Birding spots · Illinois

Best Birding Spots in Lake County, Illinois

North Beach Park leads Lake County's birding spots with 270 species reported, best in spring. 128 spots in the county have enough data to rank.

Species counts are birds reported at least three times in that season at that spot, 2016–2025. Busy spots list more species simply because more people look, so compare the checklist counts. Spot names come from public map data and hotspot listings.

Spot	Species	Checklists	Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
North Beach Park	270	5,726	81	233	156	208
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park	265	6,343	94	235	188	219
Sand Pond	253	2,598	62	221	153	182
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park (north)	226	5,119	103	196	98	148
Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park (north)	205	1,059	75	167	81	117
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve (southeast)	204	924	61	158	113	151
Davis Lake	202	921	59	163	119	131
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve	201	1,142	61	153	113	137
Chain O'Lakes State Park	192	935	65	172	109	115
Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve	190	1,944	53	159	108	131
Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area	185	3,677	63	172	108	143
Pine Dunes Forest Preserve	184	1,184	50	138	101	144
Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve	180	859	51	151	84	112
Independence Grove Forest Preserve	177	1,729	76	155	66	109
Volo Bog	177	864	44	155	92	109
Captain Daniel Wright Woods Forest Preserve	176	2,544	53	162	107	114
Spring Bluff Forest Preserve	175	783	39	141	99	93
Hastings Lake Forest Preserve	163	1,040	61	143	72	85
Cuba Marsh Forest Preserve	163	801	48	130	80	103
Twin Lakes	162	850	32	127	98	96
Sedge Meadow Forest Preserve	161	504	30	149	74	77
Waukegan Harbor	158	1,309	75	114	50	59
Dead Lake	156	1,516	47	147	95	118
Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve	153	691	36	125	80	81
Hosah Park	151	361	22	127	69	72
Openlands Open Space	149	352	33	127	54	111
Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve (Third Lake)	148	568	36	108	95	62
Half Day Forest Preserve	148	537	38	131	70	85
Waukegan Beach	145	658	26	111	110	45
Butler Lake Park / Paradise Park	143	574	40	130	52	80
Sand Pond (Kellogg Creek)	141	544	9	76	59	114
Reed-Turner Woodland Nature Preserve	140	525	30	131	49	78
Skokie River Nature Preserve	139	397	27	127	62	101
Bowen Park	138	565	38	127	58	88
Heron Creek 1	137	569	26	114	66	75
Mcdonald Woods Forest Preserve	136	358	43	108	63	90
Lyons Prairie and Marsh	135	206	38	117	43	33
Casey Road North Open Space	134	202	20	121	68	39
Independence Grove Forest Preserve (Bull Creek)	133	220	42	112	55	46
Pettibone Creek	133	166	28	104	79	30
Greenbelt Forest Preserve	132	192	24	115	70	68
Heritage Oaks Park	131	372	42	101	52	71
Old School Forest Preserve	130	379	23	110	61	81
Nippersink 1	130	262	21	89	74	87
Mellody Farm	127	582	40	96	51	91
Raven Glen Forest Preserve	127	273	17	109	67	65
Red Wing Slough	127	62	0	72	88	59
Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve	122	376	29	93	64	79
Davis Lake (Schreiber Lake)	120	110	18	85	72	53
White - Ray Lake	119	233	32	87	77	50