IORC

IORC Update, 7 August 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 16 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. Among these, IORC accepted 14 of the records while not accepting two.

This Western Tanager, photographed 8 May 2020 by Leroy Harrison, is one of two Western Tanagers accepted by IORC in this group of 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

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (6), 4 June 2020 at Beall Woods State Park, Wabash County (2020-018; Robert E. Shelby).
  • Harlequin Duck, 1-4 March 2020 in Moline, Rock Island County (2020-005; Steven Freed).
  • White-winged Dove, 14-18 April 2020 in Metropolis, Massac County (2020-009; John Schwegman).
  • Wood Stork (3), 23-28 August 2011 south of Kidd Lake Marsh State Natural Area, Monroe County (2011-041; Carl DauBach, Pen DauBach).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 24 May to 6 July 2020 in Zion, Lake County (2020-019; Daniel T. Williams). Found by Steven J. Huggins.
  • Fish Crow, 10 May 2020 in Berwyn, Cook County (2020-014; Greg E. Neise).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 1-21 March 2020 at McCune Sand Prairie, Bureau County (2020-006; Davida Kalina, Craig Taylor). Found by Mike Madsen.
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed group) Junco hyemalis caniceps/dorsalis, 10 May 2020 in Arlington Heights, Cook County (2020-015; Fred Lieb).
  • Townsend’s Warbler, 16-26 April 2020 at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve, Cook County (2020-013; Isoo O’Brien). Found by Heidi Tarasiuk.
  • Western Tanager, 7-12 May 2020 in Albion, Edwards County (2020-012; C. Leroy Harrison, Robert E. Shelby). Found by Scott Attebury.
  • Western Tanager, 19-21 May 2020 in Yorkville, Kendall County (2020-017; Daniel Baechle).
  • Lazuli Bunting, 21 February to 1 March 2020 in Sherman, Sangamon County (2020-007; Trevor Slovick). Found by Jarod Hitchings.
  • Lazuli Bunting, 16 March to 2 May 2020 in Marion Township, Ogle County (2020-010; Barbara Williams, Daniel T. Williams).
  • Painted Bunting, 2 May 2020 in Chicago, Cook County (2020-016; Jeffrey R.R. Skrentny).

Records Not Accepted

  • Anhinga, 3 June 2020 in Wapella, DeWitt County (2020-020).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 16 March 2020 at Sand Creek Recreation Area, Macon County (2020-008).

IORC Update, 11 July 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted 19 of the records while not accepting six.

This Gyrfalcon, photographed here on 28 Jan 2020 by Tamima Itani, represents one of 19 records accepted by IORC in recent actions.

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

  • King Eider, 31 October to 2 November 2019 along the Evanston and Chicago lakefront, Cook County (2019-062; Tamima Itani; Matthew Cvetas, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Harlequin Duck, 3 February 2020 in Moline, Rock Island County (2020-004; Steven Freed).
  • Black Rail, 2 June 2019 at Killdeer Wetlands Forest Preserve, Cook County (2019-057; Stephanie Beilke).
  • Ancient Murrelet, 9-10 November 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-063; Michael Carroll, Robert D. Hughes; Matthew Cvetas, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • California Gull, 21 September 2019 at Eldon Hazlet State Park, Clinton County (2019-054; Colin Dobson).
  • Arctic Tern, 14 September 2019 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2019-052; Colin Dobson).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 19-20 October 2019 at Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2019-058; Andrew Aldrich).
  • White-faced Ibis, 26 September to 23 October 2019 at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnam County (2019-051; Sarah Geiger; Andrew Aldrich, Keith McMullen, Dan Williams).
  • White-faced Ibis, 14 October 2019 at Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2019-069; H. David Bohlen).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 24 August to 4 September near Allerton Park, Piatt County (2019-064; Leroy Harrison).
  • Mississippi Kite, 28 August 2019 at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2019-053; Adam Sell).
  • Ferruginous Hawk, 26 November 2019 in Rochelle, Ogle County (2019-065; Andy Sigler, Craig Taylor).
  • Barn Owl, 23 December 2019 at Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, Jasper County (2019-068; Bob Shelby).
  • Gyrfalcon, 26 January to 1 February 2020 south of LaSalle Lake, LaSalle County (2020-003; Tamima Itani, Lisa Maier).
  • Philadelphia Vireo, 30 November 2019 in Evanston, Cook County (2019-067; Jeff Bilsky).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 13 October 2019 in Oswego, Kendall County (2019-055; Scott Johnson).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 25 October 2019 at Henneberry Woods Forest Preserve, Kendall County (2019-056; Ryan Jones).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 19 January to 2 February 2020 at Silver Springs State Park, Kendall County (2020-002; Jeffrey Nelson; Andrew Aldrich, Dan Williams).
  • Clay-colored Sparrow, 1 January 2020 in Libertyville, Lake County (2020-001; Jeff Sundberg).

