Matthew Cvetas

IORC Update – 5-Dec-2015

Records Accepted

Magnificent Frigatebird, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County, 8 Jul 2015 [Josh Engel]
Black Vulture, Woodford County, 10 Jun 2013 [Ted Hartzler]
Swallow-tailed Kite, Champaign, Champaign County, 24 Aug – 7 Sep 2015 [Wendi Lindsay; Matthew Cvetas, Conner England, David B. Johnson, Dan Williams]
Purple Gallinule, Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Hennepin-Hopper Lakes, Putnam County, 5-6 Sep 2014 [Doug Stotz]
Long-tailed Jaeger, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County, 15-19 Jul 2015 [Keith McMullen, Dan Williams]
Slaty-backed Gull, Lake County Fairgrounds and Winthrop Harbor’s North Point Marina, Lake County, 14-23 Feb 2014 [Amar Ayyash; Nolan Lameka, Geoff Williamson]
Royal Tern, Waukegan Beach, Lake County, 19-20 Aug 2015 [Annette McClellan]
White-winged Dove, Chicago, Cook County, 12 May 2015 [Chicago Bird Collision Monitors; Josh Engel]
Barn Owl, Havana, Mason County, 9 Aug 2014 [Kristen Walter]

Records Not Accepted

Barnacle Goose, Lake Bloomington, McLean County, 29 Jan – 11 Feb 2013 (not accepted on basis of origin)
Mottled Duck, Sangchris Lake State Park, Sangamon County, 29 Oct and 16 Nov 2013
Common Eider, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County, 22 Feb 2014
Neotropic Cormorant (2), Anderson Lake, Fulton County, 13 Jul 2015
Anhinga, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, 21 Sep 2013
Anhinga, Oswego, Kendall County, 22 Apr 2014
Anhinga, Greene Valley Forest Preserve, DuPage County, 6 Sep 2014
Broad-winged Hawk, McClaughery Springs Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County, 10 Mar 2012
Curlew Sandpiper, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County, 1 Sep 2014
Little Stint, near Havana, Fulton County, 9 Aug 2015
Black-headed Gull, Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County, 4 Sep 2015
Arctic Tern, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County, 14 Jun 2014
Royal Tern, Oak Brook, DuPage County, 22 Aug 2015
Great-tailed Grackle (2), Montgomery County, 10 May 2015

Breeding Records Not Accepted

Le Conte’s Sparrow, Kankakee County, 29 Aug – 11 Sep 2013

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 2015 IOS Grant Program received 10 grant requests. As a result of the generosity of several groups and individuals, 10 grants were awarded. In addition to IOS provided funds, thanks to the following groups and individuals for their generous support:

The DuPage Birding Club
The Lake-Cook Chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society
The Kane County Audubon Society
The Chicago Ornithological Society
Valyn P. Dall
Joan Norek
Marj Lundy and Jamie Godshalk
Marsha Steffen
Glenn Gabanski
Donald Dann
John C. and Carolyn Baker
Carl and Pen DauBach
Karen and Bob Fisher
Vickie Sroczynski and John Burke
Jeffrey Smith
John Heneghan
Jill Anderson
Urs Geiser
Steve Fluett
Marcia and Bob Shelby
Charles Wescott
Ted Wolff

Thanks to Jeff Walk and Steve Bailey for reviewing and rating all the requests.

Congratulations to the winners and watch for their project articles in future issues of The Meadowlark.

The following grants were awarded:

#	Amount	Name/Organization	Description
1.	$1,000	Alexander Winter Eastern Illinois University	Study the ecological and behavioral implications of Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism on Northern Cardinals. Sponsored by Illinois Ornithological Society.
2.	$980	Bryan Reiley U of I – Champaign	Study the benefits of restored habitats for declining shrubland birds – Specifically Bell’s Vireo and Willow Flycatcher. Sponsored by Karen and Bob Fisher, Vicky Sroczynski and John Burke.
3.	$1,000	Ben O’Neal and Heath Hagy Franklin College. Illinois Natural History Survey	Determine nest success, nest density, and nesting characteristics of marsh birds and other waterbirds at Emiquon Preserve to determine if reconnection to the Illinois River affects these parameters in the future. Sponsored by the Lake-Cook Chapter of the Illinois Audubon Society.
4.	$1,000	Phred Benham U of I – Champaign	Study local adaptation to spatially varying environments in widespread species to improve our understanding of how populations might respond to future climate change. Study will use Savannah Sparrow populations. Sponsored by the DuPage Birding Club.
5.	$1,000	Brett Dorak U of I – Champaign / Illinois Natural History Survey	Study Canada Geese wintering in the Greater Chicago Metropolitan Area. Describe their home ranges, time budgets, roost selection, response to harassment, and movements that may pose a threat to human health and safety.
6.	$1,000	Todd M. Jones U of I – Champaign	Evaluate possible associations between fledgling traits and survival in the Dickcissel with an automated telemetry system. Sponsored by the DuPage Birding Club.
7.	$1,000	Josh Engel	A bird monitoring pilot project will be undertaken during the 2015 growing season with the goal of developing an effective bird monitoring protocol for the Montrose Beach Dunes (MBD) site. Sponsored by Illinois Ornithological Society
8.	$1,000	Tim Lyons U of I – Champaign	Genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation on ring-necked pheasants at the Sibley Pheasant Habitat Area.
9.	$1,000	John R. O’Connell Southern Illinois University – Center for Ecology – Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab	A remote sensing approach to identifying wetland availability for waterfowl, shorebirds and secretive marsh birds in Illinois using satellite radar imaging. Sponsored by the DuPage Birding Club.
10.	$480	Emilie A. Ospina U of I – Champaign	Investigate the effects of predation on nest attentiveness as well as the effects of incubation temperature on immune system response and stress response in American Robin nestlings.

IORC Update – 10-Sep-2015

Records Accepted

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (2), Beardstown Marsh, Cass County, 7-13 Jul 2014 [Duane L. Brunk; Ted Hartzler]
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (9), Rochelle, Ogle County, 11-12 Aug 2014 [Karen Lund]
Barrow’s Goldeneye, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County, 14 Mar 2015 [H. David Bohlen]
Barrow’s Goldeneye, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 21-25 Mar 2015 [Dan Kassebaum]
White Ibis, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, Champaign County, 14 May 2011 [Rob Kanter]
White Ibis, Bailey Wetland, Richland County and Wayne County, 10-22 Jul 2014 [Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby]
Black Vulture (2), Marion County, 8 Mar 2015 [Leroy Harrison]
Black Vulture, near Iola, Clay County, 6 May 2015 [Leroy Harrison]
Snowy Plover, Montrose Beach, Chicago, Cook County, 3-11 May 2015 [Matthew Cvetas, Paul Sweet, Geoff Williamson]
Ruff, Bailey Wetland, Richland County and Wayne County, 6 May 2015 [Leroy Harrison]
Parasitic Jaeger, Waukegan, Lake County, 28 Sep 2014 [Annette McClellan]
Little Gull, Waukegan, Lake County, 25 Apr 2015 [Adam Sell]
Little Gull, Waukegan, Lake County, 6 Jun 2015 [Patrick Ricketson]
Great Black-backed Gull, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County, 26 Sep 2014 [Sigurd Bjorklund]
Barn Owl, near El Paso, Woodford County, 2 Apr 2015 [Ted Hartzler]
Barn Owl, Romeoville, Will County, 10 Jan 2015 [Chicago Bird Collision Monitors; Josh Engel]
Gyrfalcon, north-central Coles County, 16 Jan 2015 [Ron Bradley]
Prairie Falcon, east of Buffalo, Sangamon County, 6 Jan 2015 [H. David Bohlen]
Say’s Phoebe, Miller Meadows Forest Preserve, Cook County, 31 Mar – 2 Apr 2015 [Karrin Burns; Geoff Williamson]
Fish Crow, Louisville, Clay County, 6 May 2015 [Leroy Harrison]
Violet-green Swallow, Northwestern University lakefill, Evanston, Cook County, 9 May 2015 [Josh Engel, Matthew Cvetas]
Bewick’s Wren, McLeansboro, Hamilton County, 20 May – 3 Jun 2015 [Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby]
Townsend’s Solitaire, Waukegan Beach, Lake County, 14 Apr 2015 [Nat Carmichael]
Townsend’s Solitaire, near Schapville, Jo Daviess County, 15 Nov 2014 [Richard Mattas]
Townsend’s Solitaire, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Cook County, 13 Nov 2014 [Al Stokie]
Kirtland’s Warbler, Montrose Point, Chicago, 16-17 May 2015 [Matthew Cvetas, Geoff Williamson]
Black-throated Gray Warbler, Red Hills State Park, Lawrence County, 26 Apr 2015 [Leroy Harrison]
Gray-headed form of Dark-eyed Junco, Forreston, Ogle County, 26-27 Apr 2013 [Anne Straight; Steve Bailey]

Records Not Accepted

Parasitic Jaeger, Fulton County, 15 Sep 2013
Royal Tern, Fulton County, 4 Aug 2013
Broad-billed Hummingbird, La Salle County, 23 Aug – 21 Sep 2014

IORC Update – 14-Jun-2015

Records Accepted

Mottled Duck (2), Montrose Point, Chicago, Cook County, 30 May 2013 [Luis Muñoz]
Mottled Duck, Chautauqua NWR, Mason County, 29 Aug 2014 [Andrew Aldrich]
Neotropic Cormorant, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 13 Apr 2013 [Dan Kassebaum]
Glossy Ibis, Woodford County, 24 May 2013 [Ted Hartzler]
Black Vulture, Ft Sheridan FP, Lake County, 19 Oct 2014 [Adam Sell]
Black Rail, Shelby County, 14 Jul 2013 [Travis Mahan]
Pomarine Jaeger, Weldon Springs SP, DeWitt County, 22-23 Nov 2014 [Ron Bradley, Dan Williams]
California Gull (immature), Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 6 Oct & 3 Nov 2013 [Dan Kassebaum]
Slaty-backed Gull, Illinois River at East Peoria, Peoria and Tazewell Counties, 11 Jan 2015 [Jim Mountjoy]
Slaty-backed Gull, Calumet Park, Chicago, Cook County, 7 Feb 2015 [Geoff Williamson]
Pacific-slope/Cordilleran Flycatcher, Chicago, Cook County, 11 Sep 2010 [Matt Baughman]
Townsend’s Solitaire, Lost Mount Unit of Upper Mississippi River NWR, Jo Daviess County, 19 Dec 2014 [Dan Williams]
Bullock’s Oriole, near Joppa, Massac County, 21 Nov 2014 [John Schwegman]

Records Not Accepted

Mexican Duck, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 23 Mar 2014
Eared Grebe, Lake Renwick, Will County, 4 May 2013
Reddish Egret, Crab Orchard NWR, Williamson County, 29 Jun 2013
Whooping Crane (2), near Ullin, Alexander and Pulaski County, 16 & 23 Nov 2013
Sprague’s Pipit, Bureau County, 5 May 2014
Sprague’s Pipit, Winthrop Harbor, Lake County, 27 Jul 2014

IORC Update – 14-Apr-2015

Records Accepted

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (9), Yorkville, Kendall County, 21-30 May 2014
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Cook County, 21 Jun 2014
Cinnamon Teal, Spillway Marsh at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Madison County, 8-9 Apr 2014
Harlequin Duck, Fox River in Elgin, Kane County, 9 Nov 2014 – 31 Jan 2015
Barrow’s Goldeneye, Kane County, 17 Jan – 28 Feb 2015
Neotropic Cormorant, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County, 12-23 Jun 2013
Neotropic Cormorant, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County, 19-29 Jul 2013
Tricolored Heron, Oakwood Bottoms, Jackson County, 27 May 2014
Roseate Spoonbill, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County, 29 Nov 2013
Swainson’s Hawk, Greene Valley Forest Preserve, DuPage County, 14 Oct 2013
Little Gull, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 3 Nov 2013
Little Gull (2), Carlyle, Clinton County, 8-11 Nov 2013
California Gull, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 27 Sep – 26 Oct 2014
Prairie Falcon, eastern LaSalle County, 14 Mar 2014
Prairie Falcon, Judson University, Kane County, 5 Oct 2014
Prairie Falcon (2), Coles County, 25 Oct 2014 – 8 Feb 2015
Mountain Bluebird, Lost Mound unit of Upper Mississippi River NWR, Jo Daviess County, 12 Dec 2012 – 23 Feb 2013
Curve-billed Thrasher, Montrose Point in Chicago, Cook County, 18 Jun – 1 Jul 2014
Bohemian Waxwing, Jackson Park in Chicago, Cook County, 15 Feb – 2 Mar 2015
Black-throated Gray Warbler, Judson University, Kane County, 5-6 May 2014
Cassin’s Sparrow, Chicago, Cook County, 8 Sep 2014
Lark Bunting, Montrose Point in Chicago, Cook County, 17 Oct 2014
Hoary Redpoll (2), William Powers Conservation Area in Chicago, Cook County, 6 Feb – 13 Mar 2015

Records Not Accepted

Swainson’s Warbler, Franklin Creek State Park, Lee County, 3 May 2014

IORC Update – 24-Mar-2015

Records Accepted

Eurasian Wigeon, Banner Marsh, Fulton County, 4-12 Apr 2014
Barrow’s Goldeneye, West Dundee, Kane County, 15-30 Mar 2014
Barrow’s Goldeneye, Independence Grove Forest Preserve, Lake County, 23 Mar 2014
Neotropic Cormorant, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 8 Sep 2012
Black Vulture (4), near Lake Springfield, Sangamon County, 21 Mar 2014
Black Vulture, Urbana, Champaign County, 7 May 2014
Snowy Plover, Emiquon Preserve, Fulton County, 6-7 Apr 2014
Little Gull, Dresden Cooling Pond, Grundy County, 26 Mar 2014
California Gull, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 29 Sep 2012
California Gull, Rend Lake, Franklin County and Carlyle Lake, Clinton County, 15 Dec 2013 – 19 Jan 2014
Ash-throated Flycatcher, Lincoln Land Community College, Sangamon County, 29-30 Sep 2014
Western Kingbird X Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, American Bottoms, Monroe County, 1 Jul 2014
Fork-tailed Flycatcher, Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve, Kane County, 12 May 2014
Bewick’s Wren, Brown County, 28 May 2014
Sage Thrasher, Putnam County, 18 Dec 2014 – 3 Jan 2015
Bohemian Waxwing, Chicago Botanic Garden, Cook County, 6-9 Nov 2012
Bohemian Waxwing, Chicago Botanic Garden, Cook County, 22-27 Dec 2012
Townsend’s Warbler, Ewing Park, Bloomington, McLean County, 3 May 2014
Golden-crowned Sparrow, Wayne County, 19 Oct 2012
Western Tanager, Palos Heights, Cook County, 28 Apr – 5 May 2014
Painted Bunting (2), East St. Louis, St. Clair County, 16-20 June 2011

2014 IOS Grants Awards

The 2014 IOS Grant Program received 14 grant requests. As a result of the generosity of several groups and individuals, 12 applicants were awarded, totaling $9,742. In addition to IOS provided funds, thanks to the following for their generous help:

Bob and Karen Fisher and Vicky Sroczynski
Pat Durkin
Carl and Pen Daubach
Southern Illinois Audubon Society
The DuPage Birding Club
The Lake-Cook Audubon Society
Quad Cities Audubon Society
Kane County Audubon Society
Many IOS Members

Thanks again to Steve Bailey and Jeff Walk for reviewing and rating all the requests and to Bob Fisher who raised much of the funds.

