IORC Update, 12 January 2024

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 20 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 19 of these records and did not accept one. Among the accepted records are two additions to the official state list: Broad-tailed Hummingbird and European Goldfinch. Broad-tailed Hummingbird was accepted on the basis of an individual observed in Champaign County during November. European Goldfinch was accepted based on an argument that this introduced exotic species is now established with a viable breeding population in the state.

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

  • Cinnamon Teal, 14 October 2023, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-096; H. David Bohlen).
  • Broad-tailed Hummingbird, 7-10 November 2023, Champaign, Champaign County (2023-087; Deanna Uphoff; Nathan Goldberg, C. Leroy Harrison, Yusuf Jassim, David B. Johnson, Alyssa Rod, Steve Zehner). First state record.
  • Purple Gallinule, 5 November 2023, Chicago, Cook County (2023-089).
  • Limpkin, mid-May 2023, Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-094; Paul Countryman).
  • Limpkin, late October to 26 November 2023, Lockport, Will County (2023-095; Cindy Alberico, Nancy Buis, Ryan Jones, Jayne Leone).
  • Limpkin, 6-7 November 2023, Chicago, Cook County (2023-088).
  • Limpkin, 11-12 November 2023, Riverview Farmstead Preserve, Will County (2023-091; Sajo Naik).
  • Limpkin, 11-27 November 2023, Oswego, Kendall County (2023-097; Ingrid Croall, Jackson Croall).
  • Limpkin, 13-19 November 2023, East Fork Lake, Richland County (2023-102; C. Leroy Harrison).
  • Limpkin, 16 November 2023, Carpenter-Gurgens Park, Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-093; Joe Coffey).
  • Limpkin, 23 November to 2 December 2023, along Fox River in Oswego, Kendall County (2023-106; Scott Johnson).
  • Limpkin, 3 December 2023, Lake Petersburg, Menard County (2023-104; Jim Herkert).
  • Limpkin, 11-12 December 2023, Poplar Creek Forest Preserve, Cook County (2023-107; Katie Scott; Lisa Pool).
  • Pomarine Jaeger, 11 November to 6 December 2023, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2023-090; Dan Kassebaum; Nathan Goldberg, C. Leroy Harrison, Ryan Jones, Alyssa Rod, Bode Thompson).
  • Ferruginous Hawk, 6-7 November 2023, Chicago, Cook County (2023-086; Santo Locasto; Aaron Gyllenhaal).
  • Prairie Falcon, 6 December 2023, Fairmont City, St. Clair County (2023-105; Stacia Novy).
  • Great Crested Flycatcher, 23-24 November 2023, Mt. Morris, Ogle County (2023-098; Mary Bacon; Dan Williams).
  • European Goldfinch, 7 June 2021, Waukegan, Lake County (2021-043; Danielle Leone). First state record.
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 26 November 2023, Belleville, St. Clair County (2023-103; Josh Carter).

Records Not Accepted

  • Red-shouldered Hawk (extimus), 4 August 2023, Pyramid State Park, Perry County (2023-041).

IOS Speaker Series: The Finch Research Network presents “Hawaiian Honeycreepers and the Conservation Crisis – Past, Present, and Future”

Wednesday, January 24th at 7:00pm

Click here to register.

Hawaiian Honeycreepers and the Conservation Crisis – Past, Present and Future

A group of rose finches from central Asia migrated over the Pacific Ocean, thus irrupting, as finches tend to do, 6,000 miles, landing on Hawaii more than 5 million years ago. This may have happened a few times. These finches found unique foods and habitats, and they adaptively radiated to dozens of species. This is similar to the story of Darwin’s finches, and these rose finches adaptively radiated into more 50 new species that exploited these food resources. 

After settlers arrived, rats, cats, pigs, mongooses, invasive plants, diseases, and the most current threat, mosquitos carrying avian malaria, were introduced. From a high of 53-56 species, now only 16 remain. New efforts are being done to help the last remaining species. 

