North Park Village is a hidden nature oasis on the north side. This Chicago Park District nature preserve contains 46 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and grassland. The Nature Center is located within the North Park Village campus, a former tuberculosis sanitarium that now includes an apartment complex and offices in the original buildings—including Chicago Bird Alliance’s office.
Garfield Park is the westmost part of the Chicago Park and Boulevard System. It features a large set of lagoons with marshy borders, an island, and shrubby areas. The best areas for birding are around the western lagoon. The famous Garfield Park Conservatory is two blocks north on Central Park Boulevard.
Arguably, the best single birding spot in the Chicago area, the promontory and adjacent dune habitats contain what is probably the region’s most heavily birded site: the famous “Magic Hedge.”
Humboldt Park is a large park in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood on the western side of the city. Several intertwining loops intersect the park. East of Humboldt Dr., follow a loop around the big lagoon to look for ducks in the open water, as well as Great Blue Herons, Green Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons along the water’s edge and warblers among the tree tops.
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