TheRoadScholar » Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve

Beautiful Day at Lake Michigan Beach

TheRoadScholar — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:04:23 +0000

Highwood/Highland Park, IL–Beautiful days bring out families, dogs, and outdoors lovers to Lake Michigan beaches. Poke in the sand, check out the crawfish that have been washed up, let your dog get a sip of the cold water. Find your own stretch of beach, your own way to relax.

Burnapalooza in the Forest Preserves

TheRoadScholar — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:11:45 +0000

Highland Park/Highwood, IL–This week’s birdapalooza continues, with red-headed woodpeckers hammering at trees, and hawks swooping and cartwheeling through the air. Makes me want to sing “Free Bird“. The only glitch is that it’s also time for controlled burns in Openlands Lakeshore Preserve and in the Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve. Is it really my allergies kicking up, or is it just the leftover smoke and smell of burned leaves? Even with the burned patches (all clear to walk through once the fires are gone), the walks are great. Runners, walkers, and leashed dogs enjoy the scenery, the sounds of the birds, and the calm, blue waters of Lake Michigan. Ah, spring.

Ludwig the poodle loves forest preserve walks. Photo by Laurie Borman

Birdapalooza at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve!

TheRoadScholar — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:45:44 +0000

Birds at Ft. Sheridan. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highwood/Highland Park, IL–Bring your binoculars! The birds are back at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preseve in Lake County, IL. Now is the time to see many species. The warm weather brings out red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, robins, crows, of course. But bare trees mean you can also easily see the red-headed woodpeckers and broad-winged hawks. Listen to the sweet sounds of birds on this blue-sky day video.

Oak tree. Photo by Laurie Borman

Illinois Winter Wonderland: Ft. Sheridan Nature Preserve

TheRoadScholar — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:37:28 +0000

Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve path in winter. Photo by Laurie Borman

: Trees raise their limbs to the sky. Photo by Laurie Borman

Highland Park/Highwood, IL–Fresh snow covers the paths of Ft. Sheridan Nature Preserve in Lake County. Only a few birds pierce the silence. This is the time to trod in snowshoes, down the path to the lake and back up through the trees. Check out the lakebergs forming in Lake Michigan, the snow that recaps Queen Anne’s lace in white. I don’t know why people don’t come here now, but I’m happy to have the place to myself.

Lake Michigan's frozen flating bergs. Photo by Laurie Borman

Illinois Fall Color at its Peak

theroadscholar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:35:41 +0000

Fall color peaks this week in northern Illinois. Check out scenes of families and photographers enjoying the forest preserves and changing leaves.

Highwood, IL-

Birds Flock to Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve

theroadscholar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:36:13 +0000

Highwood/Highland Park/Lake Forest, IL–After exiting the big hawk’s nest, I hear the red-tailed hawk calling, right on cue. It’s easy to spot the dad circling the fields, looking for mice, while mom and chicks perch in the big twig nest. Just follow the chirps and screeching sounds. There are lots of other birds to spy at the Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, the newest in the Lake County Forest Preserve system. This is a major flyway for many species. On a typical late-summer day, you’ll see bright yellow American Goldfinch, gulls, red-winged blackbirds, orange-breasted Baltimore Orioles, Canada geese, and of course hawks. A list of the birds is on an interpretive sign on the path to Lake Michigan.

Scenes from Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve

theroadscholar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:44:02 +0000

Blooming Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve

theroadscholar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:09:11 +0000

Highwood/Highland Park/Lake Forest, IL–Wildflowers bursting with blooms line the paths of the Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve. Check out fields of delicate Queen Anne’s Lace, brown-eyed Susans, and beautiful Blue Sailors (wild chicory). Thick, fuzzy bumblebees hum from flower to flower while tiny American goldfinches perch atop the tallest stalks. It’s a riot of color. Someone told me that if dandelions weren’t so common, we’d think of them as one of the most magnificent flowers. Their vivid yellow is stunning, but my vote is for the humble musk thistle, all perfectly packaged in a tight bundle of purple.

Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve Fun for Kids

theroadscholar — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:55:13 +0000

Highwood/Highland Park/Lake Forest, IL–The compact size of Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve makes it easy for families to maneuver. Climb into the giant Red Tailed Hawk’s nest at the north end of the preserve and peer through the binocular eyes for a hawk’s eye view of the ravines. As if on cue, a hawk screeches as we leave the nest. A hawk family lives in an oak tree nearby, dad trolling the field for critters and mom watching over the big twiggy nest. Kids love to run down from the parking lot to the beach, too, and can spend hours making sand castles without the hassle of a beach volleyball game or an ice cream truck disturbing the reverie. And let’s not even get started on the military relics like a gun used for artillery practice when the area was a fort, though curious kids want to see these, too.