RESOURCES
WHERE TO BIRD IN MCHENRY COUNTY
McHenry County has many good birding locations due to the variety of habitats. When the pioneers arrived in the 1830s, they found woodlands, prairies, oak savannas, and wetlands. Today you can still find remnants of these in rural parts of the county and, in a few cases, right in the center of urban development.
Many of our best birding “hotspots” are on public lands, making them easy to access. These sites have varied habitats so they have a good variety of birds throughout the year.
Please practice and promote respectful, enjoyable, and thoughtful birding.
Enter on Harts Road from Route 31. Stop at the first parking lot by the Prairie Path and either hike the path or use your spotting scope from the picnic pavilion. You will see Double-Crested Cormorants, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and maybe a Common Gallinule. Turn right at the first gravel road towards the Powers Walker House and view the pond from the other side. Look for American Kestrels in the big tree by the house. Stop at Lost Valley Visitor’s Center and see the panoramic view from the deck, then take the trail on the east side of the building for woodpeckers, Eastern Towhees, Indigo Buntings, and warblers, including nesting Chestnut Sided and Blue-Winged. Returning to Harts Road, turn right and park in the Kettle Lot. The trail includes woods and grasslands so can produce Bobolinks, Orchard & Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Meadowlarks, Field Sparrows, warblers, Henslow Sparrows, Sedge Wrens, and Bluebirds. As you complete the loop, listen for Willow Flycatchers and Dickcissels then stop at the observation platform for nesting Sandhill Cranes and Black Terns. Visit the park at dusk in the winter and ask the staff where the Short-Eared Owls are being seen.
Moraine Hills State Park is located on the east side of River Road. The best birding can be found from the farthest parking lot, either by going towards the water or on the trails in the woods. Access McHenry Dam west off River Road about one mile north of the Moraine Hills entrance. On the EAST side of the Fox River, this is a warbler hotspot in the spring. The pines near the parking lot host nesting Pine and Yellow-throated Warblers and a few resident Brown Creepers. Take the trail to the right and as you reach the curve take in the nesting Prothonatory Warblers, American Redstarts, and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, as well as many migratory species. Look for Mute Swans, Green Herons, Pied-Billed Grebes and Wood Ducks in the two ponds. Listen for Virginia Rails on the entrance road. Visit the park in the winter as the dam itself provides open water for ducks. The Friends of Moraine Hills State Park provide bird feeders at several locations throughout the park, attracting a variety of winter birds. Our members lead almost weekly public bird walks spring through autumn, and monthly in winter, between McHenry Dam and Volo Bog State Natural Area.
Located 2 miles west of Route 47 on Pleasant Valley Road, the park has nearly 2,000 acres of newly restored prairie, oak savannas, and pristine wetlands that are intersected by Laughing Creek. Look for Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks on entrance road in the summer. From the first parking lot take the trail through the pines to the oaks, looking for owls. The hiking trails that start from the main parking lot begin at either of the two picnic pavilions. Look for warblers, Brown Thrashers, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Eastern Phoebes and Wood-Pewees in the woods and Common Yellowthroats, and finches near the parking lot. Take the grass trail near the bathrooms for excellent warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Wood-Pewees and Phoebes, Northern Flickers, and other woodpeckers. The Horse Trail near the pond takes you past huge oaks, then grasslands and then wetlands. Look and listen for Sora, Least & American Bitterns and Yellow-headed blackbirds in the wetlands. Extend your hike to the wide open grasslands on the south and listen for Ring-necked Pheasants and Sedge Wrens. Look up and hunt for Red-tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers, and American Kestrels.
From the entrance road on Route 23, skip the first parking lot and continue to the second lot on your left. Look & listen for the usual Indigo Buntings in the treetops and the nesting Eastern Phoebes under the bathroom roof. This parking lot is the best birding spot for anyone with limited mobility in the county, especially for warblers in the spring. Walk the blacktop road toward the group campground looking for Philadelphia Vireos, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and House Wrens. Explore the edges of the group campground (Junco heaven in winter) then backtrack to the Long Hiking Loop Trail. Go west, looking for woodpeckers and Eastern Towhees , to the beginning of the Kelly Hertel Nature Trail (marked by a bench) where Blue-Winged Warblers nest. Continue on to the Kelly-Hertel trail where Pileated Woodpeckers have been reported and then finish the Long Hiking Loop. Pileateds have also been reported near campsites. When the trail reaches the road, cross over to the beautifully restored grasslands where you will find Field & Song Sparrows and a magnificent view from the glacial ridge. Coral Woods is just down the road from Marengo Ridge. Known for its centuries-old 100+ acre stand of century-old red and white oaks, this MCCD site attracts scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, bluebirds, flickers, meadowlarks and a great variety of warblers in spring.
Other locations produce great birds depending on the season:
For ducks and shorebirds: In early spring, look for migrating ducks and loons on McCullom Lake or Crystal Lake. Lippold Park in Crystal Lake has become an excellent site for migrating water and shorebirds. For warblers: While there are numerous good locations for warblers, Coral Woods Conservation Area south of Marengo and Stickney Run south of McHenry are almost as good as McHenry Dam and Glacial Park. For grassland birds: As summer arrives, North Branch Conservation Area on Keystone Road near Richmond attracts excellent grassland birds, as do Glacial Park and Pleasant Valley. Birding our country roads can turn up all sorts of open-country birds from snowy owls in winter, shorebirds in spring fluddles, and horned larks in summer. When driving our roads, birders should keep safety and common courtesy in mind and respect private property and farm equipment.