BY ANDREW MORKES, FOUNDER AND AUTHOR OF “NATURE IN CHICAGOLAND”
UPDATED AUGUST 2025
Beautiful hilly grasslands. Big skies. Enjoyable hiking trails. The opportunity to see more than 120 bird species. If these phrases catch your attention, you should visit Big Sky Nature Reserve in Jo Daviess County, Illinois. The almost 900-acre preserve is divided into two sections, the Valley of Eden Bird Sanctuary (5559 E. Rush Creek Road, Stockton, IL 61085, map) and the Home Farm Section (5557 S. Massbach Road, Stockton, IL 61085, map). The preserve has been recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International and National Audubon because it provides critical breeding habitat for grassland bird species in greatest need of conservation. The Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation (JDCF), which owns and manages the sanctuary, says that “there have been documented sightings of over 120 different bird species at Big Sky with April through August being the prime viewing season. Notable Illinois species of conservation concern include the Henslow’s sparrow, bobolink, red-headed woodpecker, and northern harrier. More common species, such as a variety of other woodpeckers and neo-tropical migrants, can be seen here too, making Big Sky Nature Reserve a birding paradise for people of all ages and abilities.” Protected areas such as Valley of Eden are critical to counter shocking declines in bird counts throughout the United States and Canada in the past five decades.
Here is a jaw-dropping statistic. A large-scale study released in 2019 found that there were 29 percent fewer birds in North America than there were 50 years ago. This amounts to 3 billion fewer birds than there were in the United States and Canada in 1970 (the year after I was born). The loss of birds is most strongly tied to the destruction of habitat due to land development and a move toward industrialized farming techniques (including increased use of pesticides). The study was conducted by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, American Bird Conservancy, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Georgetown Environment Initiative.
In addition to possibly seeing Henslow’s sparrows, bobolinks, red-headed woodpeckers, and northern harriers at Big Sky Nature Reserve, you might also spot eastern meadowlarks, song sparrows, eastern bluebirds, American goldfinches, dickcissels, red-tailed hawks, Baltimore orioles, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, northern flickers, owls, and many other birds, along with deer, coyotes, and other animals.
My wife, 11-year-old-son, and I visited Valley of Eden section on a very windy, but mild (high-50s), day last month as a first stop on our mini-vacation to the historic town of Galena, Illinois. My goal was to hike on all three days of our trip—and Big Sky Nature Reserve was our first destination. There are more than 15 miles of trails at Big Sky, which traverse tall- and short-grass restored prairie, forests, wetlands, and Rush Creek.
At the information kiosk at the trailhead, we picked up a trail map; a laminated, color flyer that listed popular birds cited at the sanctuary; and other information, and then began hiking. The mowed trails provided an easy walk, although many paths traverse hilly terrain. As we hiked, we were buffeted by wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, and I kept thinking that my wife and son would want to turn around, but they were troopers. I think we all felt joy at being on vacation and elated to be outdoors on a spring day. We hiked. We looked for birds (and saw a few—primarily hawks gliding far overhead). The JDCF says that the prime viewing season for birdwatching is April through August; I think we were a little early given the cold spring that most of the Midwest is experiencing. My son investigated Rush Creek. I loved the juxtaposition of the rolling hills (mostly still covered with yellowed grass and a few new green shoots) and the big skies, which alternated between ashy gray and signs of storms to the west to moments of bright blue. We enjoyed the landscape and made memories. As I watched my wife and son walk ahead of me, I marveled at how tall my son is now and recalled the days after he was born prematurely when he was the size of a loaf of bread and I could carry him everywhere. (For more on these memories, please see my essay, On the Joys of Carrying My Son.)
The skies gradually darkened, and we decided to head to the car and toward our final destination of Galena. The dark skies were a false alarm, and the firmament grew blue again as we traversed the steep and winding back roads of Jo Daviess County and marveled at the open spaces. We passed bright red barns, greening fields, pastures filled with cows and horses, the occasional agricultural field turned to a massive solar farm, tired-looking hamlets, a former roller rink with a sign that promised it would become a toy museum someday, meat packing plants, and lonely country graveyards and prairie churches. Only about 21,525 people (a number that would fill a little more than half the seating capacity of Wrigley Field in Chicago) reside in this 619-square-mile county.
