Special Edition: Take Flight

At first light, a wetland at Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve in Grayslake stirs to life. Red-winged blackbirds trumpet conk-la-REE-look-at-ME songs from swaying cattails. Wood ducks tip forward to eat plants below the water’s surface, rear ends bobbing in the air. A great blue heron stands motionless onshore, amber-yellow eyes searching the shallows for tasty fish. The fresh smells of spring drift on a casual breeze as the landscape comes alive. Birdwatching gives you front-row seats to these compelling scenes, especially in Lake County. Forest Preserves Mentioned: Des Plaines River Trail Fort Sheridan (Lake Forest) Fox River Marina (Port Barrington) General Offices (Libertyville) Greenbelt Cultural Center (North Chicago) Independence Grove (Libertyville) Visitors Center Rollins Savanna (Grayslake) Ryerson Conservation Area (Riverwoods) Ryerson Welcome Center Van Patten Woods (Wadsworth) Selected Links and Sources: “2022 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation,” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Barred owl, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birdwatching Checklist Birdwatching Guide Birdwatching resources Blue jay, Cornell Dark-eyed junco, Cornell Ebird Every Acre Strong Forest Preserves calendar Global Big Day, Cornell Great blue heron, Cornell Great egret, Cornell Great horned owl, Cornell Green-winged teal, Cornell Horizons subscriptions iNaturalist Macaulay Library, Cornell Mexican violetear, Cornell Mississippi Flyway, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Northern cardinal, Cornell Purple martin, Cornell Red-winged blackbird, Cornell Rose-breasted grosbeak, Cornell Short-eared owl, Cornell Spring 2026 Horizons Tree swallow, Cornell Virginia rail, Cornell Wood duck, Cornell Yellow warbler, Cornell If you like what the forest preserves do for you, please consider donating to the Preservation Foundation’s Every Acre Strong campaign for the Forest Preserves. Your gift will help create a $20 million endowment to protect the forest preserves you love, ensuring every acre of habitat we restore remains ecologically healthy. Forever. Learn more and give at LCFPD.org/endowment. Subscribe to Horizons at LCFPD.org/horizons. Have questions or comments? Send them to WordsOfTheWoods@LCFPD.org. This episode of Words of the Woods was written, hosted and produced by Brett Peto, environmental communications specialist at the Lake County Forest Preserves. Featuring research and expertise from Jen Berlinghof, Nan Buckardt, Eileen Davis, Samantha Gallagher, Gary Glowacki, Mark Hurley, Matt Ueltzen and Pati Vitt. We used the following recordings from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library with permission: ML22874 ML22997 ML26295 ML86626 ML100740 ML100838 ML107435 ML125364 ML134193 ML136434 ML229102 ML43973911 ML57524601 ML93737501 ML95908491 ML96661961 ML96855351 ML159180221 ML211060291 ML241076151 ML261929461 Other sound effects and music from Storyblocks. Audio editing and mixing by Brett Peto. Cover art illustration © Samantha Gallagher. Words of the Woods is a production of the Lake CountyForest Preserves in Libertyville, Illinois.