WhenToBird

Birding spot · Lake County, Illinois

Birding at Waukegan Harbor: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Waukegan Harbor are Ring-billed Gull (80%), American Herring Gull (75%), and Canada Goose (69%). It is busiest in spring, when 56 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in mid May (80 species). 158 species have been reported here across 1,309 complete checklists from 353 birders.

Species by week

020406080Jan 1-7: 27 species on 5%+ of 128 checklistsJan 8-14: 25 species on 5%+ of 57 checklistsJan 15-21: 27 species on 5%+ of 50 checklistsJan 22-31: 22 species on 5%+ of 87 checklistsFeb 1-7: 29 species on 5%+ of 124 checklistsFeb 8-14: 31 species on 5%+ of 83 checklistsFeb 15-21: 25 species on 5%+ of 51 checklistsFeb 22-28: 27 species on 5%+ of 61 checklistsMar 1-7: 33 species on 5%+ of 44 checklistsMar 8-14: 28 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsMar 15-21: 36 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsMar 22-31: 34 species on 5%+ of 21 checklistsApr 1-7: low data (9 checklists)Apr 8-14: low data (6 checklists)Apr 15-21: 64 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsApr 22-30: low data (3 checklists)May 1-7: low data (9 checklists)May 8-14: low data (9 checklists)May 15-21: 80 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsMay 22-31: low data (7 checklists)Jun 1-7: low data (4 checklists)Jun 8-14: low data (1 checklists)Jun 15-21: low data (1 checklists)Jun 22-30: low data (4 checklists)Jul 1-7: low data (1 checklists)Jul 8-14: 56 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsJul 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Jul 22-31: low data (9 checklists)Aug 1-7: low data (3 checklists)Aug 8-14: low data (3 checklists)Aug 15-21: low data (6 checklists)Aug 22-31: low data (6 checklists)Sep 1-7: low data (5 checklists)Sep 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Sep 15-21: low data (2 checklists)Sep 22-30: low data (4 checklists)Oct 1-7: low data (0 checklists)Oct 8-14: low data (2 checklists)Oct 15-21: low data (4 checklists)Oct 22-31: low data (5 checklists)Nov 1-7: 36 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsNov 8-14: 28 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsNov 15-21: 30 species on 5%+ of 25 checklistsNov 22-30: 27 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsDec 1-7: 30 species on 5%+ of 62 checklistsDec 8-14: 28 species on 5%+ of 121 checklistsDec 15-21: 25 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsDec 22-31: 29 species on 5%+ of 80 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. 1Ring-billed Gull80%
  2. 2American Herring Gull75%
  3. 3Canada Goose69%
  4. 4Mallard54%
  5. 5Red-breasted Merganser52%
  6. 6American Coot45%
  7. 7Bufflehead43%
  8. 8European Starling26%
  9. 9Long-tailed Duck23%
  10. 10Dark-eyed Junco21%
  11. 11Hooded Merganser20%
  12. 12Black-capped Chickadee17%
  13. 13Double-crested Cormorant15%
  14. 14Horned Grebe14%
  15. 15American Crow13%

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 30 species

  1. American Herring Gull85%
  2. Red-breasted Merganser83%
  3. Ring-billed Gull83%
  4. Common Goldeneye64%
  5. Common Merganser62%

Spring 56 species

  1. Canada Goose81%
  2. Ring-billed Gull78%
  3. American Herring Gull69%
  4. Red-breasted Merganser69%
  5. Mallard48%

Summer 50 species

  1. Ring-billed Gull87%
  2. Barn Swallow85%
  3. American Herring Gull77%
  4. Double-crested Cormorant73%
  5. Mallard69%

Fall 35 species

  1. Ring-billed Gull76%
  2. American Herring Gull71%
  3. Canada Goose68%
  4. Mallard53%
  5. Red-breasted Merganser41%

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.