Nature Areas
Jackson Park Bobolink Meadow
Directions: Bobolink Meadow is located in Jackson Park, directly west of the golf driving range and south of the Museum of Science and Industry. The Jackson Park field house is located at 6401 S. Stony Island Avenue.
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Description:
The ground underlying Bobolink Meadow did not occur naturally. It was created when large sections of lakeshore marshes were filled in to create Jackson Park, site of the 1893 World’s Fair. In the decades following the Fair, the land was used for athletic fields. From 1956 to 1971 the U.S. Army leased the land to build a defensive Nike missile base. Limestone gravel service roads were built over a clay liner, and with use the limestone became packed down in many places. After the base shut down, the compacted limestone remained and the area was covered with a few inches of soil. For a time the area was landscaped with limited success. It began to look weedy and wild in appearance.
In 1982, at the request of local residents, the abandoned missile site was designated as the Bobolink Meadow nature sanctuary. The area was named after the Bobolink-- an Illinois grassland bird that birdwatchers hoped might be attracted to the site. Bobolinks are songbirds that prefer open prairies, meadows, hayfields and abandoned farmlands. However the birds are rare in Chicago because they are hard pressed to find the open spaces for nesting and the food that they prefer. From late April to early October, though, bobolinks can be found in alfalfa and hayfields outside the city.
In 1989, seeds from roughly sixty species of forbs and grasses were sown on the south six acres of the site. The northern two-acres were left as a wooded area. The seeds came from locations throughout the upper Midwest. The purpose of the prairie seeding was to improve the soil and plant quality of the site. After the seeding, however, there was no formal program in place to manage the area. It wasn’t until the first prescribed burn in 1994 that the diversity of native species really became noticeably greater than the weeds.
Today the native species planted in Bobolink’s six-acre prairie attract many species of birds and butterflies. To the west it is bordered by the East Lagoon, which attracts muskrats, beaver, and dragonflies. Occasionally turtles make the short journey to lay their eggs in the meadow. In the summer, dragonflies and other insects fill the prairie with a droning buzz. Near the north entrance to the woodland, bright green Monk Parakeets nest in the tennis court lightpoles. The two-acre woodland is a restoration in progress. Whereas once the woodland was choked by invasive species, restoration efforts have been made to reintroduce native trees and shrubs of different varieties. Most of the restoration efforts in Bobolink Meadow are carried out by volunteer stewards who cut brush, pull weeds, seed and plant. Sensitive fern, nodding wild onion (Allium cernuum), obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana), and goldenrods (Solidago species) bloom in the summer. In the fall, American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) feed on the seeds of the cup plant.
Chicago Park District
Department of Natural Resources
February 2002