Above / May Watts Park is located between West Wind and Countryside subdivisions with three sidewalk entrances and streetside parking along Sequoia Road, Whispering Hills and Oakton in Naperville, Illinois.
Yesterday, Nov. 17, 2025, we chased this red-tailed hawk from one brilliantly colored oak tree to the next around the pond in May Watts Park. Then it landed on a branch and stared right at us…
Nine to 16 different hawk species are known in Illinois. The most common hawk is the red-tailed hawk. Occasionally a Cooper’s Hawk has been spotted on the rail of the deck in the backyard.
From the Morton Arboretum to the DuPage County Forest Preserve, reports say between 17 and 21 different native oak tree species grow in Illinois!
Take a stroll around the pond in May Watts Park and find a large variety of them, acorns and all.
West Wind and Countryside, two neighborhoods surrounding May Watts Park, have many types of oak trees that hang onto their leaves that continually change color, turning brown and looking dry, until spring, a process called marcescence.
The mighty oak varieties are a sharp contrast to ash trees lining the parkways, creating golden canopies along the streets and dropping their leaves in early fall.
It’s pretty safe to say the brilliant colors of autumn have passed their peak for 2025.
Still, the great outdoors offers plenty to explore every day of the year.
Final curbside leaf collection ends Nov. 26
And remember the final curbside leaf collection of the season is now in progress in Naperville, Illinois. The program concludes Nov. 26.
