DuPage Airport

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DuPage Airport

At the south end of the airport, a path runs between the airport and the Prairie Landing Golf Course. This path is part of the Illinois Prairie Path system.

Walking on this path between Kress Road and Kautz Road can be delightful in the spring and summer. Heading west from Kress, you start off in a small savannah, then move into some marsh areas, then out into grassland on the airport side and meadows and grassland on the golf course side. You can see and hear Western Meadowlarks, Dickcissels, Savannah and Grasshopper Sparrows. This is a very good spot to see and study these birds because there are fences on both sides of the trail and the birds frequently perch on them to sing. In addition, you can enjoy the plane activity and wonder how bad you'd do on the golf course. It looks pretty difficult.

The trail extends beyond Kautz Road, into the Pillsbury plant. The Pillsbury Pond on the side of Kautz Road can be very interesting.

Another place to find Western Meadowlarks is from south east corner of the main parking by the terminal building off of Kautz Road. Listen and you're likely to hear Western Meadowlarks in season. Check out the various posts and runway lights and you may see one singing.

Directions

Take Route 38 west of West Chicago to Kress Road. Go north on Kress Road for 0.9 miles until you see the trail crossing the road. To the west is the trail that runs between the airport and the golf course. To east, it runs along the West Chicago Prairie.

To get the main terminal, go west on Route 38 to Kautz and then north. You'll see the tower and building on the east side of the road.

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