The Birds & Habitat of Champaign County

Visit the Urbana Park District site for full info on these areas and more.

• Crystal Lake Park & Busey Woods:

  • Download a map of Crystal Lake Park to find the “Magic Bridge” and other birding landmarks often mentioned on our Birdnotes listserv.

    • Accessibility notes: The “Magic Bridge” is right next to a parking lot, and has both steps and a ramp. The Lakehouse is a good place to see swallows in the summer. A paved sidewalk runs from the Nature Center to Crystal Lake park along the west side of the pool.

  • Visit the Anita Purves Nature Center:

    • Accessibility note: You can watch the Nature Center bird feeders from inside the building!

  • Keep track of your sightings with our Busey Woods checklist

  • Meadowbrook Park

    • Download a Meadowbrook Park checklist

    • Accessibility note: Features a paved trail that runs through prairie, along woodland edges, and near creeks

• Perkins Road Marsh

• Weaver Park

Visit the Forest Preserve District site for full info on the area and more.
Keep track of your sightings with a CCFPD Bird checklist

Preserves and Facilities:

• Lake of the Woods, Mahomet

  • Accessibility note: Buffalo Trace prairie has a paved trail. The Botanical Gardens also have a paved trail through a portion of the gardens.

• Homer Lake, Homer

  • Homer Lake Interpretive Center

  • Accessibility notes: Watch the feeders from inside the Interpretive Center. A paved trail runs from the parking lot at the Interpretive Center to a prairie restoration. Enjoy a driving tour of the preserve, and watch for birds on the lake, in the wetland, and other areas of the preserve.

• Middle Fork River, Penfield

• River Bend, Mahomet

  • Accessibility note: Possibility Pier is accessible.

• Sangamon River, Fisher

• Kickapoo Rail Trail, Urbana to St Joseph

• The Swine Research ponds can provide good birding year round, but are particularly exciting in the spring and fall. Park on the north side of the East pond (just off of Hazelwood drive) in a small gravel pull-in area. One can see many species of ducks (particularly in April) and some shorebirds if the water is low enough! Also, sparrows are usually in good numbers around the ponds, in the brushy area south of the east pond, or in the shrubs and evergreens just east of the east ponds across the street! Blue Grosbeaks and Willow Flycatchers also nest here in the summer. For more info, see this map of Moorman Swine Ponds (April 2015).

• Japan House/Arboretum/Pollinatarium: Park in the parking lot (free on weekends) just southwest of the Japan House. Areas around the ponds just to the east of the Japan House can be full of migrating birds at the right time of year. Continue south into the University Pollinatarium, which can even be better for birding! Throughout the area, one can find a wide variety of trees and shrubs, which can support a wide variety of bird life, especially migrants! There are also a few rows of evergreens (especially arborvitae) in which roosting hawks and owls can be found––be sure to look hard for Long-eared Owls from January through March!

  • Accessibility note: The trails around the Japan House are paved.

• There's also plenty of birding to do on the University of Illinois main campus itself! The outskirts of each quad are surrounded by a variety of plants and trees, which can support large numbers of migrating birds! One neat spot to check is the brushy areas along Boneyard Creek just north of Engineering Hall; it can be great for sparrows and other brush-loving birds! CCAS President Colin Dobson has identified over 120 species on campus in a little over two years, so a lot can be found!

• Allerton Park

  • Download an Allerton Park checklist

• Clinton Lake State Recreation Area

• Heron County Park, Vermilion County Conservation District

  • Accessibility note: This park features an accessible boardwalk.

• Forest Glen Preserve, Vermilion County Conservation District

  • Accessibility note: Beech Grove Trail is accessible.