wintering eagles. At 3,000 acres, the Marshall Unit is the largest, and Read more...

Donated to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources by the F.W. Matthiessen family in 1943, Matthiessen State Park is comprised of nearly 2,000 acres of prairies, bluff and deep ravine forests, as well as sandstone canyons (called “dells” by Matthiessen) cut by the still-rushing Vermilion River. The ground water which percolates through the sandstone has rendered completely natural “mineral paintings” Read more...

Approaching 900 acres in size, Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area is comprised of a restored strip mine which has attracted a vibrant community of plants and animals to its forests, lakes, and grasslands. Over a dozen lakes ranging in size from 0.5-15.5 acres dot the landscape. Dragonfly enthusiasts should check the sedges, rushes, cattails, and other emergent aquatic vegetation Read more...

McNaughton Park’s 850 acres contain some of the most impressive specimens of white oak in the entire Illinois River Valley. This mix of oak savanna and old growth forests is also a great spot for songbirds, butterflies, and wildflowers. Common birds, like Eastern Bluebird and American Goldfinch are often seen as well as some of the less common species, like Read more...

Dedicated in 1969, the 340-acre Miller-Anderson Nature Preserve contains a variety of natural communities, dominated by old-growth oak-hickory bluff forests and maple-basswood ravines. Other communities present include sedge meadow, seep spring (floating bog), and hill prairie. Notable plant species include showy orchid, queen-of-the-prairie, and Schreber’s aster. The seep areas are characterized by large accumulations of peat (decomposed mosses), which support Read more...

With a viewing platform, picnic and parking area, this small urban park provides a great place for viewing winter eagles. They also host an annual Eagle Census Festival across the street on the third weekend of January. There are live birds of prey, storytelling, music and guided tours of the river. In the spring and fall, it is worth a Read more...

Jubilee College State Park is a 3,200-acre facility situated in the Illinoisan drift-plan, replete with rolling topography and the meandering Jubilee Creek. Visitors may see deer, rabbits, squirrel, fox, coyote and raccoon throughout the forests, while the creek may offer glimpses of mink, muskrat and beaver or one of over 160 species of birds. With a large restored prairie, Dickcissel, Read more...

Once used as a proving ground for Caterpillar Inc., this 340-acre site is a model for ecological restoration. Plantings of trees, prairie grasses and forbs are maturing beautifully. One positive indicator of ecological progress is the presence of breeding Acadian Flycatcher, a neotropical songbird that prefers a closed-canopy forests. The nature trail at Independence Park is a great place for Read more...

French explorer/cartographer Louis Jolliet first suggested the construction of a canal connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River (via the Illinois River) in 1673, but it wasn’t until 1836 that construction actually began. The canal, measuring 96 miles long by 60 feet wide by six feet deep, was completed in 1848, instantly allowing boat travel from Chicago to reach the Read more...

Located across the Illinois River from the town of Marseilles, the 510-acre Illini State Park lies along the northern edge of the “Great Falls” of the river, where a drop in streambed gradient creates beautiful roaring rapids. The park itself sits atop an old glacial moraine (elongated ridge-type hill bulldozed up by an advancing Pleistocene glacier) and features a dense Read more...

The Hennepin Canal was originally conceived in 1890 as part of an overall plan to connect the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico in order to facilitate barge shipping. The problem was that by the time the canal was finished 17 years later, a combination of decreasing railway shipping rates and increasing barge sizes had already rendered the narrow Read more...

This conservation district is composed of 5 parcels of wild-land each offering something different for bird watchers. The “home site” is a 270-acre tract called the Natural Lands Area, which also houses the district’s headquarters and offers primitive camping, picnic shelters, hiking and equestrian trails, and cross country skiing through oak-hickory forests and restored tallgrass prairie. Be on the lookout Read more...

An officially designated Important Birding Area, this complex of wetlands is composed of 5,660 acres with shallow floodplain lakes and bottomland forest habitats. Spring and fall shore birds, great flocks of waterfowl, nesting herons and osprey are all frequently seen. The forested areas, with mature stands of American elm, silver maple, cottonwood, and black willow, are a flitter with passerines Read more...

This wild, undeveloped 680-acre park has several narrow, informal paths that lace the site, along with a substantial segment of the better-developed Pimiteoui Trail. The park offers access to Illinois River Bluff Trail, a linear 9-mile walking path through Detweiller Park, Robinson Park and Camp Wokanda. For bird watchers, the most intriguing component of Robinson Park is its 151-acre nature Read more...

Soon to be linked into Downtown Peoria, this hiking/biking rails-to-trails park offers a leisurely day of birding through a surprising array of habitats, from mature forest to secondary scrub, restored prairie and riparian wetlands. Established in 1871 the Rock Island Railroad busily carried freight and passengers between Peoria and Rock Island for over 40 years. By 1915, however, rail volume Read more...

Fifteen centuries ago, melt-waters from the last Ice Age deposited vast amounts of sand along the Illinois River valley, which have since been sculpted into massive dunes. Following glaciation, there was a 1000 year drought and Southwestern species migrated in, including prickly pear cactus! The 7,500-acre Sand Ridge State Forest dunes are clothed with dry-mesic oak-hickory forest and pocked with Read more...