The Fox Chain O’Lakes is famous for boats and fishing, but the real story of this place is ecological. Carved by glaciers thousands of years ago, the Chain is a 7,100-acre network of interconnected lakes, marshes, bogs, and restored prairies that supports a diversity of wildlife you won’t find in many places this close to Chicago. Nearly 200 bird species have been documented in Chain O’Lakes State Park alone. The lakes and surrounding wetlands are home to mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and plant communities that range from common to genuinely rare. Whether you’re a serious birder, a casual nature lover, or just someone who likes knowing what’s swimming under your boat, here’s what lives here.
The pelican migration
Every spring, something improbable happens on the Chain O’Lakes: hundreds of American white pelicans arrive. These are enormous birds — four feet tall with nine-foot wingspans — and they appear on the lakes from late March through mid-April as they migrate north from the Gulf Coast to breeding grounds in the northern Great Plains and Canada.
The pelicans stop at the Chain to rest and feed, primarily on gizzard shad that die off over winter and become easy meals when the ice melts. They feed cooperatively, moving into circular formations to herd fish into tight groups before dipping their massive orange bills underwater to scoop them up. Flocks of 400 to 500 have been documented in the channels between Fox Lake and Nippersink Lake. Lake Catherine near Antioch is another reliable viewing spot.
The white pelican was once a rare sight in Illinois. The first recorded sighting in Lake County was in 1997, when a single bird in Waukegan Harbor left onlookers baffled. Today, the migration is so consistent that Fox Lake celebrates it with Pelican Palooza, an annual spring event featuring a photography contest, scavenger hunt, and community activities. The pelicans don’t nest here — they’re passing through — but their annual appearance has become one of the most anticipated natural events in the region.
Bald eagles
Bald eagles have made a remarkable comeback along the Fox River and Chain O’Lakes. Illinois now hosts the largest wintering population of bald eagles of any state outside Alaska, with over 3,100 eagles counted during winter surveys and more than 200 active nests statewide. The Chain O’Lakes area, particularly along the Route 12 corridor where the water stays open through winter, is one of the most reliable bald eagle viewing locations in Lake County.
Eagles can be spotted year-round now. Winter is the peak viewing season, when they congregate near open water to fish. But breeding pairs have established nests in the Fox River Valley and can be seen throughout the year. Subadult eagles — younger birds without the distinctive white head — are increasingly common in the area, a sign of a healthy and growing population.
The eagle’s recovery from near-extinction in Illinois (the state once had just three active nests) is directly tied to the banning of DDT, the Clean Water Act’s impact on river and lake quality, and the bird’s adaptation to include carrion in its diet alongside fish.
Great blue herons and other wading birds
Great blue herons are one of the most visible birds on the Chain. Stand at any shoreline long enough and you’ll see one — a tall, gray-blue bird standing motionless in shallow water, waiting to strike at fish, frogs, or crayfish. They nest in colonies called rookeries, often in tall trees near water, and are present from early spring through late fall.
Other wading birds include green herons, which are smaller and more secretive, often hunting from low branches overhanging the water. Great egrets — tall white birds with yellow bills — appear during summer months. Black-crowned night herons, true to their name, are most active at dawn and dusk and can sometimes be spotted roosting in dense vegetation along channel banks during the day.
Waterfowl and shorebirds
The Chain O’Lakes sits along the Mississippi Flyway, one of the four major North American bird migration routes, making it a critical stopover for waterfowl moving between breeding and wintering grounds. Spring and fall migrations bring waves of ducks through the system — mallards, wood ducks, blue-winged teal, northern shovelers, ring-necked ducks, and various diving ducks are all regular visitors.
Canada geese are year-round residents and prolific breeders on the Chain. Trumpeter swans, once extirpated from Illinois, have been spotted on the Chain and Fox River as reintroduction efforts in the broader region take hold. Sandhill cranes pass through in spring in large, noisy flocks, their distinctive rattling call audible from miles away. Wild turkeys are resident in and around Chain O’Lakes State Park.
The marshes and mudflats around Grass Lake and the shallower areas of the Chain attract shorebirds during migration, including various sandpipers and killdeer. Black terns, an uncommon species in Illinois, have been recorded in the Chain O’Lakes area.
Songbirds and raptors
Chain O’Lakes State Park’s 200 acres of restored native prairie, mixed hardwood forests, and wetland edges provide habitat for a wide range of songbirds. Spring migration (April through May) is the peak season, when warblers, thrushes, and sparrows pass through in large numbers. Red-winged blackbirds are among the first arrivals, their territorial calls a reliable sign that winter is ending.
Grassland bird species use the restored prairie for nesting — a habitat type that has become increasingly rare across Illinois as agriculture and development have consumed native grasslands. The park’s prairie restorations are maintained with prescribed burns, mimicking the natural fire cycle that keeps prairies healthy and prevents woody species from encroaching.
