Pelicans Making Their Way Back To Will County For Fall Pit Stop

WILL COUNTY, IL — American white pelicans, one of the largest birds in North America, have been spotted flying overhead and making a pit stop in Will County waterways recently, the Forest Preserve District of Will County shared.

The pelicans pass through each spring and fall. In the fall, they typically arrive in late August or early September, making a pit stop on their way to their wintering grounds along the Gulf of Mexico, the preserve said.

Sometimes they can be spotted in the Will County area into November or even December. The pelicans will be back again in late February or early March as they make a return trip to their breeding grounds in Canada and the Dakotas, according to the preserve.

"The number of pelicans seen locally can vary throughout their stopover periods, and, as with all wildlife, there are no guarantees they'll be present at any given time," the preserve said in a news release.

They are regularly spotted at McKinley Woods - Kerry Sheridan Grove in Channahon, and you might be able to spot them at Rock Run Rookery Preserve in Joliet or at Lake Renwick Preserve in Plainfield.

At Lake Renwick, you can sometimes spot them from Copley Nature Park, where they'll tuck themselves behind the islands to protect themselves from the wind, said Jess McQuown, program coordinator at Four Rivers Environmental Education Center. Away from the preserves, another pelican hot spot is along Front Street by the boat launch in Channahon.