With nearly 400 species documented, Lake County’s bird diversity is second only to Cook County in the Chicago region. Why do millions of birds live and visit here? Location, location, location.
The county’s position at the border between cooler, northern climates and warmer, southern climates attracts a blend of species. Lake Michigan creates unique shoreline habitats and milder microclimates.
Nearly 200 inland lakes, the Des Plaines and Fox rivers, prairies, savannas, woodlands and wetlands provide food and shelter for birds. Large tracts of land, such as those in your forest preserves, are needed to support certain species. Learn more »
Some feathered friends, like northern cardinals, stay put year-round. Resident birds eat seeds, nuts, insect larvae, mammals or other birds. Most of these food sources are available all year. Birds that eat seasonal foods—fruit, nectar or flying insects—typically head south for winter.
Many migrants pass through along the Mississippi Flyway, a major north-south flight path that brings incredible bird variety and abundance to Chicagoland each spring and fall.
Though less common, you may spot a vagrant, a bird that’s strayed far from its normal range. A Mexican violetear hummingbird, usually found in Mexican and Central American forests, visited a Mundelein home in 2021. Just one other observation of the species in Illinois was recorded in 2009.