Records Not Accepted

  • Ruff, 7 August 2019 at Peacock March, Will County (2019-033).
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, 25 August 2019 at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2019-041).
  • Arctic Tern, 25 October 2019 at Lakes Charleston, Coles County (2019-060).
  • Anhinga, 1 October 2019 in West Dundee, Kane County (2019-050).
  • White-faced Ibis, 20-21 September 2019 near Island Road levee, Jackson County (2019-059).
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 16 May 2019 at Ewing Park, Bloomington, McLean County (2019-061).

IORC Update, 17 March 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of five records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted two of the records while not accepting three. Among the accepted records was the following addition to the list of species having occurred in Illinois: Small-billed Elaenia.

Paul Sweet, Bob Hughes, and Adam Sell examine study skins of Large Elaenia, Small-billed Elaenia, and White-crested Elaenia in preparation to vote on record 2012-007, the Chicago elaenia.

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

  • Small-billed Elaenia, 17-22 April 2012 at Douglas Park, Chicago, Cook County (2012-007; Aaron Gyllenhaal, Ethan Gyllenhaal; Mark Bowman, C.A. Bridge, Bonnie Duman, Matthew Fraker, Gordon Garcia, Nathan Goldberg, Jerry Goldner, Jim Hully, Stoil Ivanov, Ken Koontz, Nolan Lameka, Joshua Little, Lisa Rest, Ryan Sanderson, Brian Tang, Monte Taylor).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 3 May 2018 at Northwestern University, Evanston, Cook County (2018-069; Allison Sloan).

Records Not Accepted

  • Barnacle Goose, 25-28 February 2019 at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County and Bartlett Lake Prairie Wetland, Oswego, Kendall County (2019-002).
  • Mottled Duck (2), 30 May 2013 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2013-016). This was a resubmission of a previously accepted record, based on better understanding of detecting evidence of hybrid origin in this complex.
  • Mottled Duck, 29 October 2013, 16 November 2013, and 28 April 2014 at Sangchris Lake State Park, Sangamon County (2013-065).

IORC Web Resources and Review Files

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) has recently made publicly available, via a set of web pages, a variety of information related to its work. They are found at http://geoffwilliamson.info/iorc/. Importantly, a section of these pages regarding documentation of bird records represents a portion of the IORC archives. This archival material includes documentary items sent to IORC (mostly written documentation and physical evidence in the form of photographs, videos, and sound recordings, but also a few other items) plus also the evaluation votes and comments of IORC members. The web pages from 2011 to the present are essentially complete with respect to the documentary materials. With regard to votes and comments of IORC members on records, IORC’s practice now is to provide here all votes and comments going forward; however, these are not now available for all records.

Each year’s listing of records includes for all records the serial number, species or form, county, first and last date of observation, and status of the record. Where this or other information on these web pages differs from that in published IORC reports, the latter represent the official record.

IORC members examine Slate-colored and White-winged Junco specimens at IORC’s February 2020
meeting in the Field Museum of Natural History. Left to right: Bob Hughes, Paul Sweet, Adam Sell,
Doug Stotz, Vida Kalina.

IORC is making all this material web-accessible, and hence readily available, to inform better the birding public about IORC’s work and to facilitate access to at least part of its archives. IORC hopes that this material’s availability will encourage the submission of documentation of rare and unusual birds in Illinois, will help to improve the understanding of the documentation and review process, and will by example help to improve the quality of submitted documentary materials.

Question, suggestions, and corrections may be directed via email to the IORC Secretary, Geoff Williamson, at iorcommittee <at> gmail <dot> com.

Additions to the Official Illinois State List of Birds during 2019

One of the purposes of the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC), per its bylaws, is “to maintain the official Illinois State List of Birds.” Among the various changes and updates to the list, the most exciting are additions of species. Year 2019 was a banner year in this regard, with the species total growing by five. By comparison, the previous five species additions happened over a five-year long period from 2014 to 2018. Four of the five from 2019 represented species unrecorded in Illinois prior to 2019: Limpkin, Little Stint, Lewis’s Woodpecker, and Cassin’s Kingbird. Three of these were long-staying vagrants, allowing many Illinois birders to travel to see them. Only the kingbird was a one-day wonder. The fifth addition, Barnacle Goose, came from evaluations concluding in 2019 of prior records going back to 1983. The species total for Illinois now rests at 449.

