The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 49 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 47 of these records and did not accept the other two.
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 Rail, 6-8 May 2021, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2021-117; Bob Fisher).
- Snowy Plover, 29 April 2022, Waukegan, Lake County (2022-023; Brad Semel).
- Snowy Plover, 31 May to 3 June 2022, Montrose Beach, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2022-030; Robert D. Hughes, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
- Brown Booby, 14 April 2022, Pekin, Tazewell County (2022-024; Tracey Marie Hastings).
- Brown Pelican, 5 May 2018, Lake Pittsfield, Pike County (2018-081; Chree Bolin).
- Tricolored Heron, 21 June 2022, Waukegan Beach, Lake County (2022-041; Dawn Fronk; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
- Swainson’s Hawk, 1-3 April 2022, Amboy Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Lee County (2022-043; Bill Rogers; Diana Rod).
- Say’s Phoebe, 13 September 2019, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2019-090; Benjamin Guo; Ted Hartzler).
- Say’s Phoebe, 22 September 2021, Grantsburg, Johnson County (2021-122; Cathy Morvich).
- Sage Thrasher, 29 October 2018, Kansas Township, Woodford County (2018-082; Matt Fraker).
- Sage Thrasher, 22 June 2022, Northerly Island, Chicago, Cook County (2022-044; Jing-Yi Lu; Matthew Cvetas).
- Evening Grosbeak (3), 31 October 2020, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2020-158; Josh Engel).
- Evening Grosbeak (5), 31 October 2020, Peterson Preserve, southeast of Cisco, Piatt County (2020-167; Nathan Beccue).
- Evening Grosbeak (up to 25), 31 October to 1 November 2020, St. Joseph, Champaign County (2020-156; Brock Price).
- Evening Grosbeak (1 to 5), 31 October to 4 November 2020, Grunwald Farms Family Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-164; Scott Cohrs; Wesley Sadler).
- Evening Grosbeak, 1 November 2020, Tiskilwa, Bureau County (2020-155; Sarah Geiger).
- Evening Grosbeak, 1 November 2020, West Chicago, DuPage County (2020-160; Matt Wistrand).
- Evening Grosbeak (6), 1 November 2020, Downers Grove, DuPage County (2020-161; Joel Fromer).
- Evening Grosbeak (7 to 11), 1-2 November 2020, Mattoon, Coles County (2020-157; Kathy Rowland).
- Evening Grosbeak (7), 2-3 November 2020, Kaneville, Kane County (2020-162; Jason Newton).
- Evening Grosbeak (15), 3 November 2020, Naperville, Will County (2020-184; Maria Turek).
- Evening Grosbeak, 4 November 2020, Belvidere, Boone County (2020-154; Mary Beth Lowe).
- Evening Grosbeak, 4 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-159; Nathan Goldberg).
- Evening Grosbeak, 6 November 2020, Elburn Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-163; Bob Andrini).
- Evening Grosbeak (7), 6 November 2020, Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2020-165; Josh Engel).
- Evening Grosbeak, 7 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-172; Julie Rand).
- Evening Grosbeak, 8 November 2020, Morton, Tazewell County (2020-183; Jennifer Dodson).
- Evening Grosbeak, 9 November 2020, Riis Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-174; Eric D. Gyllenhaal).
- Evening Grosbeak, 12 November 2020, southeast of Marshall, Clark County (2020-169; Steven Lima).
- Evening Grosbeak, 14 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-173; Mark Kolasa).
- Evening Grosbeak, 14 November 2020, Yorkville, Kendall County (2020-175; Larry Granat).
- Evening Grosbeak (6), 14-17 November 2020, Grayslake, Lake County (2020-178; Mary Salemo).
- Evening Grosbeak, 15 November 2020, Hampshire Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-166; Walt Lutz).
- Evening Grosbeak (4), 15 November 2020, Serena, LaSalle County (2020-176; Joseph Young).
- Evening Grosbeak, 16 November 2020, Libertyville, Lake County (2020-179; CiCi Birnberg).
- Evening Grosbeak, 17 November 2020, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-171; Randy Shonkwiler).
- Evening Grosbeak (2), 21 November 2020, Waukegan, Lake County (2020-180; Lisa Draper).
- Evening Grosbeak, 23 November 2020, Bowen Park, Waukegan, Lake County (2020-177; Annette McClellan, William McClellan).
- Evening Grosbeak (up to 52), 25 November 2020 to 30 May 2021, Harrisburg, Saline County (2020-181; Cathy DeNeal).
- Evening Grosbeak (2), 30 November 2020, Ashmore Township, Coles County (2020-170; P. Switzer).
- Evening Grosbeak (2), 17 December 2020, Little Wabash River bottoms, Shelby County (2020-182; Steven Lima).
- Evening Grosbeak (up to 25), 17 December 2020 to 13 February 2021, Rudement, Saline County (2020-168; Cathy DeNeal).
- Evening Grosbeak, 8 May 2021, rural Effingham County (2021-115; Karan Greuel).
- Bullock’s Oriole, 11-13 May 2022, Winthrop Harbor, Lake County (2022-029; James Steffen; Matthew Cvetas, Annette McClellan, William McClellan).
- Swainson’s Warbler, 10 May 2022, Carpenter Park Nature Preserve, Springfield, Sangamon County (2022-040; H. David Bohlen, Ken Bohlen).
- Swainson’s Warbler, 25 May 2022, Washington County State Recreation Area, Washington County (2022-042; Scott Atkinson).
- Western Tanager, 20 May 2012, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2012-059; Paul Clyne).
Records Not Accepted
- Arctic Loon, 8 May 2021, Morrison, Whiteside County (2021-118).
- Anhinga, 6 May 2017, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2017-089).