Location:

Northeast Illinois - Northwest Indiana

Cook County, Illinois - Lake County, Indiana

Indiana DeLorme Page 18, Grid B-3

Description:

Eggers Woods (a.k.a. Eggers Grove) is a forest preserve within the Cook County Forest Preserve District. Located entirely within Illinois on the Indiana state line, it is comprised mainly of low lying deciduous woods that tend to flood early in the year. Good numbers of warblers and other migrant passerines move through in the spring from mid-April through May, and again in the fall from about mid-August through late September. Ample parking is available and several well-defined trails allow easy navigation within the preserve.

For Illinois birders, Eggers Woods may be the best woodland within the entire Calumet region. As such, it's a great stop for "big day" itineraries, particularly since Calumet-area birds tend to be highly sought after on big day lists. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Yellow-throated Vireos are annual nesters in the southern section of the woods, and woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches can be found year-round in all the wooded areas. Edge habitats, including the tall oaks that line the parking lots, tend to attract a variety of spring and fall migrants--especially warblers and flycatchers. The loop path heading south from the southernmost parking lot leads to the southwest corner of the marsh; one summer, a Bell's Vireo was on territory in this open scrubby area.

Eggers Marsh, a large cattail marsh on the eastern side of the woods, hosts a small colony nesting Yellow-headed Blackbirds each spring. Common Moorhens, Mute Swans, Willow Flycatchers, and Marsh Wrens are also found on or near this wetland most years. Unfortunately however, a slow Phragmites invasion of the marsh now threatens the future of these species at Eggers.

The big draw to Eggers Marsh--particularly for Indiana birders--are the Yellow-headed Blackbirds that nest within a hundred feet of the state line. Although finding a Yellow-headed Blackbird at Eggers can be relatively easy, counting it on your Indiana list is quite another matter! It often requires a long vigil of standing at the state line and scanning grackle after grackle until you finally spot a bird with the characteristic white flash in the wing. Blackbirds in this marsh assumedly feed on spilled grain and corn at the maize factory across the tollway in Indiana--flying back and forth across the state line with each trip. In order to effectively keep track of this constant bird traffic, it is best to have at least one other person along--assigning one birder the task of monitoring bird arrivals to the marsh, and the other the task of bird departures. The high-tension power lines located overhead are generally accepted as the Illinois-Indiana state line. Thus, observing a blackbird flying east of the lines in the direction of the Toll Road (opposite the marsh) counts on your Indiana list. The wait for this event can be as little as five minutes or as long as an hour or more! Occasionally, Bobolinks and other migrant grassland birds are seen in the open weedy field on the Indiana side of the high-tension lines.

For those short on time, an alternative approach is to stop at the pull-off next to the tollbooth on the eastbound side of the Toll Road. From this pull-off, the marsh, which lies to the west, can be scanned for blackbirds flying back and forth across the state line. Since the pull-off is located along the eastbound side of the Toll Road, those coming from the east must pull up to the tollbooth and declare that you want to make a U-turn. The attendant will give you a pass so that you will not have to pay the $ 0.50 toll. After completing the U-turn, proceed to the pull-off.

Typical Time to Bird Site: 1-2 Hours

Birds:

Overview:

Eggers Woods is excellent for migrant passerines including warblers, vireos, flycatchers, and thrushes. The marsh is home to blackbirds, grackles, and waterfowl in the spring.

Specialty Species:

Eggers' main claim to fame among local birders is its nesting Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Common Moorhens, which can be seen or heard from mid April through summer. Also, this is one of the best places in the Chicago area to find Connecticut Warblers in the spring.

Noteworthy Records:

King Rail - (18-Apr-1981); (21-Apr-2000)

Least Bittern - (29-Apr-2001)

Purple Gallinule - (06-May-1973)

Long-eared Owl - (1963) - nesting record

Burrowing Owl - (mid-June-1980 through 24-Sep-1980) - this bird was adjacent to Eggers near the Indiana-Illinois border

Chuck-will's-widow - (29-Apr-1962)

Bell's Vireo

Summer Tanager - (29-Apr-2001)

Clay-colored Sparrow

General:

Ownership:

Cook County Forest Preserve District

Secretary to the Forest Preserve Board: 312-603-0024

Hours:

Sunrise to sunset daily.

Fees :

None.

Restrooms :

Modern facilities are located in the main building.

Special Considerations:

Parking: If the main parking lot isn't open, park on one of the side streets and walk in.

Temporal Considerations:

Migrant passerines are best found in the spring from mid-April through May--particularly on days with prevailing south or southeast winds. Fall birds pass through the Calumet region between mid-August and late September, with impressive flights occuring on the heels of passing cold fronts. The Yellow-headed Blackbirds usually arrive in mid-April and stay well into the summer.

Directions:

From the East: take I-80/90 (The Indiana Toll Road) west into Lake County in extreme northwestern Indiana. Stay on I-90 (The Toll Road) after I-80 branches off to join I-94. Exit I-90 at the very last exit before the state line (Exit 0), which will be the US 12/20 exit. This exit occurs right after the $ 0.50 tollbooth. Take the US 12/20 EAST ramp (not the west ramp) when exiting I-90 and turn left (west) when the ramp "T's" into 108th Street. Continue west a couple of hundred yards to State Line Avenue and turn left (south). Continue south on State Line Avenue until it "T's" into 112th Street. To view the marsh only, park across from the yellow gate near this intersection and walk south onto the Eggers property on the dirt "two-track" lane that begins here. After a 0.25-mile walk, you should have a good view of the marsh. To find the park entrance for birding the woods, turn right (west) onto 112th Street from State Line Avenue and continue for a short distance to the entrance on the left.

For those targeting Yellow-headed Blackbird who may be short on time, an alternative approach is to stop at the pull-off next to the tollbooth on the eastbound side of the Toll Road. From this pull-off, the marsh, which lies to the west, can be scanned for blackbirds flying back and forth across the state line. Since the pull-off is located along the eastbound side of the Toll Road, those coming from the east must pull up to the tollbooth and declare that you want to make a U-turn. The attendant will give you a pass so that you will not have to pay the $ 0.50 toll. After completing the U-turn, proceed to the pull-off.

From the West: take I-294 (the Tri-state Tollway) southeast toward Indiana. Exit north onto I-94 and continue to 103rd Street (Exit 65). Exit east onto 103rd Street and continue to Torrence Avenue. Turn right (south) onto Torrence Avenue to 106th Street; turn left (east) onto 106th. Continue east on 106th to Ewing Avenue, then turn right (south). Continue south on Ewing to 112th Street. Turn left (east) onto 112th and continue for about 0.5 mile to the park entrance.

References:

Brock, Kenneth J.

Birds of the Indiana Dunes . Revised Edition.

The Shirley Heinze Environmental Fund, 1997.

Carpenter, Lynne, and Joel Greenberg.

A Birder's Guide to the Chicago Region .

Northern Illinois University Press, 1999.

Mlodinow, Steven.

Chicago Area Birds .

Chicago Review Press, 1984.

Credits: