This year we were able to fund 9 grant proposals! This brings the total to 130 grants and over $117,000 awarded since the program’s inception, through this year.
One of IOS’s objectives is “To promote scientific research and education in order to improve knowledge and awareness of birds in Illinois”. The IOS Grants Program was initiated several years ago to support this objective with funding.
The 2022 IOS Grants Program received ten requests for funding, representing a notably diverse set of study goals. The IOS review team evaluated each proposal, and determined that all were suitable for funding within the scope of that key objective described above. In addition to money provided directly by IOS, donations by four organizations and many individuals made it possible for all of the 2022 grant requests to be fully funded.
Sponsor Organizations:
DuPage Birding Club
Illinois Audubon Society
Lake-Cook Audubon Society
Illinois Ornithological Society
Thanks to you all! Without the generosity of these organizations and IOS members and friends in the bird conservation community, IOS would not be able to support these projects. The support exemplified by this funding sends an important message to these students and researchers: We believe in your work, and we care about the future of our state’s bird life!
Thanks to John Leonard and Scott Meister for reviewing and evaluating all the requests.
Congratulations to the grant recipients! Watch for their project articles in future issues of Meadowlark and watch for short summaries on the IOS website. Here’s a synopsis of the 2022 grants. Where noted, individuals and organizations targeted those grants for their donations.
| Recipient | Affiliation | Project | |
| Sarah Stewart | University of Illinois | Hesitant Heterotherms: Predictors of Torpor Use in a Midwestern Whip-poor-will Population | |
| Cheyenne Beach | Northern Illinois University | Trematodiasis Monitoring in Hunter-Harvested Waterfowl of the Mississippi River System | |
| Mac Chamberlain | University of Illinois | Effects of cowbird chatter call on juvenile roosting behaviors | |
| Sarah Winnicki-Smith | University of Illinois | Maternal effects, gut microbiomes, and growth of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) | |
| Gerald W. Heinrich | Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Alliance | Bald Eagle Viewing Scope | |
| Christopher Gutmann | Glen Ellyn Park District | Use of Passive Bird Monitoring to Create Adolescent Birders | |
| Matthew Scerbicke | Western Illinois University | Fear of Feathers: Do nest decorations deter nest usurpation and brood parasitism? | |
| Dairo Gbenga Sunday | Western Illinois University | An experimental test of food supplementation on competitive and host-parasite interactions in a secondary cavity-nesting songbird | |
| Louise Bodt | University of Chicago & Field Museum of Natural History | The Introduced European Goldfinch in Illinois |