The Finch Research Network and The Honeycreepers Project

Matt Young, FiRN Founder and Executive Director
Matt has been observing and enjoying nature since a very young age. He’s lived in Central New York for 26+ years and it was during this time when he really started studying everything from birds to orchids, and bogs and fens. Matt received his B.S. in Water Resources with a minor in Meteorology from SUNY-Oneonta and his M.S. in Ornithology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry/Syracuse University in 2003. Matt did his masters research on avian diversity in restored wetlands of central New York at the Great Swamp Conservancy. He was a Regional Editor of the Kingbird for 10 years, the state ornithological journal in New York, was an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Studies at SUNY-Cortland, and currently teaches an Intro to Birding class for Cornell University and was the Board Chair at The Wetland Trust.

Over the last 26 years he’s worked as a social worker (and is currently) with special needs young adults and adolescents for close to 12 years, and worked at the Cornell Lab across 15+ years where he did extensive field work for the Lab’s Cerulean and Golden-winged Warblers atlas projects, and was project lead on the Lab’s first Finch Irruptive Bird Survey for Bird Source in 1999. He was the Collections Management Leader/Audio Engineer at the Macaulay Library ~12 years where he edited sounds for several Merlin packs around the world in addition to being the lead audio engineer on guides, the Songs of the Warblers of North America, Audubon Society Voices of Hawaii’s Birds, and the Cornell Lab’s Guides to Bird Sounds, the North America Master and Essential Sets. He’s been a tour guide leader for Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, written finch species accounts for breeding bird atlases and Birds of the World, and has published several papers about the Red Crossbill vocal complex including describing a new call type Type 12. He’s currently working on Finches of United States and Canada with Lillian Stokes and is also the President and Founder of the Finch Research Network (FiRN).

Nathan Goldberg, FiRN Hawaiian Honeycreeper Project Lead
Nathan Goldberg is a graduate of Cornell University, and a tour leader and guide for the Red Hill Birding team. He is an avid birder for over a decade and from the Chicagoland region. In 2020, he set the Illinois Big Year record, seeing 341 species over the course of the year. After leading a trip in Hawaii in 2021 he reached out to Matt to get involved in helping raise awareness around the conservation crisis in Hawaii.

To learn more about the Honeycreepers Project, click here.

Click here to register.

2023 Grants Summary

This year we were able to fund 3 grant proposals! This brings the total to 133 grants and over $120,500 awarded since the program’s inception, through this year.

One of IOS’s objectives is “To promote scientific research and education in order to improve knowledge and awareness of birds in Illinois”. The IOS Grants Program was initiated several years ago to support this objective with funding.

The 2022 IOS Grants Program received ten requests for funding, representing a notably diverse set of study goals. The IOS review team evaluated each proposal, and determined that all were suitable for funding within the scope of that key objective described above. In addition to money provided directly by IOS, donations by four organizations and many individuals made it possible for all of the 2023 grant requests to be fully funded.

Sponsor Organizations:
DuPage Birding Club
Illinois Audubon Society
Lake-Cook Audubon Society
Illinois Ornithological Society

Thanks to you all! Without the generosity of these organizations and IOS members and friends in the bird conservation community, IOS would not be able to support these projects. The support exemplified by this funding sends an important message to these students and researchers: We believe in your work, and we care about the future of our state’s bird life!

Thanks to John Leonard and Scott Meister for reviewing and evaluating all the requests.

Congratulations to the grant recipients! Watch for their project articles in future issues of Meadowlark and watch for short summaries on the IOS website. Here’s a synopsis of the 2023 grants. Where noted, individuals and organizations targeted those grants for their donations.

Recipient Affiliation Project  
Abhay Agarwal Sanctuary for the Skies Sanctuary For The Skies  
Avery Dart Illinois State University Effects of extra-pair paternity on provisioning effort and nest defense in male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon)  
Adrianna Yoder DePaul University Habitat Characteristics & Seasonality of Red-headed Woodpecker Cavity Use  

IORC Update, 15 December 2023

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).

