Trip Leader: Donna Kenski (847) 347-3474
It’s time for raising bird families! This preserve has a great mix of small ponds, wetlands, savanna and woodlands so lots of different species call it home. At 687 acres, it is one of Lake County’s larger preserves. Several biomes including oak savannas, dry-mesic prairies, wet-mesic prairies, marshes, deciduous woodlands, and sedge meadows, as well as a portion of the North Branch of the Chicago River are all found here. A 25-acre parcel here is considered the highest quality tallgrass savanna of its kind in the nation and recognized as a globally threatened ecosystem. Middlefork provides valuable protection for many state and federally listed species. Breeding birds that nest here include cuckoos, rails, soras, sandhill cranes, and many songbirds. Even the nonnative but beautiful European goldfinches nest here.