Fall 1998

Excellent birding and a favorite stop for warblers during migration.

Cook County, Illinois

In the 1860s, a Dutch settler named Zanders homesteaded in the southern reaches of Cook County. Long before that, the area formed the shoreline of ancient Lake Chicago. The sandy soil left behind when the lake retreated is the perfect habitat for a stunning variety of plants, and the site is now known as Zanders Woods Forest Preserve.

The site, about 440 acres overall, is evenly split between woodlands and wetlands, including marshes and sedge meadows in the low-lying areas. A recent survey found a remarkable 139 native species growing here.

Black and white oaks dominate the forest; the site is noteworthy for a large number of sassafras trees, a tree more commonly found in the South and East. Also uncommon in the Chicago area, yet well-represented here, are black gum trees. The wide variety of trees puts on a spectacular show of colors in the fall.

Itıs been many years since the woodlands were burned. As a result, theyıve become rather dense. Wet weather nixed plans to burn portions of the area last spring, but the Forest Preserve District hopes to conduct a prescribed burn next spring if the weather cooperates.

The entire site was dedicated as a state nature preserve in 1965 (itıs also known as Thornton-Lansing Road Nature Preserve). Many rare and showy plants can be found throughout. The butterfly weedıs bright orange flowers are a common sight most years. Several species of lupines, gentians, and blazing stars grow here. So does the fascinating Indian pipe, a plant with no chlorophyll that gets its nourishment through a parasitic relationship with tree roots.

Zanders Woods is also a fern loverıs delight, including cinnamon, ostrich, and royal ferns. Many of these are typically found only in the sandy soils of northern pine forests. Ferns are not common in the Chicago region, except in this area and closer to the Indiana Dunes.

Several other forest preserves are adjacent or nearby; this concentration of natural areas brings an excellent variety of birds to Zanders, particularly during the breeding season. Scarlet tanagers, oven birds, and wood thrushes are just a few of the many species noted here. Itıs also a favorite stop for warblers during migration.

Despite the lack of recent burns, experts still consider Zanders a very healthy site, though not immune to the problems that many preserves face, including damage caused by occasional off-road vehicles, bicycles, and more frequent harm to rare plants caused by hungry deer.

Hiking is the only allowed activity since the site is a state nature preserve. An access road that runs south from Thornton-Lansing Road is gated and closed to cars, but open to hikers. Several trails lead from this road into the woods and wetlands.

— Chris Larson