The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 15 of these records and did not accept 10.
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, 21 November 1936, Henry, Marshall County (1936-002; J.A. King).
- Limpkin, 17 October 2023, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-092; H. David Bohlen).
- Limpkin, 8 December 2023, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-115; Jarod Hitchings, Dennis Oehmke).
- Limpkin, 12 January 2024, Borah Lake, Richland County (2024-005; Anna King).
- American Golden-Plover, 16 December 2023, Rend Lake, Jefferson County (2023-111; Keith McMullen).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 14 October 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-076; William Pixler, Peter Tolzmann).
- Short-billed Gull, 8-11 January 2024, Lock & Dam 14 on the Mississippi River, Rock Island County (2024-003; Steve Freed; Brandon Caswell).
- White Ibis, 17 November to 19 December 2023, Emiquon Preserve, Fulton County (2023-109; Forbes Biological Station).
- Say’s Phoebe, 1-9 January 2024, Danville, Vermilion County (2024-001; Rob Kanter).
- Bohemian Waxwing (1200), 30 November 1919, Beach, Lake County (1919-002; Colin Sanborn, Herbert L. Stoddard). Specimen record.
- Pine Grosbeak, 17 November 1906, Beach, Lake County (1906-002; J.F. Ferry). Specimen record.
- Pine Grosbeak, 22 November 1933, Chicago, Cook County (1933-001; E.B. Baker). Specimen record.
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 16 December 2023, Rend Lake, Franklin County (2023-110; Keith McMullen).
- Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), 19 November to 19 December 2023, north of Rockford, Winnebago County (2023-112; Barbara Williams).
- Black-throated Gray Warbler, 7-14 January 2024, Elgin, Cook County (2024-002; Bob Andrini).
Records Not Accepted
- Cinnamon Teal, 29 August 2023, Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, Grundy County (2023-056).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 6 September 2023, Chicago, Cook County (2023-049).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 6 September 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-055).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 12 September 2023, Burnham Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-052).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 17 September 2023, Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2023-058).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 18 September 2023, Burnham Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-116).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 23 September 2023, South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago, Cook County (2023-117).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 27 September 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-118).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 14 October 2023, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-075).
- Audubon’s Oriole, 8 May 2011, Half Day Forest Preserve, Lake County (2011-044).