ILLINOISDEPARTMENTOF NATURAL RESOURCES

J.B. Pritzker,
Governor|illinois.gov

Wildlife

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An endangered piping plover rests on a beach in Illinois.

Imani and Searocket: A Story of Sand and Storms

May 1, 2025 by Laura Kammin, Brad Semel

Wildlife | Birds | Natural Heritage Pick | Piping Plover

A brown and white speckled hawk perches on a tree limb. In the background is a green leafy tree canopy.

Let’s Make This Perfectly Clear

May 1, 2025 by Patty Gillespie

Wildlife | Amphibians | Birds | Fish | Mammals | Plants | Reptiles

A brown, tan, and white owl perches on a sign.

Signs

May 1, 2025 by Patty Gillespie

Wildlife | Regulations

A bright yellow bird engrossed in singing is perched on a tree branch at the top of a sapling.

Ten Ways You Can Help Migrating Birds This Spring

May 1, 2025 by Carla Rich Montez

Wildlife | Birds | Habitat Management or Enhancement | Migration

A brown adult male deer with velvet on its antlers stands in front of a woodland edge.

IDNR Announces New Detection of CWD in Four Additional Illinois Counties

May 1, 2025 by IDNR

Research | Wildlife | Chronic Wasting Disease | Deer | Disease Managment | Diseases | Wildlife Health

A family with three small children stand in front of a wooden barn with successfully harvested geese hanging on the wall behind the family. Several geese are displayed in front of the family too. Overlaying the photo on the top right is the 100th anniversary logo celebrating the 100 years of the founding of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

A Century of Hunting and Trapping in Illinois

May 1, 2025 by Kathy Andrews Wright

Wildlife | 100th Anniversary | Regulations

A gray non-banded armadillo stands at the bast of a tree. Green vegetation is in the background.

On the Move: Nine-banded armadillos and their range expansion in Illinois

May 1, 2025 by Nathan Proudman

Wildlife | Mammals | Research

A close-up of a brown muskrat eating a green plant stalk.

Mighty Muskrats: Natural bird conservationists?

May 1, 2025 by Leo Chan Gaskins

Wildlife | Mammals | Research | Wetland | Wildlife Pick

A gray bird bright reddish orange tuft on top of its head. The bird's back, wings, and tail are olive with streaks of bright yellow and bars of black and white.

Kinglets: Tiny native songbirds with colorful crowns

May 1, 2025 by Sheryl DeVore

Wildlife | Birds

A brown and white bald eagle soars on a sunny winter day. In the background are tree branches. On the top right, a logo celebrating Illinois Department of Natural Resources being established for 100 years overlays the image of the eagle.

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Centennial as a State Agency: 1925–2025

February 3, 2025 by Chris Young

Aquatic Organisms | Land | People | Wildlife | 100th Anniversary | History of Conservation

A puddle of water is all that remains to a pond that dried up. Tall grasses make up the pond shoreline against a few trees in the background. A bright blue partly cloudy sky is overhead.

Tales From Beneath the Surface

February 3, 2025 by Kathy Andrews Wright

Aquatic Organisms | Wildlife | Mammals | Rivers and Lakes

A tan, white, and black shorebird forages along a gravely shoreline. In the background is a calm freshwater lake.
A researcher standing on a concrete sidewalk holds a wild duck with a rusty red head and a black and gray body. In the background are various trees.

Meet the Staff: Mitch Oswald, Division of Wildlife Resources Field Operation Staff Head

February 3, 2025 by Kaleigh Gabriel

People | Wildlife | IDNR Staff | Wildlife

Six brown bison graze on a prairie with pink flowers interspersed throughout.

Plant and Bird Responses to Bison Grazing at Nachusa Grasslands

February 3, 2025 by Elizabeth Bach, Antonio Del Vallé

Land | Research | Wildlife | Habitat Management or Enhancement | Mammals | Places to Visit | Prairie or Grassland

A mostly brown and speckled white hawk perches on a tree branch and peers up at the leafy autumn canopy.

In Taxonomy, the Only Constant is Change

February 3, 2025 by Pam Otto

Wildlife | Birds

A brown waterfowl bird with brown feathers swims on a relatively calm waters.

The Pied-billed Grebe

February 3, 2025 by Kevin Wright

Wildlife | Birds | Rivers and Lakes

A group of high school aged students stand together in two rows. The teacher stands to the right of the students in the second back row.

Voices for the Future: Everyone Can Make a Difference

February 3, 2025 by Tristin Bednar, Madelynn Grampp, Megan Wiechmann

Aquatic Organisms | Land | People | Wildlife | Regulations | Youth

A group of people stand under the shade of a maple tree and discuss the operational plan of a prescribed burn. Most individuals are wearing fire retardant clothing. In the background is a small house, a trailer pulled by a pickup truck with fire fighting gear, and a gray car.

Barb Heyen Builds a Conservation Team

February 3, 2025 by Gilbert Randolph

Land | People | Wildlife | Habitat Management or Enhancement

Dainty white flowers with five petals and little yellow centers are blossoming amongst new leaves on a bush in springtime.

Serviceberry: A native plant for all seasons

February 3, 2025 by Sheryl DeVore

Land | Wildlife | Birds | Habitat Management or Enhancement | Mammals | Plants

In front of a woodland an adult male white-tailed deer with antlers stands alert. To the right of the male is an adult female white-tailed deer walking towards the edge of the woodland.

Why Are Deer So Successful in Illinois?

February 3, 2025 by Jameson Mori, Nelda A. Rivera

Recreation | Research | Wildlife | Deer | Hunting | Research | Wildlife Pick

Explore Our Family of Websites

A link the Wildlife Illinois web site with advertisements for its four sections: Help, Sightings, Wildlife Identification, and Prevent Problems.
A link the Hunt Illinois web site.
A link the CICADA web site.
A link the Living with White-tailed Deer web site with advertisements for its three sections: ecology, management, and history.