Raptors beyond bald eagles include red-tailed hawks (year-round), Cooper’s hawks, and various owl species. Northern harriers hunt low over the marshes and prairies, and osprey — fish-eating hawks that hover and dive — have been spotted along the Fox River during summer months.
Mammals
White-tailed deer are the most commonly seen large mammal in the area, particularly in the early morning and evening hours around Chain O’Lakes State Park. Coyotes are well established and occasionally heard at night from campgrounds and lakefront properties. Red and gray foxes inhabit the wooded and prairie areas.
Smaller mammals include beaver (whose lodges and dams can be found along quieter channels and tributaries), muskrats, mink, raccoons, opossums, skunks, groundhogs, chipmunks, ground squirrels, and cottontail rabbits. Badgers, while uncommon, are documented residents of the park. River otters, once absent from the region, have been making a slow return to Illinois waterways and may occasionally be spotted in less-trafficked areas of the Chain.
The lotus beds of Grass Lake
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Grass Lake was famous for its American lotus beds — vast stretches of the aquatic plant that covered much of the shallow, 1,360-acre lake with large, pale yellow flowers that bloom in mid to late summer. The lotus beds were so spectacular that tour boats ran excursions specifically to see them, and the area around the viewing spots became the site of early commercial establishments, including what eventually became Blarney Island.
From the 1950s through the 1970s, increased boat traffic, development, and sedimentation destroyed much of the lotus. Today, smaller patches remain and continue to bloom each summer, offering a glimpse of what the lake once looked like. The American lotus is a native plant, not to be confused with the Asian lotus — it grows from rhizomes in shallow water and produces flowers up to ten inches across on stalks that rise two to three feet above the surface. The remaining beds are concentrated in the shallower, less-trafficked areas of Grass Lake.
Turner Lake Nature Preserve and the bog
Eighty acres within Chain O’Lakes State Park have been set aside as the Turner Lake Nature Preserve, protecting one of the park’s most unusual features: a freshwater bog environment built on deep peat deposits left by the last glacier. Bogs are rare in Illinois, and the plant communities they support — including sphagnum moss, specialized sedges, and other bog-adapted species — are found in very few locations this far south in the Midwest.
The preserve is not heavily promoted or heavily visited, which is part of what keeps it intact. The park’s landscape overall sits on freshwater bog over deep peat, with glacial moraine hills rising up to 200 feet above the lake plain. The mixed hardwood forests include oak, hickory, cherry, elm, birch, and sumac, with scattered pine plantings and a rich assortment of wildflowers across three seasons.
Fish and aquatic life
The Chain O’Lakes supports over 35 fish species documented during biennial surveys by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has actively monitored the fishery for more than 60 years. The headline species for anglers — walleye, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, crappie, bluegill, and channel catfish — are well-known. But the aquatic ecosystem is much broader, including yellow bass, white bass, freshwater drum, various sunfish species, carp, and gizzard shad (the primary forage fish and the reason pelicans stop here).
The Chain is a brood source for the state hatchery system, meaning walleye are collected here for egg harvesting to stock other Illinois waters. Muskellunge management has been a long-term success — the average muskie on the Chain is 36 inches, with fish up to 51 inches reported by anglers almost annually. Females take at least 12 years to reach the 48-inch legal harvest length, which is why the protective size limit is so high.
Invasive species are a concern. Zebra mussels have been documented in the Chain, and snakehead fish have been found in the system. Asian carp in the broader Fox River watershed remain an ongoing management challenge. The Fox Waterway Agency and IDNR work continuously on monitoring and mitigation.
Where and when to see wildlife
The best wildlife viewing on the Chain O’Lakes follows predictable patterns. Early morning and late evening are prime times for mammals and most birds. Spring migration (March through May) brings the greatest diversity of bird species, including the pelican migration in late March to mid-April. Fall migration (September through November) brings raptors, waterfowl, and the rich autumn colors of the park’s hardwood forests.
Chain O’Lakes State Park is the hub for land-based wildlife viewing. The Nature’s Way trail, a 2.25-mile hiking loop starting at Oak Grove Picnic Area, passes through several habitat types. The restored prairies are best for grassland birds and wildflowers. The Pike Marsh area, developed for accessibility, includes a quarter-mile trail through wetland habitat. Turner Lake, restricted to electric motors only, is the quietest body of water in the park and often the best for spotting herons, turtles, and other wildlife that avoids heavy boat traffic.
From the water, the best wildlife viewing happens in the quieter channels and along the marshy edges of Grass Lake and Lake Marie. Slow down, cut the engine, and drift — you’ll see far more than you will at cruising speed. Binoculars and a camera with a decent zoom lens are worth bringing, even if wildlife isn’t the primary reason for your trip. On any given day at the Chain O’Lakes, nature puts on a show.