Outings

Mayslake Nature Study & Photography Club outings are a great way to have fun shooting, see new places, ask advice of other photographers and share your images on the MNSPC Flickr site. We also share stories while enjoying food and drink. Why not join us?

The outings from the current year are listed below with links to the photos in Flickr.

July 2026 – Des Plaines Fish & Wildlife Area; Sunflowers?

Several Mayslakers visited Des Plaines Fish & Wildlife Area to try and capture sunflower images as well as some wildlife. The Des Plaines Fish &
Wildlife area isn’t just about sunflowers. There was a pond with many Wood Ducks – who flew to the back of the pond when we drove up. But, then we came to a dip in the road. To the left we could see the Kankakee River and to the right was a pond with many Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons. WE only managed to find 1 lonely sunflower and all partcipents surrounded it to capture it. A long story to say, our Sunflower adventure was “for the birds”. Our morning outing ended with breakfast/lunch at a familiar spot in Elwood. All the participants enjoyed good food and great company!

Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

May 2026 – Volo Bog Natural Area

Several Mayslakers and 2 former Mayslakers headed out on another beautiful Spring day to Volo Bog to capture images of the Bog in Spring. The bog was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973 as the only remaining open-water quaking bog in Illinois.^[1] The site also contains woodlands, savanna, marshes, prairie restoration areas, shrubland and old fields. The bog itself is 47.5 acres (19.2 ha) in size. It was originally a steep-sided lake created by the melting of a large chunk of glacial ice at the end of the Wisconsonian glaciation. About 6,000 years before the present, a mat of sphagnum moss began to grow out into the water, playing a major role in the evolution of this geological feature from a lake into a bog. Volo Bog State Natural Area currently offers two major trails. An elevated 0.5-mile (0.80 km) boardwalk leads from the Visitor Center into the bog itself. A 2.75-mile (4.43 km) ground trail circles through the wetlands and meadows surrounding the bog.  Besides being treated to the local flora at the Bog we also were fortunate to be visited by a Sandhill Crane family with 2 colts.  The family is about to recive about 1,000 portraits taken by Mayslakers.

Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

April 2026 – Maple Grove – Gilbert Park

Several Mayslakers headed out on a beautiful Spring day to Maple Grove-Gilbert Park to capture images of Spring.  Maple Grove one of the oldest forest preserves in DuPage County, the 81-acre Maple Grove is the largest remnant of the vast maple forest that became Downers Grove. The preserve is categorized as a “globally endangered ecosystem” by ecologists. Maple Grove’s remnant black maple savanna and upland maple forest communities host hundreds of different types of plants, some threatened or endangered. Because less than 0.5% of Illinois’ natural areas are intact today, Maple Grove is both a rare historic forest and a valuable natural area. Spring is an especially wonderful time to visit, when carpets of trilliums, trout lilies, violets, Virginia bluebells, buttercups, and wild geraniums are in bloom. In fall, the woodlands — home to birds from indigo buntings to hawks and great horned owls — put on a spectacular show.

Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

March 2026 – Little Red School House

Finally temperatures were warmer with the start of Spring on a sunny day.  Eleven club members attended the Mayslake Outings at the Little Red School House  It is wonderful to see the earth come back to life – spring flowers and birds migrating North and capture images of the change. The Little Red Schoolhouse (LRSh) is a popular spot in Willow Springs.  This location is part of the Cook County Forest Preserve District.  There was something for everyone here but a little too early for Spring flowers – maybe next outing..  LRSh hangs birdfeeders through the winter weould photograph birds at the feeders .  We also took the trail along Long John Slough where we found some migrating waterfowl.   As usual, we wrapped up the day with lunch at a local restaurant and a lively discussion of photography topics.

Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

February 2026 – Macro Inside “Outing”

With temperatures still quite cold, the Mayslake Outings group arranged to reserve a room at the La Grange Park Public Library. Attendees were encouraged to B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Prop) for this indoor outing. Club member Barbara Dunn, who is also a library member, was able to “check out” a meeting room so we could hold the event indoors. The room quickly filled with flowers, books, old photos, gears, and other interesting objects. The outing was such a hit that we all agreed it should become an annual tradition. As usual, we wrapped up the day with lunch at a local restaurant and a lively discussion of photography topics.

Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

January 2026 – Inside “Outing”

With temperatures so frigid on January 24th that even our camera batteries wanted to stay home, a brave band of Mayslakers bundled up and ventured out to a cozy local eatery. Once thawed from our walk from the parking lot to the restaurant, we dove into all things photography—swapping stories about our favorite cameras and lenses, debating equipment rentals, trading ideas for must‑see photo spots, and comparing notes on post‑processing tricks. The “hot stove” chatter warmed us almost as much as the food. Fingers crossed the February outing doesn’t require arctic‑expedition gear.

