Building Memories (BM) uses personal experiences and relates them to topics of importance to building.
This BM explores the fauna of Northshore.
This is the second Building Memories post focused on the wildlife of the Northshore. For more than 20 years, I have taken walks throughout the Forest Preserves and Skokie Lagoons near my home. Most often, I walk with our family dogs, originally Ringo, who passed away about six years ago, and for the past seven years, Fletcher.
We often hike on an island within the Skokie Lagoons, accessible by a single land bridge or canoe. Fletcher runs off leash, giving us the chance to observe a wide variety of animals in their natural habitats. Surprisingly, when I compare the diversity and abundance of wildlife near our home with my wilderness adventures in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, or even the Andes of Peru, the local area wins hands down. Within 20 miles of downtown Chicago, we encounter more wildlife than I ever did on many remote adventures out west.
Most of the time, animals ignore us, allowing close observation. Occasionally, however, Fletcher attracts some attention. I once had to put on gloves and grab him by the collar to extract him from a scuffle with a possum.
Wildlife sometimes also intrudes on home life. One day, our back gate operator stopped working. Upon inspection, I discovered a cozy nest of fiberglass insulation housing a family of chipmunks or mice, snug through both winter and summer. Unfortunately, their nest shorted out the gate’s circuit board. At around 20 years old and no longer supported, the gate became an expensive household repair.
Other visitors include a hawk that perched on a power pole in our backyard one sunny afternoon. It stayed about ten minutes, before moving on.
The Skokie Lagoons themselves are home to a rich variety of birds. Geese, ducks, and herons are scattered throughout the interconnected waterways, providing endless entertainment for walkers and nature lovers.
Every 13 and 17 years, periodical cicadas emerge, creating an intense and remarkably loud season. It’s incredible that these creatures remain underground for so long, only to surface and complete their life cycle in 4–6 weeks.
During the early days of Covid, my mom stayed with us for about a year. That summer, our neighborhood was filled with rabbits and squirrels, until a coyote moved in within a block of our house, steadily reducing their populations. We began a tradition of daily happy hour on the front porch around 4:00 pm, only to notice the coyote arriving around 4:30 pm, often carrying a rabbit or squirrel back to its den.
If you have pictures of wildlife in the Chicago metro area, please share them! It’s remarkable how this urban environment supports a vibrant community of animals, living harmoniously with us and adding vitality, interest, and meaning to everyday life.
Photo 1: Algae
Photo 2: Deer
Photo 3: Fletcher in meadow
Photo 4: Fletcher
Photo 5: Fletcher & Possum
Photo 6: Gate Operator Nest
Photo 7: Geese
Photo 8: Hawk
Photo 9: Spider