Annette and Bill McClellan have known for a long time that Waukegan is a “birdy” city. That’s what bird-watchers like the McClellans say about towns where they can find many and rare wild feathered creatures year-round.
Indeed, among the 307 species Bill McClellan has seen in Lake County, 265 were within the confines of Waukegan, where he and his wife live. “That’s pretty impressive,” he said, adding the latest was a South American flycatcher that has only been seen in North America a few times.
With those numbers, McClellan said it makes good sense that Waukegan has just been named an Illinois Bird City by the Audubon Council of Illinois and the Lake County Audubon Society.
That designation means the city has met criteria that benefit birds, including providing migratory and nesting habitat, working on conservation and sustainability issues and educating the public. A designation plaque is scheduled to be given to Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor Monday at City Hall.
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Waukegan is one of three Illinois Bird Cities. The others are Freeport and Rockford. Grayslake and Libertyville are working to earn the designation.
Illinois Bird Cities are part of the Bird City Americas program, established by the American Bird Conservancy and Environment for the Americas, to encourage local towns to take action to help birds. Since the 1970s, the number of breeding birds in the Americas has declined by 3 billion, according to the Conservancy. Wisconsin was the first state to join, and helped Illinois begin its program.
“Waukegan was a natural choice to be named a Bird City,” said Glen Moss, president of the Lake County Audubon Society and a board member of the Audubon Council of Illinois. The lakefront is a natural flyway, attracting migratory birds as well as the federally endangered piping plover that have nested on Waukegan Beach, according to Moss, who lives in Libertyville.
Waukegan Municipal Beach’s pier is the only place in Illinois that’s a reliable place to see purple sandpiper, a rare migrant species, according to the McClellans. The sandpiper eats the algae that grows on the rocks along the pier. It typically stops by in late November or early December before flying father south.
When there’s not enough food in the tundra to sustain them, snowy owls fly south, often stopping along the lakeshore in Waukegan to rest and hunt for ducks and mammals.
In spring and fall, myriad migratory songbirds and shorebirds use the shoreline and various preserves and parks in Waukegan to rest and feed.
“We also have two great forest preserves in Waukegan, including Greenbelt and Lyons Woods,” Moss said.
“Waukegan has surpassed the number of criteria needed to be named an Illinois Bird City,” he said.
One example includes a partnership formed by Lake County Audubon and the city of Waukegan in 2019, called Sharing our Shore, to help protect rare birds such as the piping plover. Volunteers monitor bird populations, including those that are threatened and endangered. They also work to increase public awareness for conservation at the Waukegan shoreline.
Former Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham took the “plover pledge” in 2019, promising to protect the piping plover and the Waukegan Municipal Beach Habitat where they have nested. Current Mayor Ann Taylor filled out the application for Waukegan to be named an Illinois Bird City, and has become a “plover pal,” someone who works to protect the species, according to Jane Ferry, a city spokeswoman.
Lake County Audubon co-sponsored with the Waukegan Park District a history-nature walk at the Waukegan lakefront. In addition, the Park District staff created a craft project in which people made piping plovers or other birds out of clay while learning about shorebirds. The Park District also holds bird walks at various parks.
“The Waukegan Park District maintain parks that are thoughtful for bird habitat,” said Annette McClellan. The district has renovated an extensive ravine system, including at Bowen Park, another great place to find birds, she said.
“Waukegan has some nature preserves that aren’t really open to people to walk into them, but they provide great habitat for the birds,” McClellan added. “They’re more protected. They don’t have trails through them.”
One is Bonnie Brook Bird Sanctuary. The Park District saved four undeveloped acres of natural open space, with a stream running through the property.
Being named a Bird City “is a great, great thing,” said Marcus Pitchford, Waukegan’s director of external affairs.
Moss agreed. “It can bring money into the city,” he said. For example, a Houston birder came last month to search for the rare South American flycatcher that spent time in some shrubbery near the lake shore in Waukegan.
“When they come to see those birds, they spend money in town,” Moss said.
Plaques will be set up in Waukegan to indicate its new status as an Illinois Bird City, he said.
“The publicity and the information to the citizens make them really think about environmental issues more,” Moss said. “We all know it’s not just for the birds.”
Future efforts include building a platform near the dunes to keep people from walking on the delicate ecosystem along the beach.
“There’s a lot of people rooting for this area and the birds that visit here,” Moss said.