About Winnebago County

Cool Find: A Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was
spotted in May of 2008 at Sugar River Forest Preserve.

Winnebago County is located in north central Illinois, in the heart of the midwest. The county shares its border with Wisconsin and is at a crossroads of habitats and ecoregions. With a birdlist of over 300 species, Winnebago has diversity unexpected in a county of nearly 300,000 people. Much of this can be attributed to the hard work of the Winnebago County Forest Preserve District, the National Land Institute, Rockford Park District, and Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In-depth info about the county's habitats

Join NCIOS-North Central Illinois Ornithological Society, Rockford's very own Birding Club to find out even more about birding in Winnebago County. The cost is only $10.00 a year, a price well worth it!

birdJam Maker Turns Your iPod into the Perfect Birding Companion

Top 10 Birding Spots in Winnebago

1. Rock Cut State Park
2. Pecatonica Wetlands
3. Sugar River Forest Preserve
4. Colored Sands Forest Preserve
5. Pecatonica Forest Preserve
6. Oak Ridge Forest Preserve
7. Deer Run Forest Preserve
8. Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve
9. Kieselburg Forest Preserve
10. Nygren Wetlands

Summer Storms and Breeding Birds

The 2008 summer can be summed in two words; stormy and rainy. Rock Cut State Park is a great place to find breeding warblers such as the Cerulean Warbler and Deer Run Forest Preserve is one of the best areas to see a young Grasshopper Sparrow. There are many wonderful summer birding locations within the county and all over northern Illinois

Quick Stat

Of the 332,160 acres in Winnebago County, approximately 18,000 acres are protected (5.4%)