July 2021

IOS 2023 Big Sit Competition and Fundraiser

Friday, Sep. 22 – Sunday, Sep. 24, 2023

Art by Laurie Kaufmann

About the IOS 2023 Big Sit

Stay put. Count birds. Raise money! IOS invites you to join other birders throughout Illinois on the weekend of September 22-24 for the annual IOS 2023 Big Sit Competition and Fundraiser. Sign up below and pick a day on the weekend to sit in one spot and count as many species of birds as possible, whether in your yard or your favorite park or preserve. You can count as an individual or family or teams of up to five (additional participants can come and go from your count circle as long as no more than five people are in the circle at one time and social distancing and state guidelines are followed). Teams are also invited to help solicit donations for their team and use the event as a fun way to help us raise funds for IOS. The 2023 IOS Big Sit funds will go towards supporting IOS and IOS initiatives like the Illinois Young Birders and the IOS Grants program.

What is a Big Sit?

A Big Sit, similar to a Big Day, is a competition where a team of birders counts as many species as possible within a 24 hour period.  While the Big Day involves moving around from spot to spot to maximize species sightings, a Big Sit is precisely as it sounds. You stay in one location, a 20ft diameter circle called a “count circle”, and only species seen or heard from that circle count for the final tally.  Count wherever you want and as long as you want during your chosen count day. The Big Sit is all about slowing down and enjoying good company, great birds, and, in this case, supporting a good cause! Full rules can be read here.

Steps to Participate

1. Click the “Start a Team” button below and then click on “Start a Fundraiser” to create your fundraising team and find up to 5 people to join your Big Sit.

To start a fundraiser, you will need to create a Donately account if you do not already have one. It is very straightforward. Don’t forget a creative name! Don’t forget to set a fundraising goal for yourself!

Start a Team

2. Add a description which includes 1) Your teammates  2) Where you will be conducting your Big Sit 3) the date of your Big Sit.

3. Have each team member “join” by donating $10 (or more!) to your team.

4. Share, share, share! Reach out to friends and family to donate to your Big Sit by sharing your donation page. 

Donors can do a 1-time donation, or they can pledge to donate an amount “per species” and complete their donation after you announce your final species total to them.  NOTE: Your team is responsible for keeping track of “per species” donors and reminding them to donate afterwards!  Encourage donors that they can donate both ways!

5. Have Fun!

On your competition day, sit back, relax, and have fun counting birds. Share your highlights as the day progresses in the new IOS Facebook Group. (A submission form will be posted closer to the event date to submit your final species total and any highlights you want to share from your day).

6. Join Us for the Results and After Party

Anyone interested is invited to join us for a virtual after party online as we share highlights with one another and announce winners. Prizes will be awarded for the team that counts the most birds and for the team that raises the most in donations (details to be announced).

How to Donate

If you are supporting a specific team, you can donate via the link to their team page or search for the team below.

Donate to a Team

If you are not supporting a specific team, feel free to pick one to support or you can submit a general donation to IOS.

We invite donors to follow along during the event in the IOS Facebook Group and Join Us for the Results and After Party. Thank you in advance for your support of IOS!

Ways to Promote the Big Sit with Friends and Bird Clubs

Invite others to learn more at https://www.illinoisbirds.org/bigsit/

Questions

Aerin Tedesco
IOS Big Sit Event Coordinator

Palm Warbler. Photo by Adam Sell.

IORC Update, 9 July 2021: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted all 25 of these records.

The records involved are summarized below. For each record, we indicate the species or form, with number of individuals in parentheses if greater than one, followed by date or date range, location, and county. The record number is indicated in parentheses, followed by, for accepted records, names of the documenters. If multiple documenters are listed, those understood by IORC to have been the original finders of the bird(s) are listed first and separated from the others by a semicolon. IORC thanks all the documenters, for accepted and unaccepted records alike, for their submissions. All documentation is maintained in the IORC archives so that there is a permanent record of all these observations. Documentation, regardless of the Committee’s decision, is a valuable part of the record of bird life in Illinois.

Records Accepted

  • Brant, 2-26 January 2021, Winthrop Harbor and Waukegan in Lake County, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park in Cook County (2021-001; Robert D. Hughes, Tamima Itani, Vlad Nevirkovets, Terry Walsh, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • White-winged Dove, 22 May 2020, Mendota, LaSalle County (2020-109; Diana Rod).
  • Rufous Hummingbird, 1-10 December 2020, Lisle, DuPage County (2020-108; Tamima Itani, Vernon Kleen).
  • Magnificent Frigatebird, 4 November 2020, southeast of Grafton, Jersey County (2020-104; Bobby Wilcox).
  • Anhinga, 4-17 April 2021, Oakwood Bottoms, Jackson County (2021-013; Craig Taylor).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 23-25 July 2020, Lock & Dam 13, Whiteside County (2020-030; Ethan Brown).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 10-15 March 2021, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County (2021-008; Frank Holmes).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 19 June 2020, Waukegan, Lake County (2020-107; Dawn Klamut).
  • Barn Owl, 25 August 2016, Pawnee, Sangamon County (2016-107; Alex Patia).
  • Barn Owl (one to 2), 5-31 March 2017, Pawnee, Sangamon County (2017-086; Colin Dobson).
  • Gyrfalcon, 13 January to 4 February 2021, Waukegan, Lake County (2021-007; Josh Engel, Diane Hansen, Tamima Itani, Paul Sweet).
  • Prairie Falcon, 29 October 2020 to 13 February 2021, northern Coles County (2020-116; Colin Dobson, Tyler Funk, Amy Lynch, Trevor Slovick, Aerin Tedesco, Ted Wolff).
  • Mountain Bluebird, 28-31 December 2020, north of DeWitt, DeWitt County (2020-105; Colin Dobson).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 28 October 2020, Normal, McLean County (2020-114; Benjamin Murphy).
  • Evening Grosbeak (6), 6 February 2021, Cave in Rock, Hardin County (2021-004; Craig Taylor).
  • Evening Grosbeak (4), 6 February 2021, Golconda, Pope County (2021-005; Craig Taylor).
  • Evening Grosbeak (4), 21 February 2021, Chambersburg, Pike County (2021-006; Craig Taylor).
  • White-winged Crossbill (2 to 8), 17 November to 22 December 2020, Rockford, Winnebago County (2020-102; John Longhenry).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 29 November 2020, Afton Forest Preserve, DeKalb County (2020-115; John Heneghan).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 17-23 January 2021, Pana, Christian County (2021-009; Tom Colin).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 30 January to 9 February 2021, Galesburg, Knox County (2021-012; Jim Mountjoy).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 8 April 2021, Mesa Lake, Wabash County (2021-011; Bob Shelby).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 9 May 2020, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Union County (2020-113; Christopher Gilbert).
  • Common Yellowthroat, 26 December 2020, Skokie Lagoons Forest Preserve, Cook County (2020-103; Jeff Bilsky).
  • Common Yellowthroat, 30 December 2020, Mermet Lake Conservation Area, Massac County (2020-106; Vicki Lang).

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