Big Lagoonies @ Humboldt Park, Chicago, Cook County
Limpkin Bigsitz @ Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County
Back Porch Perched Prairie Peepers @ South Homer Township, Champaign County
Top Fundraisers
Big Marsh Fwrens – $1,038.73
The Jaeger Masters – $1,030.15
The Birding Bonanza @ Rollins Savanna – $495.80
Funds raised go directly towards supporting IOS initiatives including the Illinois Young Birders program, supporting bird research and conservation in Illinois through the IOS Grant Program. Thank you to all our teams for your fundraising efforts! Many teams raised hundreds of dollars and we had a lot of different people supporting the event. Kudos to you all!
Yard Big Sit Species Total Winners
Big Sit at the Magic Fountain! – 45 species
Team Member: Aerin Tedesco
Back Porch Perched Prairie Peepers – 37 species
Team Member: Britt Carlson
Zakyard Birding – 28 species
Team Member: Zachary Sutton
Overall Big Sit Species Total Winners
Limpkin Bigsitz – 95 species
Team Members: Evan Smith, Sarah Winnicki-Smith, Emma Winnicki-Smith, aerin tedesco
The Jaeger Masters – 73 species
Team Members: Henry Meade, Peter Tolzmann, Owen Woodhouse
Big Marsh Fwrens – 69 species
Team Members: Matt and Vickie Igleski, Carl Giometti, Stephanie Beilke, Jake Vinsel, Ian Sarmiento, Paul Senner, Kelly Ballantyne, Brianna and Jim Joyce
Across the state, big sitters saw a combined 163 species of birds!
Thank you to everyone who supported, participated,
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!
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.
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
Every Thursday in June and July in locations around Lake County, IL
Join expert Lake County field trip leader Beau Schaefer for weekly bird walks in fantastic locations, followed by a stop for a fresh cup of coffee at local coffee houses around the county this summer.
Join a Spring Bird Walk this May all around the state
IOS is excited to partner with field trip leaders all around Illinois to offer field trips at birding hotspots during the peak of spring migration. Most are day trips in locations with great birding opportunities for everyone from those who know the area well to those hoping to explore a new place. One field trip is an overnight experience in the southernmost part of Illinois!
These trips are a chance to meet new birding friends, plan an adventure somewhere in Illinois that’s new to you, or re-visit a favorite place for birding.
Registration is limited for each event, so register early to reserve your spot!
Click each link to get more info about each bird walk
(around Shawnee National Forest near Carbondale, IL. All meeting locations will be shared with registered participants.)
Leaders Ronda Rothrock and Vicki Lang will guide participants around many prime birding hotspots of Southern Illinois in search of neotropical migrants and specialties of the far southern counties of the state. Don’t miss this unique birding experience!
Friday, May 19 @ evening – Ferne Clyffe State Park for nightjars
Saturday, May 20 @ 6am – Western counties of the Shawnee National Forest
Sunday, May 21 @ 7:30am – Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge
Register for the Southern IL Birding Weekend here.
Plan your adventure and sign up for a field trip now!
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
