Sylvan Lake is full of wildlife. We have some resident experts on birds and wildflowers that you’ll find here. During the spring, we’re lucky to see migratory birds that stay for a few weeks and other natives that are here all summer and fall.
American Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawk
Western Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper's Hawk with Prey #1
Great Horned Owl
Eastern Screech Owl (grey phase)
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Male Downy Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Finch
Female House Finch
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Cranes
Light Red-tailed Hawk
Immature Bald Eagle
Cedar Waxwing
Muskrat
Young Raccoons
Mix of American Goldfinch and House Finches at a feeder
Winter American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
A nickname for the Dark-eyed Junco is Snowbird. They come here for the winter then leave north in the spring.
American Tree Sparrow in a small blizzard
American Tree Sparrow
Pine Siskin
Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Bloodroot
Bloodroot
Common Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Common Loon
Red-breasted Mergansers
Male Red-breasted Merganser
Male Red-breasted Merganser
Female Red-breasted Merganser
Female Red-breasted Merganser
Male Hooded Merganser
Male Hooded Merganser
Female Hooded Merganser
Female Hooded Merganser
Male Wood Duck
Wood Ducks
Male Wood Duck
Male Wood Duck
Wood Ducks
Wood Ducks
Pied-billed Grebe
Mallard
Canada Goose
Spring Beauty
Violet
Toothwort
Trout Lily
Trout Lily
Dutchman's Britches
Great White Trillium
Great White Trillium
Prairie (Red) Trillium
Prairie (Red) Trillium
False Solomon's Seal
Shooting Star
Blue-flag Iris
Blue-flag Iris
Wild Geranium
Wild Geranium
Phlox
Virginia Waterleaf
Lily-of-the-Valley
Jack in the Pulpit
Queen Anne's Lace
Violet
Virginia Bluebells
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler at Magee Marsh, a U.S. migration hotspot, in the Spring
Palm Warbler
Indigo Bunting
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Northern Parula
Blackpoll Warbler
American Redstart
Black-and-white Warber
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Warbling Vireo. Taken at Magee Marsh in Ohio, a spring migration hotspot in the U.S.
Blue-headed Vireo
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Scarlet Tanager. Taken at Magee Marsh in Ohio, a spring migration hotspot in the U.S.
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Juvenile Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Great-crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-winged Blackbird
House Wren
Great Blue Heron
Baltimore Oriole on the Balcony
Baltimore Oriole
A Tree Frog that was in my neighbor's garden.
Eastern Yellow-legged Meadowhawk
Eastern Meadowhawk
Eastern Meadowhawk
Black-and-yellow Garden Spider in Kathy and Jon Schwermann's garden
Spider on Purple Coneflower
Skipper Enjoying a Purple Coneflower
Monarch butterfly
Black Swallowtail
Yellow Swallowtail
Caspian Tern
Osprey
Tree Swallow
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird
Tree Swallows
Eastern Meadowlark
Dicksissal
Bobolink
Summer Wildflowers
Female Red-winged Blackbird. Taken at Magee Marsh in Ohio, a spring migration hotspot in the U.S.
Downy Woodpecker
Phlox
Belted Kingfisher
Eastern Kingbird at Fort Hill Nature Preserve, Lake County, IL
Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Barn Swallow
Great Blue Heron
Male Northern Cardinal
Male Northern Cardinal
Female Northern Cardinal
Black-capped Chickadee