Sneaking under the radar in all this was that 2019 included a State List change event of a rarity on a par with that of adding five new species. A family of birds was newly added to the state list! Limpkin is the sole member of Aramidae, a family within order Gruiformes (which also includes the rails and cranes).

Limpkin by Fran Morel.
Limpkin at Borah Lake, Richland County, 6 Sep 2019. Photo by Fran Morel.

Families are added to the State List very infrequently. The last time was, well, 2017, but that event stemmed from Yellow-breasted Chat being split out from the Wood-Warblers (family Parulidae) into its own family Icteriidae. Yellow-breasted Chats have been present in Illinois for a long time. The four most recent family-level additions to Illinois’s list that were precipitated by a bird being newly recorded in the state were spread over a period of about 60 years.

Here are the six latest family additions to the Illinois list.

  • 2019, family Aramidae (Limpkins): Limpkin
  • [2017, family Icteriidae (Yellow-breasted Chats): Yellow-breasted Chat]
  • 1990, family Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers): Northern Wheatear
  • 1986, family Fregatidae (Frigatebirds): Magnificent Frigatebird
  • 1983, family Sulidae (Boobies and Gannets): Northern Gannet
  • 1962, family Alcidae (Auks, Murres, and Puffins): Ancient Murrelet
The last family level addition to the Illinois list stemmed from this Northern Wheatear, 12 Sep 1990 in Coles County. Photo by Greg Schaefer.

On the official Illinois State List of Birds there are now 449 species, 62 families, and 21 orders represented.

Changes to Species Status on the Official List of Birds

At its Annual Meeting on 16 February 2020, the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) made adjustments to the definitions of the status codes for species on the official Illinois State List of Birds. IORC also reviewed the status of each species on the state list and made updates as necessary, starting from a set of recommendations assembled by Keith McMullen.

The new definitions for the status codes are as follows. These codes are now uniformly based on the number of records.

  • Regular: Species for which there are at least eight records in the past ten years. This includes species that are very local and those that cannot be located reliably anywhere in the state. Most species in this category are expected within the state annually.
  • Casual: Species for which there are at least six records in the state and three to seven records in the past ten years.
  • Accidental: Species for which there are either less than six records in the state or less than three records in the past ten years.
  • Accidental (provisional): Forms with accepted records, all of which are sight records documented by no more than one observer.
  • Extirpated: Species which were formerly Regular in Illinois but which have not been recorded in the state in the previous 50 years.
  • Extinct: Species which have occurred in the state but no longer exist.

Species for which status category was changed include the following.

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck: status changed to Regular from Casual.
  • Gray Partridge: status changed to Accidental from Regular.
  • Ruffed Grouse: status changed to Extirpated from Accidental.
  • Ruff: status changed to Regular from Casual. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Purple Sandpiper: status changed to Casual from Regular. IORC now requests that sightings of this species from anywhere in Illinois be documented.
  • Long-tailed Jaeger: status changed to Casual from Accidental.
  • Little Gull: status changed to Regular from Casual. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Neotropic Cormorant: status changed to Regular from Casual. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Anhinga: status changed to Regular from Accidental. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Brown Pelican: status changed to Casual from Accidental.
  • White Ibis: status changed to Regular from Casual. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Fork-tailed Flycatcher: status changed to Accidental from Casual.
  • Common Raven: status changed to Accidental from Extirpated.
  • Rock Wren: status changed to Accidental from Casual.
  • Mountain Bluebird: status changed to Casual from Accidental.
  • Townsend’s Solitaire: status changed to Regular from Casual. This species will remain on the Review List.
  • Sprague’s Pipit: status changed to Accidental from Casual.
  • Evening Grosbeak: status changed to Casual from Regular. This species is now on the Review List.
  • Pine Grosbeak: status changed to Accidental from Casual.
  • White-winged Crossbill: status changed to Casual from Regular. This species is now on the Review List.
  • Bachman’s Sparrow: status changed to Extirpated from Accidental.
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow: status changed to Casual from Accidental.

IORC Update, 19 February 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 40 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted 39 of the records while not accepting one. Among the accepted records were the following additions to the list of species having occurred in Illinois: Limpkin, Little Stint, and Cassin’s Kingbird.