2023 IOS Big Sit Awards Ceremony

Results and Prizes

Grand Total Raised = $4,650

Clever Team Name Winners

  1. Big Lagoonies @ Humboldt Park, Chicago, Cook County
  2. Limpkin Bigsitz @ Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County
  3. Back Porch Perched Prairie Peepers @ South Homer Township, Champaign County

Top Fundraisers

  1. Big Marsh Fwrens – $1,038.73
  2. The Jaeger Masters – $1,030.15
  3. The Birding Bonanza @ Rollins Savanna – $495.80

Funds raised go directly towards supporting IOS initiatives including the Illinois Young Birders program, supporting bird research and conservation in Illinois through the IOS Grant Program. Thank you to all our teams for your fundraising efforts! Many teams raised hundreds of dollars and we had a lot of different people supporting the event. Kudos to you all! 

Yard Big Sit Species Total Winners

  1. Big Sit at the Magic Fountain! – 45 species
    • Team Member: Aerin Tedesco
  2. Back Porch Perched Prairie Peepers – 37 species
    • Team Member: Britt Carlson
  3. Zakyard Birding – 28 species
    • Team Member: Zachary Sutton

Overall Big Sit Species Total Winners

  1. Limpkin Bigsitz – 95 species
    • Team Members: Evan Smith, Sarah Winnicki-Smith, Emma Winnicki-Smith, aerin tedesco
  2. The Jaeger Masters – 73 species
    • Team Members: Henry Meade, Peter Tolzmann, Owen Woodhouse
  3. Big Marsh Fwrens – 69 species
    • Team Members: Matt and Vickie Igleski, Carl Giometti, Stephanie Beilke, Jake Vinsel, Ian Sarmiento, Paul Senner, Kelly Ballantyne, Brianna and Jim Joyce

 Across the state, big sitters saw a combined 163 species of birds!

Thank you to everyone who supported, participated,

and donated to this fantastic 2023 Big Sit!

IORC Update, 13 October 2023

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted all of these records.

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

  • Limpkin, 20 May 2023, Oswego, Kendall County (2023-040; Scott Johnson, Ryan Jones).
  • Limpkin (1 to 2), 30 June to 9 July 2023, Heron Pond, Johnson County (2023-026; P. Switzer).
  • Limpkin, 13 July 2023, Clinton Lake, DeWitt County (2023-027; Ann Anderson).
  • Limpkin, 16 July to 27 August 2023, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2023-028; Anne Parmley; Wendy Griggs).
  • Limpkin, 24 July to 9 October 2023, Skokie Lagoons Forest Preserve and Chicago Botanic Gardens, Cook County (2023-031; Jenny Heckathorne; Jeff Bilsky, Matthew Cvetas, Tom Lally, Fran Morel, Amanda Tichacek, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Limpkin, 26 July 2023, Section 8 Woods, Pulaski County (2023-032; Timothy Rye).
  • Limpkin (2), 27-29 July 2023, Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area, Cass County (2023-033; Ted Hartzler).
  • Limpkin (1 to 2), 5-21 August 2023, Nygren Wetlands, Winnebago County (2023-035; Dan Williams).
  • Limpkin, 13 August 2023, Lake Pana, Shelby County (2023-037; Tom Colin; Travis Mahan).
  • Limpkin, 13 August 2023, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2023-038; Paige Niepoetter).
  • Limpkin (1 to 2), 16 August to 21 September 2023, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2023-042; Matt Misewicz, Dan Williams).
  • Limpkin, 27-28 August 2023, Lake Arispie, Bureau County (2023-043; Brad Grover).
  • Limpkin, 28 August to 4 September 2023, along Sangamon Creek north of the town of White Heath, Piatt County (2023-044; Nathan Beccue).
  • Limpkin, 28-30 August 2023, Galena River, JoDaviess County (2023-046; Tony Moline).
  • Limpkin, 30 August to 18 September 2023, Horseshoe Lake, Alexander County (2023-047; Tina Pryor).
  • Limpkin, 13-14 September 2023, McHenry Dam, McHenry County (2023-053; Richard Hugel, Janusz Kubik).
  • Limpkin, 17 September 2023, along the Kishwaukee River, Winnebago County (2023-054; John Defenbaugh).
  • Ruff, 15 August 2023, Nygren Wetlands, Winnebago County (2023-039; John Longhenry, Dan Williams).
  • Ruff, 4-11 September 2023, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge,Mason County (2023-048; Travis Mahan; Matt Misewicz).
  • Long-tailed Jaeger, 30-31 August 2023, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2023-045; Bruce Vinkler; Julie Gidwitz, Matt Misewicz).
  • White Ibis, 9-11 September 2023, Lacy Ditch, Fulton County (2023-050; Steve Zehner).
  • Roseate Spoonbill, 25 July 2023, Carlyle Lake, Fayette County (2023-030; Keith A. McMullen).
  • Roseate Spoonbill, 6 August to 25 September 2023, at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnam County, at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County, at Lacy Ditch, Fulton County, and at Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Tazewell County (2023-034; Anthony Jones; Pete Fenner, Scott Harp, David B. Johnson, Dan Williams, Susan Zelek).
  • Roseate Spoonbill, 9 August 2023, at Techny Basin, Cook County and Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Lake County (2023-036; Taylor Bozman, Woody Goss).
  • American Redstart, 4 December 2021, Waukegan, Lake County (2021-127; Jeffery Sole, James Wheat).