Since we did not take any new outing images we encouraged all attendees to choode imspiring spring or winter photos.  Click the link below to visit the Flickr site.

Brookfield Zoo Lights – December 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Brookfield Zoo for a festive experience photographing holiday lights which was a lot of fun. Brookfield Zoo was lighting up the night this holiday season with a brand-new light display, celebrating more than 40 years of Holiday Magic. There were more than 3.5 million lights (we counted them), spectacular interactive displays transform the Zoo into a dazzling winter wonderland. The group strolled through themed areas featuring giant holiday displays, a maze, tunnels, and animal-themed lights They twisted their cameras, zoom their zoom lens, swiped up or down to create interesting effects.  Multiple exposures resulted in multiple trees where there was only one (somehow holiday lights on trees make this acceptable). Lensbaby lenses were also be a lot of fun and resulted in interesting images.

Greene Valley Forest Preserve – November 2025

November was a great time to capture the Wabi-Sabi of nature.   Wabi-Sabi is beauty in imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness; the Japanese aesthetic concept that finds beauty and serenity in objects, landscapes, designs, etc., that are simple, imperfect, and impermanent.  

The 1,388-acre Greene Valley Forest Preserve in Naperville is home to more than 540 native plant species, making it one of DuPage’s most botanically diverse sites.  Greene Valley boasts a high-quality oak woodland. The savanna between Greene Road and the East Branch DuPage River and the aged oak woodland in the youth-group campground are excellent examples of how plant communities looked in DuPage County more than a century ago.

“Al’s Duck Pond” – October 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited a pond in Southwest Chicago suburb recommended by MLNPC member Al Alvis. “Al’s Duck Pond”, as it is now affectionally named, is a nice little location; filled with Mallards, Canada Geese, a couple of Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron when we visited in October. Some gulls were also flying around. The pond includes several tiered waterfalls.  One spot in particular was good for reflections. There was also an interesting building, a big blue steel bridge, and barges and boats passing through the Cal Sag channel. Preceding the outiing the group met for lunch to energize for the photo outing. Thanks to Al for recommending this location.

Chicago Botanic Garden – September 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Chicago Botanic Garden on a beautful, nice, fall moring. The overnight rains left some nice droplets on flowers and leaves, and the calm winds kept those droplets in place. Members also had a chance to visit the International Dahlia Show and capture some beautiful images. Our members gathered at a local eatery to enjoy brunch and discuss the flowers they photographed.  All left wih big smiles and an eagerness to return next year.

Fort Sheridan Preserve – July 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Fort Sheridan Preserve, which is part ot the Lake Coounty Forest Preserve system, on an overcast day that quickly turned hot and sunny. A scenic destination, Fort Sheridan Preserve offers a variety of opportunities to recreate in nature. Fort Sheridan is one of only a few places in Lake County that offer free public access to Lake Michigan and an awe-inspiring lake overlook perched on a 70-foot-high bluff. Known for its pristine natural areas and excellent birdwatching, Fort Sheridan is home to several rare species not found elsewhere in the region. The preserve’s savanna, ravines and lakefront location allow visitors to observe one of North America’s busiest flyways for migratory birds. At least 236 species of birds have been seen here. 

Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie – June 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie which is operated by the United States Forest Service. The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is the first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the United States and the largest conservation site in the Chicago Wilderness region, it is located on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant and now includes a full array of species and natural processes typical of tallgrass prairies in the region, including the reintroduction of bison. Turning back the clock from a landscape dominated by rusting munitions factories and abandoned ammunitions bunkers into a 20,283-acre pristine tallgrass prairie makes the Midewin a compelling vision for landscape scale restoration. Mayslakers, led by member Bill Glass, spent the morning among the coneflowers and other wild flowers that dotted the landscape

Parson’S Grove – May 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Parson’s Grove – part of the Danada Equestrian Center. Parson’s Grove an open woodland in the southeast corner of the preserve. It fills each spring with wild geraniums, trout lilies, shooting stars, bloodroot, toothwort, trilliums, and other native wildflowers. When we visitedout the area Mayapples, red trilliums, honeysuckle and wild geraniums were most prevalent. With the recent warm temperatures, the bluebells also opened. We found the start of the Regional Trail, a wide limestone path, behind the barn. We followed this trail for a little bit until we found the trailhead to the Nature Trail.  Here we followed this narrow winding trail through Parson’s Grove where we saw tons of fallen trees and the beginnings of spring wildflowers popping up. Absolutely gorgeous! The trail rolls slightly throughout so it kept everything interesting.

Black Partridge Woods – April 2025

A group of Mayslakers visited Black Partridge Woods which typically has some spring ephemerals in April. There were bloodroot, hepatica and spring beauty blooming.  With the recent warm temperatures, the bluebells also opened.  There were also a lot of Mayapples springing up.  The weather turned out perfect for photographing flowers – slightly overcast, an initial slight drizzle and light winds