The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 14 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 13 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
- Pomarine Jaeger, 28 September 2024, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2024-043; Christopher Tomera).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 23 September 2024, North Avenue Beach in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2024-044; Mike McBrien).
- Parasitic Jaeger, 27 September 2024, Chicago’s Park No. 566, Cook County (2024-039; Tarik Shahzad).
- Long-tailed Jaeger, 22 September 2024, Lake Michigan offshore from Chicago, Cook County (2024-038; Henry Meade, Tarik Shahzad, Phillip Stosberg, Peter Tolzmann, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
- Wood Stork, 18-20 September 2024, Clinton Lake, DeWitt County (2024-035; Ann Anderson; Peter Weber, Steve Zehner).
- White Ibis, 20 September 2024, Niota, Hancock County (2024-037; Steve Huggins).
- Sharp-shinned Hawk, 22 June 2024, Dunham Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2024-033; Kyle Wiktor).
- Say’s Phoebe, 30 September 2024, Montrose Beach Dunes in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2024-040; Mark Kolasa).
- Say’s Phoebe, 3 October 2024, Illinois Beach State Park, South Unit, Lake County (2024-046; Carolyn Lueck).
- Sage Thrasher, 25 September to 28 October 2024, Hidden Lake Forest Preserve, DuPage County (Bonnie Graham, Ann Haverstock, Glenn Perricone, Geoffrey A. Williamson). Originally found by Dan Weeden.
- Great-tailed Grackle, 11 July to 31 August 2024, Monee, Will County (2024-029; Pat Andersen, Diane Hicks).
- Kirtland’s Warbler, 18 September 2024, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2024-036; Connie Smith; Joshua Wright).
- Townsend’s Warbler, 25 September 2024, Marky Mutchler; Demond McDonald, Randy Shonkwiler).
Records Not Accepted
- Mottled Duck, 31 August 2024, Eldon Hazlet State Park, Clinton County (2024-032).