IOS 2023 Big Sit Competition and Fundraiser

Friday, Sep. 22 – Sunday, Sep. 24, 2023

Art by Laurie Kaufmann

About the IOS 2023 Big Sit

Stay put. Count birds. Raise money! IOS invites you to join other birders throughout Illinois on the weekend of September 22-24 for the annual IOS 2023 Big Sit Competition and Fundraiser. Sign up below and pick a day on the weekend to sit in one spot and count as many species of birds as possible, whether in your yard or your favorite park or preserve. You can count as an individual or family or teams of up to five (additional participants can come and go from your count circle as long as no more than five people are in the circle at one time and social distancing and state guidelines are followed). Teams are also invited to help solicit donations for their team and use the event as a fun way to help us raise funds for IOS. The 2023 IOS Big Sit funds will go towards supporting IOS and IOS initiatives like the Illinois Young Birders and the IOS Grants program.

What is a Big Sit?

A Big Sit, similar to a Big Day, is a competition where a team of birders counts as many species as possible within a 24 hour period.  While the Big Day involves moving around from spot to spot to maximize species sightings, a Big Sit is precisely as it sounds. You stay in one location, a 20ft diameter circle called a “count circle”, and only species seen or heard from that circle count for the final tally.  Count wherever you want and as long as you want during your chosen count day. The Big Sit is all about slowing down and enjoying good company, great birds, and, in this case, supporting a good cause! Full rules can be read here.

Steps to Participate

1. Click the “Start a Team” button below and then click on “Start a Fundraiser” to create your fundraising team and find up to 5 people to join your Big Sit.

To start a fundraiser, you will need to create a Donately account if you do not already have one. It is very straightforward. Don’t forget a creative name! Don’t forget to set a fundraising goal for yourself!

Start a Team

2. Add a description which includes 1) Your teammates  2) Where you will be conducting your Big Sit 3) the date of your Big Sit.

3. Have each team member “join” by donating $10 (or more!) to your team.

4. Share, share, share! Reach out to friends and family to donate to your Big Sit by sharing your donation page. 

Donors can do a 1-time donation, or they can pledge to donate an amount “per species” and complete their donation after you announce your final species total to them.  NOTE: Your team is responsible for keeping track of “per species” donors and reminding them to donate afterwards!  Encourage donors that they can donate both ways!

