IORC Update, 4 December 2019

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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)



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