Congratulations to the winners and watch for their project articles in future issues of The Meadowlark.

The following grants were awarded, with information regarding how the funding will be used:

#	Amount	Name/Organization	Description
1.	$500	Amber Wingert U of I – Champaign	Video monitoring of Barn Owl Nests to help estimate factors influencing reproductive success in this declining species.
2.	$1,000	Antonio Celis Murillo U of I – Champaign	Genetics to help elucidate patterns of extra-territorial forays in Field Sparrows; helping to answer “Why cheat on your partner?”
3.	$500	Christie Trifone-Simon Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation	Funds would help defray costs of a 5-day educational day camp, which provides outdoor experiences, many of which are bird oriented.
4.	$492	Janice Kelly U of I – Champaign	Playback experiment to understand if Yellow Warblers use information associated with their two distinct song types during habitat selection.
5.	$1,000	John Maddux U of I – Champaign	Molecular techniques to identify the importance of bumble bees as a food source for North America songbirds. A large collaborative project that attempts to connect the population declines among songbirds and bumble bees.
6.	$500	Justin Shew Southern Illinois University – Carbondale	Hire student technicians to complete analyses on various projects including studying the factors influencing Red-winged Blackbird aggression and Brown-headed Cowbird nest predation.
7.	$750	Kattie Morris DePaul University	Cameras to investigate the competition for cavities Red-headed Woodpeckers experience during the winter and spring within Cook Co., IL.
8.	$1,000	Kevin Sierzega Southern Illinois University – Carbondale	Transportation and arthropod quantification to support ongoing research on the factors that influence migratory songbirds in southern Illinois.
9.	$1,000	Maria Stager U of I – Champaign	Genomic techniques used to understand how birds are physiologically capable to cope with environmental change. Maria is using Dark-eyed Juncos that endure winter conditions as her model species.
10.	$1,000	Matthew Craffey Eastern Illinois State University	Radio-telemetry to study the behaviors of Red-winged Blackbirds using Miscanthus, a potential new agricultural crop in the Midwest. This research will help assess the environmental impact on bird communities in response to a shift in agricultural practices.
11.	$1,000	Scott Chiavacci U of I – Champaign	Camera equipment and other materials to experimentally test for the cues used by nest predators (e.g. odor vs. visual) in central Illinois.
12.	$1,000	Ben O’Neal and Heath Hagy Franklin College and Illinois Natural History Survey	Investigation of the nest success and density of waterbirds in various habitat types at Emiquon in response to changing water levels.

2013 IOS Grants Program Sets Records!

A record 22 grant requests were received! A record 13 were funded! A record $13,000 was contributed by a record 22 organizations and individuals!

Watch for articles about each of these projects in the IOS quarterly journal, The Meadowlark. Thank you to all the individuals and organizations that made these awards possible.

Here’s a brief synopsis of the 13 grants that were awarded:

