Guide to


Birding Sites Along the


Illinois River Road


Whether you are looking for a casual Sunday afternoon in nature with your family or you are seeking to add that rare Hudsonian Godwit to your life list, the Illinois River Road is one of the most important birding areas in the Midwest! Eighty percent of the waterfowl that follow the Mississippi Flyway stop to rest and refuel in the backwater sloughs of the Illinois River. With more than 100 miles of contiguous forests along the bluffs there are dozens of species of woodland warblers. Shorebirds stop off on their annual flights from the north


shores of the Arctic to the southern tip of South America. From small county parks that harbor nesting vireos to one of the largest wetland restoration efforts in American history where hundreds of American White Pelicans feed, there is something here for birding novices and veterans alike!


Tis map is designed as an introduction to what the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway has to offer. For more information including an introduction to birding, downloadable bird lists, links to current events and festivals, more information on suggested driving routes, GPS coordinates, places to eat, sleep, rent canoes or bicycles, and links to detailed maps, please visit: www.illinoisriverroad.org


Illinois River Road National


Scenic Byway is a program of


Special Tanks to: Illinois Audubon Society and Peoria Audubon, Brian “Fox” Ellis, Tad Edmonds, Cindy Patterson, Jo Skoglund, Michael Quine, Jim Miller, Maury Brucker, Pete Fenner and Don Goerne.


Tis map was funded in part with a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. 1


BALD EAGLE by CD Patterson


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