IORC Update, 9 March 2019

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The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) in the last part of 2018 concluded evaluations of 36 records of occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and one notable breeding record. Among these, IORC accepted the breeding record and 29 other records while not accepting seven. 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), 5 May 2018, Canton, Fulton County (2018-031; Michael McKinley)
  • Tufted Duck, 20-21 April 2018, Spunky Bottoms, Brown County (2018-035; Benjamin Murphy, Craig Taylor)
  • White-winged Dove, 5 May 2018, Chicago, Cook County (2018-022; Steven J. Huggins)
  • White-winged Dove, 25 April 2018, Clinton County (2018-027; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Black Rail, 16 June 2018, Orland Grassland South Forest Preserve, Cook County (2018-043; Cary Hillegonds; Nancy Buis, Jayne Leone, Michael McNamee)
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 1 September 2017, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2017-078; Matthew Cvetas, Larry Krutulis)
  • Long-tailed Jaeger, 8 September 2018, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2018-044; Matthew Cvetas; Josh Engel, Fran Morel)
  • Long-tailed Jaeger, 8 September 2018, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2018-045; Andrew Aldrich; Terry Walsh)
  • Little Gull, 10-14 April 2018, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2018-033; Craig Taylor)
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 23-26 May 2018, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2018-028; Dan Kassebaum)
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 2 June to 12 July 2018, Horseshoe Lake, Madison County (2018-025; Dan Kassebaum; Frank Holmes)
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 10 July to 17 August 2018, Roselle, DuPage County (2018-040; Urs Geiser)
  • Anhinga (4+), 21 June to 30 August 2018, Cache River State Natural Area, Johnson County (2018-036; Kimberly Rohling; John Schwegman, Craig Taylor)
  • Brown Pelican, 27-29 April 2018, East Fork Lake, Richland County (2018-021; C. Leroy Harrison; Keith McMullen)
  • Brown Pelican, 1 July 2018, Newton Lake, Jasper County (2018-037; C. Leroy Harrison, Robert E. Shelby)
  • White Ibis, 11-23 July 2018, Kaskaskia Island, Randolph County (2018-039; Craig Taylor)
  • Roseate Spoonbill, 19 July to 20 August 2018, Rend Lake, Jefferson County (2018-042; Craig Taylor)
  • Black Vulture, 28-30 November 2017, Congerville, Woodford County (2017-077; Craig Taylor)
  • Black Vulture, 14 July 2018, Sam Dale Lake Conservation Area, Wayne County (2018-038; Robert E. Shelby)
  • Barn Owl, 7-8 June 2018, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2018-024; Robert D. Hughes)
  • Snowy Owl, 31 May to 6 June 2018, near Manhattan and Homer Glen, Will County (2018-023; Cindy Alberico, Lois Teerling)
  • Northern Saw-whet Owl, breeding record, 2 July 2013, Hoffman Estates, Cook County (2013-081; Dawn Keller, Eric Lundquist)
  • Ash-throated Flycatcher, 4 September 1994, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (1994-037; Paul R. Clyne)
  • Plumbeous Vireo, 30 April 1990, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (1990-025; Thomas S. Schulenberg)
  • Mountain Bluebird, 8-10 April 2018, Spoon Lake, Knox County (2018-034; D. James Mountjoy, Craig Taylor)
  • Hoary Redpoll,  20-28 January 2018, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Glencoe, Cook County (2018-002; Jeff Bilsky, Tom Lally, Scott Latimer)
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 28 May to 17 June 2011, Thebes, Alexander County (2011-038; Keith McMullen, Rhonda Rothrock)
  • Yellow Palm Warbler (Setophaga palmarum hypochrysea), 6 November 2017, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2017-058; Luis Muñoz)
  • Western Tanager, 10-12 April 2018, Springfield, Sangamon County (2018-020; Keith McMullen)
  • Painted Bunting, 6 May to 2 Jun 2018, East St. Louis, Madison County (2018-029; Dan Kassebaum)

Records Not Accepted

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, 10 May 2018, Henry de Tonty Woods Forest Preserve, Willow Springs, Cook County (2018-032)
  • Mottled Duck, 26 August 2017, Rend Lake Wildlife Management Area, Jefferson County (2017-067)
  • Mottled Duck, 23-30 March 2018, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2018-026)
  • Black Rail, 29 November 2017, Pembroke Savanna Nature Preserve, Hopkins Park, Kankakee County (2017-071)
  • Neotropic Cormorant (2), 17 August 2018, Hidden Lake Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2018-041)
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 18 May 2000, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2000-084)
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 12 July 2002, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2002-052)
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