Birdsong Chapter of Illinois Audubon Society
Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve
Green River Lowlands Preserve
©2020 by Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve. Proudly created with Wix.com
Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve
Open dawn to dusk 7 days a week
No dogs allowed
Park in gravel lot - hiking starts there
1701 Morman Rd., Amboy, IL 61310
​
Gremel Nature Preserve
Open dawn to dusk 7 days a week
No dogs allowed
Park in gravel lot - hiking starts there
1881 Lewis Rd., Amboy, Il 61310
Visit -
Amboy Marsh-1701 Morman Rd.
Gremel - 1881 Lewis Rd., Amboy, Il
Hike, bird-watch, take photographs, and enjoy nature at Amboy Marsh or Gremel Preserve. There are trails leading around ponds, a marsh, wetlands, and oak savanna. Enjoy an easy walk on sandy trails to experience habitats that offer a diversity of plant and wildlife species. Click the "Plan your Visit" tab for trail maps and descriptions. Social distancing of six feet apart is required.
ALERT!
Deer hunting is not allowed on Illinois Audubon Society properties but adjacent landowners do hunt. Please be cautious and wear blaze orange or red during
BOW SEASON
Oct. ,1 2026 - Jan. 17, 2027
IL Audubon Society properties are all completely closed to the public during all gun seasons as follows:
Oct. 10,11,12
Nov. 20,21,22
Dec. 3,4,5,6
Dec. 11,12,13
Dec. 31
Jan. 1,2,3
Jan. 15,16,17
​​
2026 Calendar of Events​​​​
update coming soon
​
​​​
​
​
​​​​​
Volunteer Work Days
Volunteers make all of the work at Amboy Marsh and Gremel happen! We can supply tools and training. You could assist with invasive plant removal, maintenance, and other general stewardship tasks. Recent recruits say that "This is easier than I thought it would be!"
​
WORKDAY CALENDAR 2026 -
Wednesdays: October 7, 14, 21, 28
November 11, 18​​
Saturdays: November 7​​​
​
Watch FaceBook for pop up workdays.
If you have any questions or would like to be a co-crew leader do not hesitate to contact us! Please let us know if you plan to come so we can contact you if the weather changes the plans.
Thank you for all of your support!
John McCrosky-815-992-1003
Deb Doyle-815-992-1002
No experience is necessary. Interested? Please contact johncmccrosky@gmail.com
Volunteering is a great way
to learn new things!
Oak color - photo by Amy Brewer
At-Home Projects
Click below to connect to projects related to birds and nature at home that are offered by Illinois Audubon.
Fall mushrooms - photo by Amy Brewer
Enjoy a visit to an Illinois Audubon Sanctuary!
Christmas Bird Count
Please enjoy a day of surveying for birds in
our area. Contact amboymarsh@illinoisaudubon.org if you would like to help. You don’t have to be an experienced birder to have fun, and learn some new species, on this day!
Click the photo to see our Winter 2025 /26 newsletter
Bat Acoustic Surveys with Illinois Audubon Society 2026
Illinois Bat Conservation ProgramIllinois Natural History Survey
Tara Hohoff Abby Pagels
Bats are a critical part of the Midwest ecosystem by providing valuable pest control through their nighttime consumption of insects. In Illinois we have 13 bat species, but only nine species are found in the majority of the state. Bats that may be found in northern Illinois include: Big Brown bat - Silver-Haired bat - Eastern Red bat - Hoary bat - Little Brown bat -Northern Long-eared bat - Endangered Indiana bat - Evening bat - Tri-colored bat.
We partnered with Illinois Audubon Society to survey Gremel Nature Preserve, Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve, and the Queen of the Prairie site using acoustics to identify bat species at these properties. We collected acoustic data for 20 nights, resulting in 117,197 audio files.
During the survey period, activity was variable by night.
Kaleidoscope and Sonobat data showed that the following six bat species were present at the Green River Lowlands sites - Big brown, Eastern red, Hoary, Indiana, Evening and Tricolored bat . Big brown bats were the most commonly recorded species. Bat activity was highest at Gremel Nature Preserve.
There was high activity of species of concern (Myotis and tricolored bats) at the Queen of the Prairie site. Manual review by
Tara Hohoff confirmed presence of the northern long-eared bat and the little brown bat at the Queen of the Prairie site. Although both Kaleidoscope and Sonobat showed there that the Indiana bat was present at this site , we could not find a distinctive call from this
species to manually confirm.
The complete survey is available by request.
​
Little Brown Bat - (Myotis lucifugus)- photo © Michael Durham
Butterflies at the Preserves
Gray Comma - photo by Amy Brewer
Common Wood Nymph - photo by Amy Brewer
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Buttonbush - photo by Deb Doyle
Education & Outreach
The 352 acres of Amboy Marsh and 430 acres of Gremel are critical habitat that was once part of the wetlands in Lee County called the Inlet and Winnebago Swamps. These peaceful sites are home for many flora and fauna. With the goal of restoring and protecting habitat, the areas do not offer amenities for people, but you may enjoy great hikes, photography and birdwatching. An additional 20 acre Ryback site and 80 acre Grigalouski site provide additional habitat in Lee County.
If you feel a connection to the marsh, join the group that cares for this place: The Birdsong Chapter of Illinois Audubon Society. Learn more about what we do and how you can join. Contact amboymarsh@illinoisaudubon.org.
Our main goal is to preserve habitat for plants and animals at the sites. We hold work days, offer programs at monthly meetings of the Birdsong Chapter and host other outdoor events. Contact us to learn more about our organization on Facebook at Birdsong Chapter-Stewards of Amboy Marsh/Gremel, or at https://illinoisaudubon.org/location/amboy-marsh-nature-preserve/. Our email is
amboymarsh@illinoisaudubon.org.
Please contact us to schedule any day you would like to come out to work. There is plenty to do and we'll work with you to find something that suits your interest and schedule. amboymarsh@illinoisaudubon.org.