Upcoming CHICAGO-AREA Day TRIPS
These half-day trips visit some of the best birding spots in the Chicago area and beyond. This schedule of trips is heavily weighted towards May, the peak of spring migration. Standard half-day trips cost $60/person and all trips have a maximum of 8 participants. With a few exceptions, trips start at 7:30am. All trips are self-driving, led by an expert Red Hill Birding guide (see guide bios here). Depending on the timing of each trip, we may visit other nearby sites as time permits. These trips will run rain or shine, unless the weather is expected to be particularly bad.
Interested in a day trip that you don’t see listed here? We can set up a custom tour of the region for you throughout spring. Contact us for more details.
UPCOMING HALF-DAY TRIPS Trips start at 7:30 am and last until about noon and cost $60/person, with any exceptions noted below.
Friday, March 22, 2024 South Chicago Waterfowl — Cook County Guide: Steve Huggins *Trip full! Join us as we kick off our spring trips in search of migrant waterfowl at some of the best locations on Chicago’s south side! Starting at Rainbow Beach, we will visit numerous hotspots including Steelworker’s Park, Park 566, Wolf Lake, and more. We hope to find migrating waterfowl like loons, scaup, mergansers, swans, and maybe a rarity or two will be around to seek out.
Friday, April 5, 2024 Highland Park Hotspots - Lake County Guide: Josh Engel *Trip full! Join Josh on a field trip to top hotspots around Red Hill Birding’s new home base in Highland Park! Some locations that could be visited include the Southshore Forest Preserve, Prairie Wolf Forest Preserve, Rosewood Beach, and Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 Thorn & Plum Creek Forest Preserves— Will & Cook County Guide: Steve Huggins *Trip full! These two forest preserves can be excellent for early spring migrants, where we will search for new arrivals like Louisiana Waterthrush, Northern Parula while seeking out many of the migrants like sparrows and hopefully Rusty Blackbird. These are beautiful and underbirded preserves with great trail systems.
Tuesday, April 23, 2024 Waukegan Beach — Lake County Guide: Adam Sell Join Adam for an early spring exploration of the beaches and wooded parks surrounding Waukegan Beach. We will search for early migrants and will hopefully find the first returning Great Lakes Piping Plovers, which often use the beach as a stopover site!
Thursday, May 2, 2024 Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve — Lake County Guide: Adam Sell *Trip full! A perfect walk for beginners, Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve is one of the most beautiful preserves in Lake County and equally birdy. We’ll be searching for early warblers, sparrows, and vireos, and hope to enjoy the resident Red-headed Woodpeckers. If there’s time, we might also explore another nearby preserve like Middlefork Savannah or the newly reopened Lakeshore Preserve.
Sunday, May 5, 2024 Coral Woods & Marengo Ridge — McHenry County Guide: Lisa Maier *Trip full! Spring migration is starting to ramp up, so join Lisa and explore some of the best birding in McHenry County! Both locations can be brimming with migrants on a good day and are reliable spots in McHenry for Pileated and Red-headed Woodpeckers. At Coral Woods, we will also search for a local Barred Owl pair and enjoy some of the best spring ephemeral wildflowers in the county.
Wednesday, May 8, 2024 LaBagh Woods — Cook County Guide: Steve Huggins *Trip full! It’s hard to beat LaBagh Woods during spring migration! Join Steve in search of warblers, vireos, tanagers, and more! LaBagh Woods is situated along the North Branch of the Chicago River and is a critical stopover site for many migrants and one of the more famous birding locations in the city.
Sunday, May 12, 2024 The Palos Region — Cook County Guide: Stephanie Beilke *Trip full! Located in the southwest suburbs of Chicago, the Palos preserves system includes some of the best preserves in Cook County including Swallow Cliff, Cap Sauers, Saganashkee Slough and the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center. We are entering the peak of spring birding and Chicago and migrants can be everywhere! Beyond migrants, there are many unique breeding birds in the region including Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Tufted Titmouse, and many more.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 The Des Plaines River Corridor — Lake County Guide: Adam Sell *Trip full! The peak of spring migration at some of the top birding locations in the county. This tour will focus on covering Ryerson Woods and Daniel Wright Woods forest preserves in search of warblers, vireos, tanagers, thrushes, and more. We will hopefully bump into the resident Pileated Woodpecker and Barred Owl. On the right day, this tour could see 20+ species of warblers.
Sunday, May 19, 2024 Glacial Park — McHenry County Guide: Lisa Maier *Trip full! Glacial Park is one of the best locations in McHenry County for spring migration. The oak woodlands can be teeming with migrant warblers, vireos, and tanagers, while the pristine marsh can hold Sora, lingering ducks, and if we’re lucky, Yellow-headed Blackbird and Black Tern. Surrounding prairie and savannah habitat is excellent for Henslow’s Sparrow, and Orchard Oriole, and if water levels are low, a few spots can be good for shorebirds.
Thursday, May 23, 2024 Illinois Beach State Park & Spring Bluff Forest Preserve — Lake County Guide: Adam Sell *Only three spaces left! In late May, these are prime locations for migrants and specialty breeders. We will seek out late migrants like Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Mourning Warbler, and Connecticut Warbler while checking good habitats for unique breeders like Yellow-breasted Chat. In the past, other good birds seen at this time of year include King Rail, White-eyed Vireo, and Prairie Warbler. Spring Bluff has a nice overlook to check for waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes. If we are lucky, an endangered Blanding’s Turtle could be around, too!
Saturday, May 25, 2024 Tinley Creek - Cook County Guide: Stephanie Beilke The Tinley Creek area is very popular thanks to its mixture of savanna, open prairie, and woodlands. In late spring, it’s perfect for seeking out breeding birds like Sora, Sedge Wren, Henslow’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Bobolink. In the woods, late migrants like Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and Canada Warbler can be found.
Saturday, June 1, 2024 Hickory Grove & The Hollows - McHenry County Guide: Lisa Maier Hickory Grove is a wonderful preserve with mixed woodlands and savannah along the Fox River. Migrants often concentrate here and we’ll be in search of some of the tougher late-season migrants, like Mourning Warbler, while enjoying a plethora of breeding birds like Yellow-throated Vireo, and American Redstart. The Hallows has great breeding birds and even contains remnant sand prairie, which holds one of the few breeding populations of Lark Sparrow in Northeastern Illinois.
