Pre-registration with the leader is required, limit 15 participants. Let’s meet at James Pate Philip State Park in the northwest corner of the county to look for nesting grassland, shrubland, and marshland birds. This preserve includes an area designated as an Illinois Nature Preserve, comprised of a Dwarf Bur-Reed Marsh. Please be prepared to walk almost 4 miles on flat turf and limestone trails, mostly without shade.

Park in the main parking lot in front of the Visitor Center. Bring a sack lunch so we can eat there together afterwards. Depending on time, and scouting results, we could visit parts of Pratt’s Wayne Woods, especially the nearby wetland areas, and check out the newly improved Dunham Woods Forest Preserve afterwards.

Leader: Vicky Sroczynski, 630-297-9512, RSVP to VSroczynski@comcast.net