Birding spots · Illinois

Best Birding Spots in Madison County, Illinois

Horshoe Lake State Park leads Madison County's birding spots with 246 species reported, best in spring. 14 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
Horshoe Lake State Park	246	3,683	109	220	145	186
Watershed Nature Center	182	973	72	138	93	136
Silver Lake Park	163	428	79	127	70	112
Horseshoe Lake-Madison State Fish and Wildlife Area	129	280	43	116	59	90
Skinney Island	128	602	79	68	48	46
Arlington Wetlands	128	413	65	94	59	85
John M. Olin Nature Preserve	125	354	34	110	62	85
Tower Lake	120	171	40	106	57	55
Green Space East	113	141	49	79	45	76
LaVista Park	105	130	36	90	61	31
Old Cahokia Creek	89	120	50	36	18	37
Lewis & Clark State Historic Site	83	58	41	29	36	11
Birding spot near Venice	124	182	53	70	63	83
Birding spot near Glasgow Village	117	156	32	80	92	38