Will County Audubon Society

08/13/2026

Who doesn't love a happy ending? Well, actually, it really is a never ending story whose future looks bright in large part because of the support of our members and our dedicated crew!

A Tale of Success at our Hartman Spring Nature Preserve - https://mailchi.mp/illinoisaudubon/harmanspring

07/18/2026

If you plant natives, the birds and butterflies will come! Thanks to Wild Birds Unlimited and the The Nature Foundation of Will County for collaborating on a native plant sale earlier this year. These were purchased and planted by a WCAS member and already bringing more life to the garden. Future Illinois Audubon Society Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary!

07/08/2026

‼️ Bird Hike, THURSDAY JULY 9, 6:30pm, McKinley Woods Frederick's Grove ‼️

06/16/2026

My Spark Bird
By Janet Schleeter

I consider my having grown up on a farm one of the best things that ever happened to me. The family farm was established by my German great-grandparents in the 1880’s and was located a couple of miles west of Manhattan. I became familiar with all kinds of animals, wild and domestic. During my years there we had bantam chickens, guinea fowl, mallard ducks, dogs, and lots of cats. Chasing all the feathered critters into the chicken house in the evening kept me fit. If I didn’t get the guineas chased indoors at night they would be squawking under my window in the wee hours of the morning. One year my dad brought home a hat full of pheasant eggs from a nest he had found in the field. We stuck the eggs under a broody hen, and I raised pheasants!

As far as the wild bird population, there wasn’t a big variety. House sparrows were the most common, and there were robins, mourning doves, the occasional cardinal, and red-winged blackbirds down by the creek. But there was one bird that I always looked forward to arriving around the first week of May—the barn swallow!
The other birds were just there; they didn’t do much, but the barn swallows were fun to watch. They were entertaining. There were plenty of old buildings for the barn swallows to nest in. One year they even nested in the chicken house, requiring me to adapt to their presence and be sure they had access to their nest at any time of day. They would sit on the power lines and chatter at each other, taking advantage of rain to take a shower. They swooped behind the riding lawn mower, eating the bugs that were stirred up. The most fun was watching them harassing the cats. They would swoop down at any cat innocently strolling across the yard. I swear they were playing.

I live by the woods now with a much larger variety of birds that visit my feeders regularly, but there are still a few farms nearby, and occasionally I hear that chatter that tells me a barn swallow is near. They remain a favorite bird of mine, bring back many happy memories.

06/16/2026

Birds and Brews

On June 12th, the WCAS, led by Kara Morales, planned a walk in Hammel Woods. The weather had been dicey all week, with Severe Thunderstorms and Tornado Warnings. Luckily, there was a break between the storms. We were able to go ahead as planned, armed with boots for the muddy paths and plenty of bug spray. Evidence of the recent storms was everywhere. There were trees and branches littering the woods, including a very large tree that had fallen across the path, completely blocking the way. Our determined hikers had to take a detour around the tree, through the mud, to continue their adventure.

Hammel Woods is one of the oldest forests in Will County. It has a diverse bird population and is a great spot for birding. We started counting birds immediately, standing on the banks of the swollen DuPage River. Shorebirds were scarce as the river was moving very rapidly, but we were able to spot several varieties of swallows. We were greeted by a very noisy Eastern Phoebe and a beautiful Song Sparrow.

We identified 30 species including: Wood Duck, Mourning Dove, Chimney Swift, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern House Wren, Gray Catbird, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Northern Yellow Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Northern Cardinal, and Indigo Bunting.

After the hike, we gathered at Mad Hatchett Brewing in Shorewood, where we watched the USA versus Paraguay Soccer game. It was early enough in the World Cup that everyone’s favorite teams were still in contention.

Birds, Brew, and World Cup Soccer; a nearly perfect Friday night. If you have any suggestions for a future Birds and Brews outing, we’d love to hear them.

06/13/2026

Join us at the Forest Preserve District of Will County Pollinator Party! Buy native plants, craft, learn about birds, bats, and butterflies and support nature and habitat!

The Nature Foundation of Will County