Rend Lake Resort at Wayne Fitzgerell State Park in S. Illinois
Rend Lake, in Franklin and & Jefferson Counties, one of the biggest reservoirs in Illinois, is designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois. The lake hosts numerous waterbirds, such as herons, cormorants, and gulls, plus the state park on its eastern shore provides for a variety of land birding habitats. When water levels are low, the shallow western shore develops into huge mudflats that can be a shorebird mecca. Bottomland woods along the Big Muddy River below the dam are accessed in a set of convenient trails.
We will be stationed at the Rend Lake Resort inside Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, accessed easily from Interstate 57 (exit 77, IL-154). Details on the exact field trip itineraries are being finalized; all registration information is posted on the IOS website (www.illinoisbirds.org). A registration fee of $60.00 for IOS members ($40 for ILYBers) includes the Saturday night dinner plus a donation to a local conservation initiative and the IOS grants program. Questions? Contact Bob Fisher (630-985-2956, BFisher928@aol.com)
Accommodations
We are based at the Rend Lake Resort, 11712 E Windy Lane, Whittington, IL 62897, phone 800-633-3341. A block of rooms has been reserved at a rate of $75 per night for IOS members. Mention IOS when making your reservation. The room rate does not include breakfast, but the restaurant will serve a Hunter’s breakfast selection including hot items both weekend mornings starting at 5:15 AM for $8.95+tax. Our traditional Saturday dinner features a picnic/dinner setting in a covered pavilion, where IOS grant recipients will update us on their research. Room reservations made after February 27 are subject to availability and the prevailing market rate. Camping is available at the State Park.
Field Trips
Note: All field trips will depart from the Resort’s main parking lot. Start times in your registration packet.
Friday, April 22, 2016 Evening trip within the state park to hear American Woodcock, Whip-poor-will, Common NIghthawk, and owls. Assemble in the Rend Lake Resort lobby at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 23, 2016 – all day trips; lunch in the field.
Trip #1 This trip will visit sites to the south, on the north slope of the Shawnee Hills: Ferne Clyffe St. P., Devil’s Kitchen, and Crab Orchard N.W.R. (bring your federal duck stamp to avoid a fee).
Trip #2 This trip will visit a number of sites in the Rend Lake area, including the bottom woods below the dam.
Trip #3 This trip will travel to the west to visit the large grass and wetland complex (reclaimed former strip mines) of the Pyramid-Arkland landscape, some of which is protected in Pyramid State Park.
Sunday, April 24, 2016 – half day trips
Trip #1 Carlyle Lake (50 miles northwest of Rend Lake) is Illinois’s largest reservoir and needs no introduction as a premier birding hotspot of southern Illinois. Numerous migrants, both of the land and water bird variety, should be found at the various public access points surrounding the lake.
Trip #2 Birding locations in Marion and Fayette Counties N of Rend Lake, including the Kinmundy Greater Prairie-chicken site, Stephen Forbes State Park, and the Farina wetlands (bring rubber knee boots!).
Bird Species Highlights/Targets: Black Vulture, Gr. Prairie-Chicken, Bobwhite, Barn Owl (target species on all 3 Saturday trips), Fish Crow, Acadian Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Carolina Chickadee, all those hard-to-find southern warblers, Summer Tanager, rails(including Yellow), shorebirds, unusual waders, grassland sparrows, and who knows what rarities…?
REGISTER HERE: