WhenToBird

Birding spot · Lake County, Illinois

Birding at Hastings Lake Forest Preserve: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Hastings Lake Forest Preserve are Canada Goose (68%), Mute Swan (58%), and Red-bellied Woodpecker (56%). It is busiest in spring, when 75 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in the second week of May (84 species). 163 species have been reported here across 1,040 complete checklists from 143 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 30 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsJan 8-14: 32 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJan 15-21: low data (9 checklists)Jan 22-31: 25 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsFeb 1-7: 33 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsFeb 8-14: 26 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsFeb 15-21: 37 species on 5%+ of 27 checklistsFeb 22-28: 41 species on 5%+ of 39 checklistsMar 1-7: 39 species on 5%+ of 42 checklistsMar 8-14: 48 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsMar 15-21: 45 species on 5%+ of 43 checklistsMar 22-31: 58 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsApr 1-7: 61 species on 5%+ of 49 checklistsApr 8-14: 56 species on 5%+ of 33 checklistsApr 15-21: 70 species on 5%+ of 48 checklistsApr 22-30: 65 species on 5%+ of 53 checklistsMay 1-7: 79 species on 5%+ of 52 checklistsMay 8-14: 84 species on 5%+ of 36 checklistsMay 15-21: 81 species on 5%+ of 32 checklistsMay 22-31: 58 species on 5%+ of 22 checklistsJun 1-7: 56 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsJun 8-14: 60 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsJun 15-21: low data (5 checklists)Jun 22-30: 50 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsJul 1-7: low data (3 checklists)Jul 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Jul 15-21: low data (8 checklists)Jul 22-31: 61 species on 5%+ of 14 checklistsAug 1-7: low data (8 checklists)Aug 8-14: low data (5 checklists)Aug 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Aug 22-31: 63 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsSep 1-7: 65 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsSep 8-14: low data (9 checklists)Sep 15-21: low data (8 checklists)Sep 22-30: 64 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsOct 1-7: low data (8 checklists)Oct 8-14: 64 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsOct 15-21: 63 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsOct 22-31: 43 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsNov 1-7: 52 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsNov 8-14: 42 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsNov 15-21: 33 species on 5%+ of 23 checklistsNov 22-30: 46 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsDec 1-7: 44 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsDec 8-14: 30 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsDec 15-21: 39 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsDec 22-31: 36 species on 5%+ of 31 checklistsJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Number of species reported on at least 5% of complete checklists, by week (4 per month). Grey bars: fewer than 10 checklists, not counted.

In November: what to expect

  1. 1Canada Goose68%
  2. 2Mute Swan58%
  3. 3Red-bellied Woodpecker56%
  4. 4Dark-eyed Junco55%
  5. 5American Robin54%
  6. 6Mallard46%
  7. 7American Crow45%
  8. 8White-breasted Nuthatch45%
  9. 9Northern Cardinal44%
  10. 10American Tree Sparrow42%
  11. 11Black-capped Chickadee39%
  12. 12Ring-billed Gull39%
  13. 13Blue Jay38%
  14. 14Downy Woodpecker34%
  15. 15American Goldfinch32%

Share of complete checklists at this spot that reported the bird in November. The sparkline is the whole year, with this month highlighted.

Season by season

Winter 34 species

  1. Red-bellied Woodpecker66%
  2. Canada Goose57%
  3. Northern Cardinal54%
  4. White-breasted Nuthatch51%
  5. Black-capped Chickadee48%

Spring 75 species

  1. Red-winged Blackbird87%
  2. American Robin85%
  3. Northern Cardinal82%
  4. Canada Goose81%
  5. Red-bellied Woodpecker79%

Summer 56 species

  1. American Robin81%
  2. Red-winged Blackbird75%
  3. Double-crested Cormorant69%
  4. Song Sparrow69%
  5. Northern Cardinal68%

Fall 53 species

  1. American Robin66%
  2. Mute Swan65%
  3. Canada Goose61%
  4. Red-bellied Woodpecker60%
  5. Blue Jay53%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Illinois.

Nearby spots

Frequency is the share of complete checklists at this location that listed the bird, 2016–2025. Busy places report more of everything, and the weekly chart counts species on at least 5% of checklists so a few stray reports do not inflate it. How to read it.