Discover the Wonders of Nature

 Birdwatching has become a favorite pastime for people of all ages. Whether your birdwatching takes place in your own backyard, LBOLA conservancies, or farther afield in Illinois, here’s some information to help you on your way.

The National Audubon Society

Finding Birds in Illinois

The Illinois Ornithological Society

Birds and Birding 

Cornell Lab/Merlin ID

Bird Identification

The Cornell Lab 

All About Birds

Meetups

 Photography Meetups

A visit to the nursery on the first warm spring day is inspiring. We optimistically purchase multitudes of species, often with mixed results. If your selections are not native, they may not thrive in your yard.  Plants have very strong preferences.

Do you want an interactive database you can customize to our region? Try these:

Audubon Native Plants Database

National Wildlife Federation Plant Finder

Field Museum’s Field Guides

Is a particular part of your yard in need of a tune-up? Here’s a plant list already sorted by the habitat the plants prefer:

Illinois Wildflowers

If you want a brief hard copy pocket guide try Xerces Midwest Region Pollinators. Page two is a great short list!

Xerces Society’s Pollinator Friendly Plant Lists

Morton Arboretum's Healthy Hedges/Healthy Habitat Series: 

Native shrubs can be found in many plant databases, but here are some shortcuts for you:

U of I Extension

 Native Shrubs of the Midwest for the Home Landscape

Openlands Chicago 

10 Native Trees and Shrubs for Landscaping in the Midwest

Chicago Botanic Garden

Underutilized Native shrubs 

Audubon 

Native Plants Database (use the settings for shrubs)

If you’d prefer a great pocket guide that covers shrubs and more try this pdf:

We have fine options locally for in-person shopping in the spring.  You will need to keep checking until the plant sale's webpage goes live each year.

First-Come-First-Serve Plant Sales

• Lake Forest Open Lands Pre-orders are available; this sale also has problem-solving “garden kits”
• Lake County Forest Preserves at Independence Grove in Libertyville.  Arrive early to see the full offerings.

Honorable Mention Sale

• UofI Extension Master Gardeners in Grayslake. This sale is not exclusively for natives.  Cultivars, ie plants with names like “Lake Bluff Lolita”, may be visually alluring but lack the life-giving symbiosis our native bugs and birds require. Then again, this sale also has “Garden Treasures.”

Online Only Sale

• Openlands Chicago hosts an online plant sale in partnership with Possibility Place. Prices include delivery. Trees and shrubs are shipped in April. Perennials ship in May.  

Plant sales are generally in early May to mid-May because that is the earliest time we should plant tender seedlings in the ground. Frost will kill them.