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

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (34), 9 May to 28 June 2019 in Granite City, Madison County (2019-028; Frank Holmes)
  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (2), 16 June 2019 northeast of Meredosia, Morgan County (2019-021; Colin Dobson)
  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (28), 28-29 June 2019 in Grand Tower, Jackson County (2019-24; Rhonda Rothrock, Trevor Slovik)
  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (19), 17 August 2019 in Grand Tower, Jackson County (2019-037; Dan Wylie)
  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck, 6-27 August 2019 along the Big Muddy River levee at Island Road, Jackson County (2019-035; Don Mullison; Rhonda Rothrock, Dan Williams)
  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck (23), 13 September to 5 October 2019 adjacent to Mississippi River levee roads near Merrimac, Monroe County (2019-046; Wally George; Travis Mahan, Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Harlequin Duck, 21-30 December 2017 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2017-081; Keith McMullen, Al Smith)
  • White-winged Dove, 2 May 2019 in Skokie, Cook County (2019-020; Amanda Tichacek)
  • White-winged Dove, 23 August 2019 at Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge, Calhoun County (2019-039; Bill Rowe)
  • Limpkin, 20 June to 7 November 2019 at Borah Lake, Olney, Richland County (2019-043; Brady Colin, Tom Colin, Matthew Cvetas, Fran Morel, Bob Shelby, Craig Taylor, Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Ruff, 20 April 2018 at Canteen Lake, Madison County (2018-064; David Becher; Al Smith)
  • Curlew Sandpiper, 20 May 2000 at Rend Lake, Jefferson County (2000-085; Brian L. Chandler)
  • Little Stint, 3-7 August 2019 at the Emiquon Preserve, Fulton County (2019-032; Keith McMullen; Steve Freed, Davida Kalina, Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 16 September 2017 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2017-082; Al Smith)
  • Little Gull, 24-26 February 2019 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2019-027; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Great Black-backed Gull, 24 July 2019 south of Beall Woods State Park, Wabash County (2019-029; Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby)
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 27 June to 15 July 2013 at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnam County (2013-082; Benjamin Murphy, Jeff Smith)
  • Anhinga, 8-13 July 2019 at Cache River State Natural Area, Johnson County (2019-026; Keith McMullen)
  • Brown Pelican, 5 May 2018 at the Mt. Pulaski water treatment plant, Logan County (2018-070; Lara Borgerson)
  • Brown Pelican, 18 August to 14 October 2018 at Carlyle Lake, Bond, Clinton, and Fayette counties (2018-065; Roger Hayes, Keith McMullen)
  • Black Vulture, 1 May 2018 in Kankakee, Kankakee County (2018-068; Jed Hertz)
  • Black Vulture, 17 July 2019 in Streator, LaSalle County (2019-034; Steven R. Wargo)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 27 July 2019 near Rosecrans, Lake County (2019-030; Patricia Isaacson)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 17 August 2019 in Thebes, Alexander County (2019-036; Steven Huggins)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 22 August 2019 at Silver Creek Conservation Area, McHenry County (2019-042; Jeff Aufmann)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 23 August 2019 north of Livingston, Madison County and during 1-16 September 2019 near Alton, Madison County (2019-040; Keith McMullen; David Becher, Frank Holmes, Devin Peipert, Kimberly Rohling)
  • Swainson’s Hawk, 2 May 2019 in Hudson, McLean County (2019-038; Dan Williams)
  • Gyrfalcon, 13 February 2017 in Lawndale Township, McLean County (2017-083; Tim Lindenbaum)
  • Cassin’s Kingbird, 22 September 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-048; Krzysztof Kurylowicz; Vinod Babu, Robert D. Hughes, Steven Mlodinow)
  • Say’s Phoebe, 8 September 2019 at Greene Valley Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2019-044; Urs Geiser, Bonnie Graham)
  • Sage Thrasher, 29 September 2012 at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Winnebago County (2012-058; John Longhenry, Steve Reischel)
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 5-6 August 2018 at Spring Bluff Forest Preserve, Lake County (2018-066; Joan Campbell, Bonnie Graham)
  • MacGillivray’s Warbler, 3 May 2019 in Savanna, Carroll County (2019-047; Ethan Brown)
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), 14 June 2019 at Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County (2019-031; Beau Schaefer)
  • Black-throated Gray Warbler, 4 May 2019 east-southeast of Tisilkwa, Bureau County (2019-066; Douglas F. Stotz)
  • Townsend’s Warbler, 15-17 September 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-045; Alison Newberry; Matthew Cvetas, Colin Dobson, Scott Judd, Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Western Tanager, 9-13 May 2019 in Normal, McLean County (2019-025; Michael McKinley, Benjamin Murphy)
  • Western Tanager, 21 September 2019 in River Forest, Cook County (2019-049; Jill S. Anderson)
  • Painted Bunting, 2-12 June 2019 at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Will County (2019-023; Jeff Smith; Jared Gorrell, Davida Kalina, Vince Moxon)

