Pekin Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area

Pekin Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is roughly 10 miles south of Peoria in central Illinois. This state reserve contains Illinois River floodplain lakes with extensive mudflats, secondary growth and bottomland forest.

Land management continues in this wildlife area to provide habitat for waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds.

Ornithological Summary

This long-term research and monitoring site provides habitat for breeding rookeries of Great Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron and Double-crested Cormorant.

Myriad species including waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds as well as Bald Eagle also use the site during migration.

This site was chosen as an IBA because it met the requirements for wading birds.

Conservation Issues

Logging was the primary threat in the past. Current and future threats include siltation, flooding, and resulting tree mortality.

Habitat

The site is found on a floodplain with alluvial sediments and is subject to periodic flooding by the Illinois River. Plant communities are primarily secondary growth and bottomland hardwood forest.