The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 26 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 26 of these records and did not accept one.
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
- Purple Gallinule, 9 May 2010, Minonk wastewater treatment plant, Woodford County (2010-035; Matthew Winks).
- Purple Gallinule, 26 September 2023, Moline, Rock Island County (2023-061; Steve Freed).
- Purple Gallinule, 3-6 October 2023, Banner Marsh, Peoria County (2023-068; Linda Foster).
- Limpkin, 24 September 2023, Grass Lake, Chain O’ Lakes State Park, Lake County (2023-063; Bridget Kiernan).
- Limpkin, 25 September 2023, Amboy Marsh, Lee County (2023-059; James Hampson, Alyssa Rod, Diana Rod).
- Limpkin, 26 September to 10 November 2023, Westlake Lake and Nature Area, Winnebago County (2023-060; Randy Grover; Dan Williams).
- Limpkin, 28 September to 11 November 2023, McGinnis Slough, Cook County (2023-064; Elizabeth Simkins).
- Limpkin, 28 September to 4 November 2023, Sylvan Island, Rock Island County (2023-065, Steve Freed).
- Limpkin, 30 September to 21 October 2023, Kickapoo State Recreation Area, Vermilion County (2023-069; Jen Mui; Michael Ward).
- Limpkin, 12 October to 25 November 2023, Lake Charleston, Coles County (2023-073; Ron Bradley, Amy Lynch).
- Limpkin, 16 October to 13 December 2023 (and possibly later), Mellody Farm Nature Preserve, Lake County (2023-074; Maureen Marsh).
- Limpkin, 24 October to 27 November 2023, Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2023-079; Nicola Germann).
- Limpkin, 26 October 2023, East Moline, Rock Island County (2023-077; Steve Freed).
- Limpkin, 29 October 2023, Bloomington, McLean County (2023-085; Heather Smith).
- Limpkin, 4 November 2023, Cleveland, Henry County (2023-081; Evan Lopez).
- Whimbrel, 4 November 2023, Fox Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, Richland and Wayne counties (2023-083; C. Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby).
- Franklin’s Gull (1500), 7 October 2023, Hennepin Canal Park and Lock 32, Rock Island County (2023-071; Steve Freed).
- Roseate Spoonbill, 19-23 September 2023, Savanna, Carroll County (2023-062; Mark Roberts; Anne Straight).
- Roseate Spoonbill, 23 September to 11 October 2023, Fox Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, Richland and Wayne counties (2023-057; Leroy Harrison; Bob Shelby).
- Cassin’s Kingbird, 30 September 2023, Montgomery, Kendall County (2023-066; Ryan Jones).
- Rock Wren, 2 November 1970, Normal, McLean County (1970-002; H. David Bohlen).
- Rock Wren, 8-11 October 2023, Kress Creek Farms Park, West Chicago, DuPage County (2023-067; Haley Gottardo; C. Leroy Harrison, David B. Johnson, Henry M. Meade, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
- Varied Thrush, 29 October 2023, south of Monee, Will County (2023-080; Susan Zelek).
- Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, 29-30 October 2023, Northwestern University Lakefill, Evanston, Cook County (2023-078; Collin Porter; Tamima Itani, David B. Johnson, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
- Great-tailed Grackle, 11 October 2023, north of Monee, Will County (2023-072; Diane Hicks; Pat Andersen).
Records Not Accepted
- Anhinga (4), 7 October 2023, Carol Stream, DuPage County (2023-070).