Records Not Accepted

  • Townsend’s Warbler, 22 May 1970 at Prairie Park in DeKalb County (1970-001)

IORC Update, 4 December 2019

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 29 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted 22 of the records while not accepting seven. Among the accepted records was an addition to the list of species having occurred in Illinois: Lewis’s Woodpecker.

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

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (2), 30 May 2019 in Naples, Scott County (2019-019; Colin Dobson)
  • Barnacle Goose, 1-30 January 1983 in Durand, Winnebago County (1983-003; James Landing, Dan Williams)
  • Barnacle Goose, 16-19 December 2017 in Towanda, McLean County (2017-064; Oliver Burrus, Davida Kalina)
  • White-winged Dove, 17 April 2019 in Kankakee, Kankakee County (2019-010; Gary Soper)
  • White-winged Dove, 13-14 May 2019 in Seward, Winnebago County (2019-014; Dan Williams)
  • Snowy Plover, 25 May 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-018; Eddie Kasper; Isoo O’Brien)
  • Long-billed Curlew, 13 April 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-005; Scott Latimer, Amanda Tichacek; Robert D. Hughes, Fran R. Morel, Luis G. Munoz)
  • Pomarine Jaeger, 16-18 July 1986 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2016-106; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 11-29 September 2010 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2010-032; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Parasitic Jaeger (2), 3-7 September 2013 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (with one of these also present during 1-2 September 2013) (2013-050; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Little Gull, 8 September 2018 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2018-062; George Dubenic)
  • Anhinga, 27 May 2019 at Oakwood Bottoms, Jackson County (2019-015; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Black Vulture, 9 April 2019 in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-004; Geoffrey A. Williamson; Tamima Itani)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 15 April 2019 in St. Charles, Kane County (2019-006; Leslie Yoshitani)
  • Barn Owl, 1-11 March 2019 at Nipper Wildlife Sanctuary, Sangamon County (2019-011; Colin Dobson)
  • Barn Owl, found dead on 28 April 2019 south of Pesotum, Champaign County (2019-012; Tyler Funk)
  • Lewis’s Woodpecker, 30 April to 5 May 2019 at Ballard Nature Center, Altamont, Effingham County, first state record (2019-007; Tom Colin, Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Say’s Phoebe, 24 May to 5 August 2019 north of Weldon, DeWitt County; this record involved the Say’s Phoebe nesting with an Eastern Phoebe, with the nest producing young (2019-017; Tom Colin, Davida Kalina, Dan Williams)
  • Western Tanager, 4-5 May 2019 in Mode, Shelby County (2019-008; Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby)
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 10 May 2019 at Sexton Creek wetlands, Alexander County (2019-013; Allen Gathman)
  • Kirtland’s Warbler, 9-15 May 2019 at Grant Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-009; Geoffrey A. Williamson)
  • Painted Bunting, 13 May to 15 June 2019 in East St. Louis, St. Clair County (2019-016; Dan Kassebaum)

Records Not Accepted

  • Long-billed Curlew, 15 May 1943 at Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (1943-001)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 4 November 2017 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2017-080)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 8 September 2018 at Waukegan, Lake County (2018-048)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 22 April 2018 in Greeneville, Bond County (2018-030)
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 26 December 2018, Edwards Conservation Area, Boone County (2018-061)
  • Pine Grosbeak, 5 May 2018 in Elizabeth, Jo Daviess County (2018-063)
  • White-winged Junco (Junco hyemalis aikeni), 20 October 2018 at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Winnebago County (2018-050)



Barnacle Goose Added to the Illinois State List

Recent decisions by the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) resulted in the addition of Barnacle Goose as the 445th species on the official Illinois State List of birds. The record that added Barnacle Goose to the list involved the bird found by Andrew Aldrich on 27 November 2012 in Oswego, Kendall County and subsequently seen through 16 December 2012 at various Kane County, Kendall County, and Will County locations.  For any record to accepted by IORC, six or seven of the Voting Members of the committee must vote positively. This case merited six positive votes, with one dissenting vote cast on the basis of origin.