But before heading to Galena, we had lunch in historic Stockton, Illinois. We’d hoped to check out the Mud Run Beer Co. (124 S. Main Street, Stockton, IL 61085), but it was closed that day. Next time.
Then we headed to Galena to check into our hotel. There was a swimming pool calling my son’s name, a Jacuzzi calling mine, dinners and hiking trips to plan, and other vacation adventures ahead. Galena, which was founded in 1826, has more than 1,450 buildings on the National Historic Register, including President Grant’s home. Valley of Eden Bird Sanctuary is just one of more than 25 natural destinations in the Galena area, and larger Driftless Region, that I cover in my book, Nature In Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. Only one town in my book receives the full chapter treatment, and that’s Galena. I did so because I love visiting it; it’s a special place, and it is the perfect home base for many nature and historical adventures in eastern Iowa, southwest Wisconsin, and northwest Illinois.
Here are some other great Driftless Area destinations:
Mississippi Palisades State Park—Great Views, Muddy Shoes, and Eagles in Twos
7 Things to Do at Horseshoe Mound Preserve in the Driftless Region
6 Things to Do at Witkowsky State Wildlife Area
Author and Professor Discusses the Magical Driftless Area
Things to Know Before You Go
- Valley of Eden is open daily dawn to dusk.
- Cross-country skiing (call JDCF at 815/858-9100 to check the trail status before heading out) and snowshoeing are allowed.
- The following activities are prohibited: littering, fires, camping, hunting, biking, motorized vehicle use, dogs/dog walking (from March 1 to September 30—to protect nesting birds), entering cow pastures, opening gates, removing vegetation (including picking flowers), and crossing fence lines
- The section name, “Valley of Eden” is a tribute to the Eden family, who settled in this valley and have farmed the area for four generations.
Copyright (text) Andrew Morkes
Copyright (photos) as credited
Main photo credits copyright (from top right going clockwise): ©Andrew Morkes; ©Barbara Baird; ©Barbara Baird; ©JDCF; MBardusk; ©JDCF; ©JDCF; ©Rich Mattas; ©Andrew Morkes
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Copyright (text/photos) Andrew Morkes
Looking for some other great nature destinations in Chicagoland? If so, check out my book, Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit. It features amazing destinations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Click on the title to learn more. The book has 306 pages and 210+ photos and is only $19.99.
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ABOUT ANDREW MORKES
I have been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. I’m the founder of College & Career Press (2002); the author and publisher of “The Morkes Report: College and Career Planning Trends” blog; and the author and publisher of Hot Health Care Careers: 30 Occupations With Fast Growth and Many New Job Openings; Nontraditional Careers for Women and Men: More Than 30 Great Jobs for Women and Men With Apprenticeships Through PhDs; They Teach That in College!?: A Resource Guide to More Than 100 Interesting College Majors, which was selected as one of the best books of the year by the library journal Voice of Youth Advocates; and other titles. They Teach That in College!? provides more information on environmental- and sustainability-related majors such as Ecotourism, Range Management, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Built Environment, Sustainability Studies, and Sustainable Agriculture/Organic Farming. I also served as a member of the parent advisory board at my son’s school for five years.
In addition to these publications, I’ve written more than 70 books about careers for other publishing and media companies including Infobase (such as the venerable Encyclopedia of Careers & Vocational Guidance, the Vault Career Guide to Accounting, and many volumes in the Careers in Focus, Discovering Careers, What Can I Do Now?!, and Career Skills Library series) and Mason Crest (including those in the Careers in the Building Trades and Cool Careers in Science series).
Here’s a list of the environmental-focused titles that I’ve written:
Solar Power Technicians (Careers in Infrastructure series)
Nature in Chicagoland: More Than 120 Fantastic Nature Destinations That You Must Visit
Wind Turbine Technicians (Great Careers Without a Bachelor’s Degree series)
Environmental Scientists (Cool Careers in Science series)
Renewable Energy Careers (Cool Careers in Science series)
Environment (Getting Started series)
My poetry has appeared in Cadence, Wisconsin Review, Poetry Motel, Strong Coffee, and Mid-America Review.
Wonderful photos