Duning it in the city: The ecology of 63rd Street Beach

The City of Chicago is the third largest city in the country and one of the largest in the world.  It's urban, filled with concrete, and populated by urban people.  Yet the city is blessed to have a fully accessible lakefront along the world's second largest freshwater lake, Lake Michigan.  It is along Chicago's lakefront parks that the Chicago Park District has managed to restore - and in some cases recreate - naturalized wildlife habitat.  One such area to explore a piece of Northern Illinois's natural history is the 63rd Street Beach Nature Sanctuary (see Map A).



Map A

The name of this area quickly reminds you that you are in the city.  Chicago is laid out in a grid, with numbered east-west running streets south of the Chicago River.  This massive grid dead-ends on the shores of Lake Michigan where nearly 20 miles of parkland allow urban dwellers to reach down and touch the water.  Most of it was developed during the early 20th century when hoards of fill material (mostly sand and some steel slag) were dumped into the lake to create parkland (Illinois Geological Survey, 2014).  .

At 63rd Street Beach, a small "sampling" of the coastal habitats that Lake Michigan offers can be conveniently viewed in close proximity to recreational amenities.  The Chicago Park District, which owns and manages the property, has been gradually restoring many other sections of Chicago's Lakefront with native plants as well as recreating dunes that were once much more common along Illinos' Lake Michigan shoreline.  Looking at these small dunes, it is hard to believe that they are man made, as dune vegetation is able to quickly establish themselves in a hot and windswept environments (figures 1 and 2).  Marram grass (Ammophila sp.) thrives in the loose sandy soils of the dunes, and its underground network of roots known as rhizomes help hold the sand in place.  This in turn prevents erosion, or the wearing away of land, which is very important in regards to protecting infrastructure such as the nearby roads and walkways.
Figure 1

Figure 2:  Recreated sand dune at 63rd street beach.  

Observant explorers will even find Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia humifusa) growing on some of the dunes, and in the spring and fall the lovely blossoms of Birdsfoot Violet (Viola pedata) can be seen low among the grasses and brush (figure 3).  .
Figure 3:  Birdsfoot Violet in bloom on the sand dune at 63rd street beach.  

The presence of dunes and natural vegetation also acts a as buffer zone between the lake and nearby Lakeshore Drive (US-41).  As rainwater washes from the road, it passes through the dunes and swales, trapping debris, absorbing water, and even filtering the runoff a little bit before it enters the lake  Cottonwood trees (Populus deltoides) as well as Choke Cherries (Prunus virginiana) are able to grow in the sand, and are sometimes partially buried.  They provide cover and some food for migratory birds that are stopping along their flyway.  Careful observers can sometimes spot a few Sanderlings (Calidris alba) probing the shore for snails and other invertebrates on one of the few sections of natural beach just west of the recreational area (figure 4 shows some Willets, a somewhat similar bird, down on a beach in Florida).

Figure 4:  Willets, a species of shorebird, on a beach in Florida  
Perhaps my favorite section of this part of the Chicago Lakefront is the peninsula and pier that juts out onto the lake.  As you walk out, you pass by another area of native vegetation composed of Salidgo Goldenrods (Salidago spp.), Big Blue-Stem (Andropogon geradi), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) , and other hardy grasses and forbes.  This provides an elegantly contrasting view of the high rises and other urban dwellings along Chicago's lake shore (see figures 5, 6, and 7).

Figure 5:  Nature sanctuary along the pier at 63rd Street Beach on Chicago's lakefront.  
The 63rd Street Beach's natural areas ,although small in size, provide a wonderful breadth of natural scenery in an urban area while providing environmental benefits to people and to wildlife.  Perhaps the next time you decide to go swimming or have a barbecue on a breezy summer day, you'll consider venturing just a little bit away from the crowds to admire the 63rd Street Beach Nature Sanctuary.

Figure 6
Figure 7:  Nature trail out to the pier


 References
A Walking Guide to the History and Features of Burham Park. (2014).  Illinois Geological Survey.


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