THE SCENE
Marsh complex with woods and prairie

Highlights
Popular place to see migrating birds, connects to raised section of Illinois Prairie Path with great view of wetlands

Stats
130 cres, half-mile loop around marsh

Behind the scenes
Park District is working to reestablish habitat for state-threatened Blanding's turtle

Getting there
Take I-355 to North Ave (Rte 64). Go west to County Farm Rd. Go left/south to Harrison. Turn left/east on Harrison, which will end at the Lincoln Marsh parking lot entrance.

Spring 2004

Explore a diverse habitat with abundant birds, wildflowers, and frogs in spring, and wetlands that can provide native habitat for the threatened Blanding's turtle

DuPage County, Illinois

Once popularly called Goose Island, the 130-acre Lincoln Marsh Natural Area in Wheaton, Illinois, offers much more than its name reveals. A hike down the half-mile loop around the marsh is an excursion through several diverse habitats.

Sunset on Lincoln Marsh. Photo by Jon Snyder.

From the west entrance, the crushed limestone trail leads into woodland. According to Kelly Joslin, interpretive naturalist for the Wheaton Park District, the woodlands become a migratory stopover for more than 30 species of warbler beginning in late March. The woods also provide a home to brown creepers, great-crested flycatchers, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers, among others. Flora include red trillium, trout lily, Virginia waterleaf, wild columbine, nodding wild onion, and Illinois rose. Observant visitors may also spot red fox, coyote, raccoon, mink, and the Lincoln Marsh Teams & Ropes Course, which sits a bit further down the trail.

South of the woodlands, one of three boardwalks constructed by Eagle Scouts diverges from the loop trail, leading visitors over wet prairie and cattail marsh to one of two oak savannas in the park. Both "islands" attract woodpeckers, scarlet tanagers, and orioles.

Back to the marsh loop and northeast across another boardwalk lies a restored prairie, complete with compass plant, Missouri goldenrod, Culver's root, willow aster, prairie sunflower, and prairie sundrops. There, a wheelchair-accessible ramp connects Lincoln Marsh with the Illinois Prairie Path, built atop the abandoned Chicago, Aurora & Elgin electric line. Once on the Prairie Path, which bisects the park, visitors can gaze over the marsh's open water and emergent wetlands in all directions.

Cape May warbler. Photo by Rob Curtis/The Early Birder.

With the variety and sheer number of birds living in the preserve's wetlands, it is no wonder that birding is one of the most popular activities here. The marsh habitat attracts migrants such as American bittern, sora, Virginia rail, pied-billed grebe, wood duck, black-crowned night-heron, blue- and green-winged teal, and greater and lesser yellowlegs, to name a few. "Springtime is when the frogs sing," laughs Joslin, listing leopard frog, green frog, bullfrog, chorus frog, and American toad among the inhabitants. Beautiful wildflowers are abundant here as well, such as cardinal flower, marsh marigold, great blue lobelia, and monkey flower. And the park district is currently working to reestablish the native wetland habitat of the state-threatened Blanding's turtle in hopes of reintroducing them to the area.

Not only is Lincoln Marsh a wildlife haven and recreational refuge, it provides significant stormwater storage for the Winfield Creek watershed. "The area holds roughly the amount of water in 1,600 backyard pools," says Joslin — a service that would cost taxpayers at least $12 million dollars to recreate.

Lincoln Marsh welcomes dogs on leashes, but horses and bikes are prohibited. Those interested in visiting the park, enrolling in a program, or volunteering should contact Kelly Joslin at (630) 871-2810. The Marsh is currently looking for volunteers for frog monitoring and breeding bird surveys.

— Jennifer Tang