Birding spots · Illinois

Best Birding Spots in Williamson County, Illinois

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (south) leads Williamson County's birding spots with 189 species reported, best in spring. 20 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
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (south)	189	376	86	155	100	80
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge	172	1,040	86	137	93	124
Pond 17	156	330	60	140	50	66
Pond 17 (Pigeon Creek)	138	153	61	75	46	80
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Prairie Creek (historical))	136	374	64	103	37	67
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (southeast)	131	367	58	110	17	30
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Pigeon Creek)	122	111	45	93	46	46
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (south)	118	283	43	99	41	35
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (east)	112	226	52	42	44	62
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Cambria Neck)	110	164	49	67	41	57
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Pond 17)	109	102	35	76	54	58
Devils Kitchen Lake	94	119	22	76	23	35
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Long View Park)	86	168	50	58	21	35
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Sugar Creek)	85	112	31	59	5	48
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (southwest)	80	66	22	63	25	13
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Crab Orchard Lake)	79	81	39	50	6	36
Pond 60	78	110	39	40	0	45
Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge (Timmons)	77	116	40	43	1	49
Little Grassy Lake	74	73	16	42	21	9
Shawnee National Forest (Little Saline Creek)	59	56	37	37	0	0