Wildlife
Garden Stories
Top 5 Spots for Winter Birding at the Garden
As winter grays and whites fold over the outside world, a splash of gold, red, or blue can provide a joyful relief. Spy a bird, or two, or three here at the Garden using prime spots recommended by Garden staff.
1. McDonald Woods
Start near the intersection of Lake Cook and Green Bay Road. From the bike path, you may catch the lively red-headed woodpecker community commuting between Turnbull Woods and McDonald Woods. In early spring, the nature trail also becomes a prime perch for watching the warbler migration as the oaks begin to flower.
2. Malott Japanese Garden
As you make your way down the bike path toward the lake that circles the Japanese Garden, keep an eye out for mergansers, goldeneyes, and buffleheads on the water. Then, as you pass part of the Garden’s trees of Illinois collection near the golf course, you may see an active house of purple martins.
3. Dixon Prairie
Two purple martin houses anchor the entrance to Dixon Prairie by the old causeway. As the season warms, these colonies become especially lively. As you cross the causeway, keep an eye toward the mudflats to the south. This newly formed wet area has become a magnet for shorebirds and waterfowl. Look for plovers, mergansers, a variety of sandpipers (including spotted and least), killdeer, and blue-winged and green-winged teal.
Continue your walk along the gravel pathways and over the boardwalk footbridge to one of the Garden’s most reliable spots for kestrels. Other residents include kingbirds, Virginia rails, soras, and marsh sparrows. These are species that prefer quieter, more secretive wetland habitat.
4. Osprey Nest Platform
As you circle back to the bike path and walk further south, look to your right and check out the tall osprey platform—visible from the North Branch Trail as you approach Dundee Road—where a pair first built their nest in 2024. In 2025, they successfully fledged a young osprey: tagged and weighed on-site by Cook County wildlife biologist Chris Anchor, with Garden staff assisting. With luck, you may catch the pair returning each season.
5. Barbara Brown Nature Reserve
Conclude your walk in the majestic quiet of the Barbara Brown Nature Reserve. Here, great horned owls nest among mature trees, joined by green and night herons, vireos, wood ducks, and an occasional nighthawk sweeping through at dusk.
