Birding spots · Illinois

Best Birding Spots in McHenry County, Illinois

Morraine Hills State Park leads McHenry County's birding spots with 229 species reported, best in spring. 56 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
Morraine Hills State Park	229	4,623	88	204	154	177
Wold Lake	192	817	57	166	107	116
Goose Lake 3	191	955	6	174	120	67
Morraine Hills State Park (Wilderness Lake)	178	933	60	147	95	107
Pleasant Valley 8	171	739	45	153	96	93
Hickory Grove Riverfront	158	795	43	149	67	80
Hickory Grove 1	156	781	36	148	80	89
Stickney Run 2	151	307	27	136	73	53
Vulcan Lakes	140	860	61	113	42	83
Coral Woods 9	139	472	20	138	60	64
Exner Marsh Nature Preserve	139	352	37	121	59	77
Silver Creek	131	438	43	112	74	79
Veteran Acres Park	128	484	31	106	80	79
Lippold Park	127	930	55	101	45	81
Hollows 1	121	305	25	99	68	56
Sterne's Woods	121	200	28	102	55	65
Fel-Pro RRR 2	118	233	26	101	61	61
Elizabeth Lake Addition	106	224	5	89	66	17
Rush Creek 1	104	75	16	87	57	28
Glacial Park 12	97	87	30	90	0	2
Harrison Benwell County Park	91	77	24	75	33	30
Lake Street Park	86	128	11	70	43	44
Ryders Woods	85	121	17	81	3	16
Butternut Preserve	83	118	0	79	20	20
Vulcan Lakes (south)	82	164	4	51	49	43
Pistakee Lake	81	289	45	63	14	29
Hennen Park	78	122	26	60	35	33
McCullom Lake	77	205	13	52	0	62
Bates Fen Nature Preserve	72	88	7	59	64	8
Wonder Lake	72	59	12	62	42	7
Sands Main Street Prairie - Il State Ntr Prsrv	69	53	3	41	42	29
Cornish Park	64	335	42	27	28	16
Crystal Lake	64	274	32	48	0	28
Woodstock Greenway 4	59	59	0	40	26	28
North Branch Kishwaukee River	44	124	0	5	28	28
Morrison Park	34	96	6	14	18	19
Birding spot near Ringwood	228	1,997	62	213	129	171
Birding spot near Ringwood (north)	161	463	38	141	83	92
Birding spot near McCullom Lake	148	971	19	113	78	85
Birding spot near Marengo	139	487	24	131	86	93
Birding spot near Trout Valley	125	250	38	107	59	79
Birding spot near Ringwood (Camelback Kame)	125	151	22	68	73	78
Birding spot near Ridgefield (Lily Lake)	107	135	17	101	42	18
Birding spot near Ringwood (Barnard Mill (historical))	105	117	24	61	72	32
Birding spot near Lake in the Hills	98	300	16	78	64	40
Birding spot near Trout Valley (southeast)	98	102	11	75	42	55
Birding spot near Pistakee Highlands	94	54	12	71	43	35
Birding spot near Genoa City	92	254	0	75	79	5
Birding spot near Garden Prairie (east)	89	216	26	77	5	1
Birding spot near Richmond	88	141	15	66	56	2