My favorite Chicago Birding Hotspots
Montrose Point
This is an amazing birding hotspot. It has so many types of habitats and is located perfectly, sticking out into the lake, for migration. You have the beach, dunes, long grassland field, and hedge/forest. Being a short bike ride away from where I live, I try to get out here as much as I can.
Northerly Island
What used to be an airport right off of downtown is now a large nature preserve filled with a lake and rolling grassland. Offering beautiful views of downtown this is a beautiful place to walk around and bird. It offeres a great variety of waterfowl and grassland birds.