#	Amount	Name/Organization	Description
1.	$1,000	Ben O’Neal Franklin College and Ill. Nat. Hist. Survey	Assess the nesting ecology of waterbirds and other marsh birds prior to the drawdown in the Emiquon preserve in spring/summer 2013.
2.	$1,000	Amber Wingert U of I – Champaign	Monitor the Barn Owl nest boxes in Southern Illinois to determine reproductive success, develop a model of nest box site selection and test the effectiveness of conspecific playback as a survey method.
3.	$1,000	Kevin Sierzega Southern Illinois University – Carbondale	Quantify the differences in bird community metrics, e.g., species richness, evenness and diversity during spring migration and in the breeding season across a gradient of oak-hickory and beech-maple dominance forests.
4.	$1,000	Scott Chiavacci U of I – Champaign	Determine factors affecting shrubland bird nest success and causes of nest failure in urban and rural marshlands in 8 test sites in northeastern Illinois and 3 sites in east-central Illinois.
5.	$1,000	Antonio Celis Murillo U of I – Champaign	To foray or not to foray: Extraterritorial behavior in Field Sparrows and its behavioral, morphological and reproductive correlates.
6.	$1,000	Maria Stager U of I – Champaign	Evaluate the effects of day length and temperature on seasonal variation in metabolic performance and correlated differences in underlying gene expression profiles in Dark-eyed Juncos.
7.	$1,000	Mark Swanson Field Museum and Ill. Wesleyan Univ.	Determine the interactions between morphologically similar, but genetically distinct Barred Owls of Illinois and the upper Midwest.
8.	$1,000	Henry Pollock U of I – Champaign	Investigate thermal tolerances and responses to heat stress in a suite of Illinois birds and compare the data with similar data collected in Panama to determine how birds will respond to climate change
9.	$1,000	Justin J. Shew Southern Illinois University – Carbondale	Funds for year 3 of a 4 year study of the nesting success, species richness, species population, etc. of grassland birds in land set aside in the Conservation Reserve Program(CRP).
10.	$1,000	Valerie Buxton U of I – Champaign	Making the most of what remains: Determining urban grassland quality in Illinois. Assess how grassland patch size and landscape context affect grassland bird occurrence, abundance and nest success. Funds for year 2.
11.	$1,000	Douglas R. McClain Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab – SIU-Carbondale	Year 2 of a study to research the response of breeding wood ducks to differences in productivity within the Cache River watershed. The Cache River watershed has undergone different modifications during its history.
12.	$1,000	Sarah Cleeton U of I – Champaign	Explore the role of migratory songbirds in the spread of Lyme disease invasion (such as Lyme disease) in central Illinois
13.	$1,000	Elsa Anderson DePaul University	Assess Red-headed Woodpecker nest-tree and habitat characteristics and evaluate nesting competition in relation to nest-site success in Cook County

2012 IOS Grants Awards

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 in 2004 to support this objective with grants awarded to projects relating to birds and/or birding in Illinois. Including this year’s grants, a total of 7 grants totaling $26,950 have been awarded.

The 2012 IOS Grant Program received 11 grant requests. As a result of the generosity of groups and individuals seven grants were funded. In addition to IOS provided funds, thanks to the following for their generous help:

Bob and Karen Fisher, Vicky Sroczynski and John Burke
The DuPage Birding Club
The Kane County Chapter of the Audubon Society
And Joan Norek, Jeffery Smith, Robert Shelby, Marsha Steffen, Steve Fluett, Jean and Bob Spitzer

Thanks again to Steve Bailey and Jeff Walk for reviewing and ranking all the requests. With so many worthy projects this was no easy task. Congratulations to the winners and watch for their project articles in future issues of The Meadowlark.

#	Amount	Name/Organization	Description
1.	$1,000	John Andrews U. of I – Champaign	Heterospecific (Social attraction between species) information use and habitat selection in Grassland birds: An experiment with Eastern Meadowlarks.
2.	$1,000	Evan Glynn Eastern Illinois University	Study the songs and responses of Black-capped Chickadees, Carolina Chickadees and hybrid Chickadees.
3.	$975	Valerie Buxton U of I – Champaign	Making the most of what remains: Determining urban grassland quality in Illinois. Assess how grassland patch size and landscape context affect grassland bird occurrence, abundance and nest success.
4.	$1,000	Kelly VanBeek U of I – Champaign	Effects of alternative tillage practices on bird populations in Illinois.
5.	$1,000	Chris Kirkpatrick Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation	Funding to help pay for a June 22-23, 2012 Bio-Blitz at Wapello Land and Water Reserve in Hanover, IL. In conjunction with the Field Museum.
6.	$500	Melissa Sunder Wildlife Prairie State Park	Purchase binoculars for the Park’s youth programs. A variety of nature classes are taught for all age ranges. The Park also participates in various bird counts, International Migratory Bird Day, etc.
7.	$500	Tyson R. Dallas U of I – Champaign	Determine what habitats and habitat features are associated with breeding and foraging of Red-headed Woodpeckers in Western Illinois.