The set of records recently evaluated by IORC included seven involving Barnacle Goose. Because the question of origin in addition to that of identification arises in cases of Barnacle Geese, and because potential first state records attract extra scrutiny, the documentation of each of these seven observations needed to be particularly strong to garner acceptance. Three of the records did not make the cut, one on the basis of identification and the other two on the basis of origin. Three records will be circulated within IORC for a second round of review. (Records can go through as many as four rounds of review before reaching a final disposition.) The Kane/Kendall/Will County record from 2012 was the only one of the seven to gain acceptance in the first round.

Barnacle Goose in Kendall County, 28 Nov 2012.
Photograph by Andrew Aldrich.

Photographic evidence included in the accepted record made clear the bird’s identification as a Barnacle Goose. In comments accompanying their votes, IORC Members cited a variety of factors that supported the bird being a wild vagrant individual. These factors included the dates of occurrence, the documentation including evidence of the individual traveling with a flock and evidence of the species mix of that flock, and the documentation making a compelling case that the goose showed no signs of prior captivity.

There are 23 instances of Barnacle Goose in Illinois that have been cited in the literature, appeared in eBird checklists, or for which evidence potentially allowing review is otherwise available. The seven records recently considered by IORC are among these. IORC previously evaluated two of the other records; questions of origin resulted in neither of these being accepted.

 

IORC Update, 3 July 2019

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted 16 of the records while not accepting nine. 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

  • Barnacle Goose, 27 November to 16 December 2012, various locations in Kane, Kendall, and Will counties (2012-057; Andrew Aldrich)
  • White-winged Dove, 10 November 2018, Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2018-053; Steve Huggins; Tom Lally, Adam Sell)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 2 September 2018, Waukegan, Lake County (2018-046; Randy Schietzelt)
  • Slaty-backed Gull, 16 February 2019, Chicago, Cook County (2019-001; Walter Marcisz; Jayne Leone, Michael McNamee)
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 16-17 September 2018, Rainbow Park and Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2018-047; Jake Cvetas, Matthew Cvetas)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 27 July 2017, Simpson, Pope County (2017-030; Catherine Hammersley)
  • Barn Owl, 23 November 2018, Burnham Park, Chicago, Cook County (2018-055; Andrew Aldrich; Jake Cvetas, Matthew Cvetas)
  • Snowy Owl, 5-25 July 2018, O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Cook County (2018-051; David B. Johnson, Greg Martinelli, Sharon Scully)
  • Prairie Falcon, 21 Octoer 2018 to 11 March 2019, southeast of Arcola, Coles County (2018-059; Tyler Funk)
  • Vermilian Flycatcher, 29 September 2018, near Sangchris Lake, Christian County (2018-049; Brady Colin)
  • White-eyed Vireo, 29 December 2018, Sun River Terrace, Kankakee County (2018-057; Bronson Ratcliff)
  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 15 March 2019, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2019-003; Allen Gathman)
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 10 November 2018, Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County (2018-052; Andrew Aldrich)
  • Varied Thrush, 18-19 November 2018, Big Rock, Kane County (2018-054; John Heneghan)
  • Nashville Warbler, 29 December 2018, Zander Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County (2018-058; James Phillips)
  • Black-throated Gray Warbler, 30 December 2018, Jake Wolf Memorial Fish Hatchery, Mason County (2018-056; Vicky Sroczynski)

Records Not Accepted

  • Barnacle Goose, 19 January 2011, Troy, Madison County (2011-039)
  • Barnacle Goose (3), 5 October 2015, north of Aledo, Mercer County (2015-038)
  • Barnacle Goose, 25 February 2018, Forsyth, Macon County (2018-011)
  • Pacific Loon, 2 November 2018, Peoria Lake, Tazewell County (2018-060)
  • Anhinga, 15 April 2017, Ft. Massac State Park, Massac County (2017-066)
  • White-faced Ibis, 21-22 October 2017, Hegewisch Marsh, Chicago, Cook County (2017-051)
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 31 August to 1 September 2000, Springfield, Sangamon County (2000-083)
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 23 May 2018, Somme Wood Forest Preserve, Cook County (2018-019)
  • Black-headed Grosbeak, 9 October 2017, north of Springfield, Sangamon County (2017-079)
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