WhenToBird

Birding spot · Cook County, Illinois

Birding at Wolf Lake: What You'll See Each Week

In November, the birds most often reported at Wolf Lake are American Coot (69%), Canada Goose (63%), and Ring-billed Gull (59%). It is busiest in spring, when 67 species turn up on at least 1 in 20 checklists, and species counts peak in early May (93 species). 163 species have been reported here across 1,128 complete checklists from 295 birders.

Species by week

020406080100Jan 1-7: 34 species on 5%+ of 73 checklistsJan 8-14: 30 species on 5%+ of 62 checklistsJan 15-21: 40 species on 5%+ of 58 checklistsJan 22-31: 35 species on 5%+ of 92 checklistsFeb 1-7: 41 species on 5%+ of 64 checklistsFeb 8-14: 35 species on 5%+ of 46 checklistsFeb 15-21: 38 species on 5%+ of 47 checklistsFeb 22-28: 48 species on 5%+ of 80 checklistsMar 1-7: 42 species on 5%+ of 61 checklistsMar 8-14: 42 species on 5%+ of 54 checklistsMar 15-21: 50 species on 5%+ of 37 checklistsMar 22-31: 49 species on 5%+ of 34 checklistsApr 1-7: 65 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsApr 8-14: 77 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsApr 15-21: 48 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsApr 22-30: low data (9 checklists)May 1-7: 93 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsMay 8-14: 87 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsMay 15-21: 85 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsMay 22-31: 73 species on 5%+ of 16 checklistsJun 1-7: low data (5 checklists)Jun 8-14: low data (8 checklists)Jun 15-21: low data (5 checklists)Jun 22-30: low data (5 checklists)Jul 1-7: low data (4 checklists)Jul 8-14: low data (3 checklists)Jul 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Jul 22-31: low data (9 checklists)Aug 1-7: low data (5 checklists)Aug 8-14: low data (9 checklists)Aug 15-21: low data (5 checklists)Aug 22-31: low data (8 checklists)Sep 1-7: low data (5 checklists)Sep 8-14: low data (7 checklists)Sep 15-21: low data (3 checklists)Sep 22-30: 46 species on 5%+ of 10 checklistsOct 1-7: 52 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsOct 8-14: 48 species on 5%+ of 13 checklistsOct 15-21: 52 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsOct 22-31: 42 species on 5%+ of 11 checklistsNov 1-7: 55 species on 5%+ of 18 checklistsNov 8-14: 43 species on 5%+ of 12 checklistsNov 15-21: 52 species on 5%+ of 17 checklistsNov 22-30: 40 species on 5%+ of 28 checklistsDec 1-7: 46 species on 5%+ of 20 checklistsDec 8-14: 30 species on 5%+ of 24 checklistsDec 15-21: 40 species on 5%+ of 15 checklistsDec 22-31: 32 species on 5%+ of 42 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. 1American Coot69%
  2. 2Canada Goose63%
  3. 3Ring-billed Gull59%
  4. 4Mute Swan55%
  5. 5American Robin48%
  6. 6American Goldfinch28%
  7. 7Pied-billed Grebe28%
  8. 8Dark-eyed Junco27%
  9. 9Downy Woodpecker27%
  10. 10American Tree Sparrow23%
  11. 11Mallard23%
  12. 12American Herring Gull20%
  13. 13European Starling20%
  14. 14House Sparrow19%
  15. 15Red-breasted Merganser19%

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 38 species

  1. Canada Goose82%
  2. Mute Swan75%
  3. Common Goldeneye61%
  4. Ring-billed Gull56%
  5. Red-breasted Merganser56%

Spring 67 species

  1. Canada Goose91%
  2. Ring-billed Gull88%
  3. Red-breasted Merganser74%
  4. Mallard74%
  5. Red-winged Blackbird70%

Summer 59 species

  1. Canada Goose91%
  2. American Robin87%
  3. Ring-billed Gull80%
  4. Red-winged Blackbird75%
  5. Caspian Tern72%

Fall 48 species

  1. Canada Goose72%
  2. American Coot66%
  3. Ring-billed Gull60%
  4. American Robin59%
  5. Mute Swan50%

Specialties

Birds reported far more often here than across Illinois.

  • Canvasback29% of checklists here vs 0.9% statewide: 31.5×
  • Mute Swan69% of checklists here vs 2.2% statewide: 31.1×
  • Trumpeter Swan26% of checklists here vs 1.0% statewide: 24.6×
  • Redhead40% of checklists here vs 1.8% statewide: 22.2×
  • Tundra Swan6.7% of checklists here vs 0.4% statewide: 19.0×
  • Greater Scaup20% of checklists here vs 1.3% statewide: 15.1×
  • Common Merganser36% of checklists here vs 3.5% statewide: 10.2×
  • Common Goldeneye47% of checklists here vs 4.6% statewide: 10.2×

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.