The Birds of Lake Renwick

Lake Renwick provides protected nesting sites for the herons and egrets nesting here. It also has many nearby rivers and other water bodies that give the birds feeding areas.

Nesting and feeding areas are important to the survival of these birds. They need large amounts of fish and other aquatic life to feed their young. Herons may fly 40 miles round trip to find food to feed their young.

Photo: Joe Milosevich

GREAT BLUE HERONS are Illinois' most common heron. They are large, standing 48 inches tall. They are slate gray, with white heads and a broad black stripe above the eye.

Great blues like to nest in tree tops. They have three to six young per nest. Often they use the same nest year after year, adding sticks until the nest becomes very large.

Flying overhead, great blue herons are often mistaken for cranes. To tell them apart, look at their neck. Great blues fold their neck close to their bodies; cranes fly with their necks extended.

Photo: Chris Mayer

GREAT EGRETS in Illinois were upgraded from endangered to threatened in 1994. These birds stand about 38 inches high. They are slender white birds with long, black legs and yellow bills.

Great egrets like to nest halfway up the tree. Some nest in fallen trees. They have three to four young per nest.

In the early 1900s, great egrets were almost hunted to extinction. Their beautiful plumage was fashionable for ladies' hats.

Photo: Joe Milosevich

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERONS are endangered in Illinois. They are short, standing 25 inches tall. They have a black crown and back, gray wings and white underparts.

Night herons like to nest low, often on the ground. They have three to six young.

As their name suggests, the black-crowned night herons are out at night, when they do most of their feeding.

Photo: Joe Milosevich

DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS were also recently upgraded from endangered to threatened in Illinois. They are about 33 inches tall and are black, with webbed feet and a red-orange chin pouch.

Cormorants nest in tree tops. They have three to five young per nest. The cormorant colony at Lake Renwick was the first in northeastern Illinois.

Cormorants dive under the water to catch fish. You may see them in the tree tops, wings spread, drying their feathers.

Photo: Joe Milosevich

CATTLE EGRETS are the smallest of the birds at Lake Renwick. They are 20 inches tall, and are white, with stubby yellowish bills. Adults in breeding plumage have an orangey-buff color on their crowns, breasts, and backs.

These birds like to nest low, sometimes on the ground. They have three to six young.

Cattle egrets often look for food in fields among livestock. Unlike other water birds, cattle egrets eat mostly insects instead of aquatic life.