5. Have Fun!

On your competition day, sit back, relax, and have fun counting birds. Share your highlights as the day progresses in the new IOS Facebook Group. (A submission form will be posted closer to the event date to submit your final species total and any highlights you want to share from your day).

6. Join Us for the Results and After Party

Anyone interested is invited to join us for a virtual after party online as we share highlights with one another and announce winners. Prizes will be awarded for the team that counts the most birds and for the team that raises the most in donations (details to be announced).

How to Donate

If you are supporting a specific team, you can donate via the link to their team page or search for the team below.

Donate to a Team

If you are not supporting a specific team, feel free to pick one to support or you can submit a general donation to IOS.

We invite donors to follow along during the event in the IOS Facebook Group and Join Us for the Results and After Party. Thank you in advance for your support of IOS!

Ways to Promote the Big Sit with Friends and Bird Clubs

Invite others to learn more at https://www.illinoisbirds.org/bigsit/

Questions

Aerin Tedesco
IOS Big Sit Event Coordinator

Palm Warbler. Photo by Adam Sell.

IORC Update, 5 July 2023

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 10 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted seven of these records and did not accept three.

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

  • White-winged Dove, 18-21 April 2023, Bloomington, McLean County (2023-011; Beverly Beauford; Michael McKinley).
  • Limpkin, 12 April 2023, Kaskaskia River valley south-southwest of Vandalia, Fayette County (2023-008; Tyler Kimes).
  • Limpkin, 3 May 2023, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2023-015; Matt Eisenhauer).
  • Snowy Plover, 16 May 2023, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2023-018; Tarik Shazad, Simon Tolzmann).
  • Ruff, 14-29 April 2023, eastern Boone County north of Garden Prairie and southern McHenry County north of Huntley (2023-009; Dan Williams; Vicki Buchwald, Michal Furmanek, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Kirtland’s Warbler, 7 May 2023, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Glencoe, Cook County (2023-014; Anna Tendero; Andrea Tolzmann).
  • Townsend’s Warbler, 27 April 2023, Big Marsh, Chicago, Cook County (2023-012; Raymond Huey).

Records Not Accepted

  • Eastern Wood-Pewee, 10 January 2023, Brownstown, Fayette County (2023-007).
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 12 May 2023, Hartford, Madison County (2023-017).
  • MacGillivray’s Warbler, 2 September 2021, Forbes State Park, Marion County (2021-125).

Birds and Baristas in Lake County

IOS Summer Field Trip Series: Birds and Baristas!

Every Thursday in June and July in locations around Lake County, IL

Join expert Lake County field trip leader Beau Schaefer for weekly bird walks in fantastic locations, followed by a stop for a fresh cup of coffee at local coffee houses around the county this summer.

Beau will meet people at the birding locations and times indicated on the schedule. 
Bird Walk and Coffee Shop Schedule

No registration necessary. Just show up at the time and location indicated for the Birding Location and join Beau and the group. 

If you have questions, please email  beauschaefer@yahoo.com.

Please provide your own water, sunscreen, and insect repellant.

We look forward to seeing you in the field!

Crested Caracara added to State List

The record of Crested Caracara from Fulton County in February 2023 (2023-004), recently accepted, is the first accepted record of this species for Illinois. This is the 455th species on the official Illinois State List of Birds.

Crested Caracara, Fulton Co, Feb 2023, photo by Leroy Harrison

Crested Caracara, 10 Feb 2023 in Fulton County. Photo by Leroy Harrison

This individual was initially found by Kevin Blodgett on 4 Feb 2023 at Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and was observed again by him and Randy Smith on the 6th. It was last seen in the area on 10 Feb 2023. IORC is aware of anecdotal reports that possibly indicate the bird’s presence near this area in early January 2023, but not verifiable details were received by IORC.

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