Chicago Nature Now! Alert
June 1, 2017

“Chicago nature info and news to help you discover the region’s
finest natural wonders and to plan your Chicago nature trip.”

Here’s what’s happening in Chicago nature:

Plan a trip this weekend to experience lupine-covered dunes, a wetland of blue flag iris, and a sand prairie possibly brimming with coreopsis.

HIGHLIGHTS

Miller Woods is putting on the event of the week with its hyperventilatingly beautiful display of wild lupine and hoary puccoon. If you weren’t already convinced that Chicago offers national-park quality events, this one that will forever change your mind. See Photo Section, below, from my visit on Monday, May 22. At 3:10 am, I got out of bed and drove to Gary, Indiana to take this picture for you. It was well worth it!

Somme Prairie Grove offers a celebration of golden Alexander in the woodland and a sensation of blue flag iris in the wetland.

Illinois Beach Nature Preserve is putting on a nice show of wild lupine and hoary puccoon. And, this should be the weekend to experience the show of sand coreopsis. We scouted it twice last weekend and the coreopsis was just starting. Send us pictures of what you find.

PLAN YOUR CHICAGO NATURE TRIP

Miller Woods (Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) in Gary, Indiana: The display of wild lupines and hoary puccoon is a must-see event. Imagine blue and yellow flowers flowing like a blanket along the sides and atop the wooded dunes. Follow the trail to the beach and you’ll hit the mother lode after you cross the white gravel trail. And while you’re in Indiana, check out these preserves to fill out the rest of your day: Cowles Bog Trail and Tolleston Dunes.

Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois: Take the trail north into the trees to find thousands of golden Alexanders. Then, follow the trail to the northeast to find a grand offering of blue flag iris in the wetland near Waukegan Road. Continue along the trails to see many other flowers in bloom, including cream wild indigo, shooting stars and American vetch.

Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion: Hike the trail through this fairy-tale savanna to find displays of wild lupine, hoary puccoon, and downy phlox. Take the trail toward Lake Michigan where you’ll find sand coreopsis in the sand prairie. Our last scouting mission here was last Saturday and sand coreopsis was just starting to bloom. It’s spectacular in full flower. Because this preserve is so rich, you can easily spend most of your day exploring. Afterwards, you may want to head north to see Chiwaukee Prairie‘s display of shooting stars. They’re fading, but still look decent.

Chiwaukee Prairie in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin: The displays of shooting stars is fading, but it’s worth dropping by if you don’t have a long drive or you also plan to visit Illinois Beach Nature Preserve while you’re out that way.

PHOTO SECTION

Wild Lupine in Our Black Oak Savannas (Sand Savannas)

Wild lupine and hoary puccoon blanket the savanna floor amongst the swale and dunes at Miller Woods.*

Last week, I visited the sand savanna at Miller Woods and found this breathtaking display of wild lupine and hoary puccoon blanketing the wooded swales and dunes.

Biodiversity is about the many, not the few. Here, it’s springtime in the savanna, where blue lupines share precious space with hoary puccoon. But, as the season advances, both will fade, making room for an array of other species, in a cycle where each has its time in the sun and then returns to the soil.*

Biodiversity is about the many, not the few. Here, it’s springtime in the savanna, where blue lupines share precious space with hoary puccoon in the sand savanna at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve.*

Wild lupine of species Lupinus perennis.

Sand Coreopsis at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve (predicted)

In a celebration of life, blooms of sand coreopsis spread with golden joy along the banks of the Dead River at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*

Based on two visits last weekend, we predict blooms of sand coreopsis in the sand prairie at Illinois Beach Nature Preserve in Zion, Illinois.*

Somme Prairie Grove

This is scene from Tuesday, May 30. Golden Alexander brightens the oak savanna at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook.

The purple flowers of American vetch dot the savanna at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook.

This is scene from Tuesday, May 30. The purple flowers of American vetch dot the open savanna at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook.

A phalanx of bue flag iris towers over the spring wetland at Somme Prairie Grove in Northbrook, Illinois*

Shooting Stars at Chiwaukee Prairie

Springtime wildflowers bloom in profusion at Chiwaukee Prairie in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Here, we can see shooting star, wood betony, hoary puccoon, and yellow star grass.*

Common Blue-eyed Grass

Find this gorgeous flower in the prairies and savannas.*

* Photo is representational and was not recorded this year. Bloom times vary from year to year.

SCOUTING NEEDS for my next report on Thursday, June 1:

Wolf Road Prairie: Status of spiderwort in the prairie.
Illinois Beach Nature Preserve: Current status of sand coreopsis, wild lupine, hoary puccoon, downy phlox, pasture rose, spiderwort.
Miller Woods: Current status of wild lupine, hoary puccoon, and anything else, plus other flowers that are coming in.
Bluff Spring Fen: Current status.
Shoe Factory Road Prairie: Current status.
Fermilab Prairie: Status of foxglove beardtongue, etc.
Somme Prairie Grove: Current status of existing and new blooms.
Lake in the Hills Fen: Current status.

If you’d like to scout the preserves for us, please let us know.

If you find this website of Chicago nature information useful, please consider donating or purchasing my nationally-acclaimed book that celebrates all of the preserves featured on this website.

—Mike