IORC Update, 14 March 2021: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 62 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. Among these, IORC accepted 53 of the records, including two breeding records, while not accepting nine.

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.

Breeding Records Accepted

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, (breeding record), 10-21 September 2020, Fults, Monroe County (2020-053; Carl DauBach, Pen DauBach).
  • Merlin (breeding record), 21 May to 14 July 2020, Rockford, Winnebago County (2020-026; Daniel T. Williams; John C. Longhenry).

Records Accepted

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, 6 July 2020, Wood Dale, DuPage County (2020-035; Tony Comerci).
  • Garganey, 24 April 2014, Carlyle Lake, Fayette County (2014-059; Dan M. Kassebaum).
  • Eurasian Wigeon, 21 November to 1 December 2020, Des Plaines Conservation Area, Will County (2020-077; Annette McClellan, Daniel T. Williams).
  • White-winged Dove, 4 May 2019, Marengo, McHenry County (2019-072; Stephen Mitten).
  • Purple Gallinule, 4 May 2019, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2019-071; Frank Bennett).
  • Purple Gallinule, 23 September 2020, Montrose Point, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2020-054; Robert D. Hughes; Matthew M. Cvetas).
  • Black Rail, 18 September 2020, northwest Alexander County (2020-050; Craig A. Taylor).
  • Purple Sandpiper, 22 November 2020, North Point Marina, Winthrop Harbor, Lake County (2020-078; Jeff Bilsky).
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 7 September 2020, Lake Michigan east from Chicago, Cook County (2020-056; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 25 October 2020, Lake Michigan east from Chicago, Cook County (2020-068; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Long-tailed Jaeger, 25 October 2020, Lake Michigan east from Chicago, Cook County (2020-069; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Little Gull (2), 7 September 2020, Lake Michigan east from Chicago, Cook County (2020-057; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Little Gull, 12 September 2020, LaSalle Lake, LaSalle County (2020-046; Steven J. Huggins).
  • Little Gull, 11 October 2020, Moline, Rock Island County (2020-063; Steven M. Freed).
  • Sooty Tern, 10 June 2020, Seneca Township, near Marengo, McHenry County (2020-040; Amy Keller; Sara Denham, Beth Gunderson, Rebecca Murphy, Brad Semel).
  • Pacific Loon, 12 November 2020, Oakhurst Forest Preserve, Aurora, Kane County (2020-075; Brendon Lake).
  • Pacific Loon, 16-17 November 2020, Heidecke Lake, Grundy County (2020-076; Matt Misewicz).
  • Magnificent Frigatebird, 31 August 2020, Quincy, Adams County (2020-042; Cory Gregory).
  • Magnificent Frigatebird, 24 October 2020, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2020-061; C. Leroy Harrison, Robert E. Shelby).
  • Anhinga, 6 August to 26 September 2020, Grand Tower, Jackson County (2020-036; Katy Banning).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 5 May 2019, Clinton Lake, DeWitt County (2019-074; Matthew E. Fraker).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 27 May to 1 June 2019, Almond Marsh Forest Preserve, Lake County (2019-075; Adam W. Sell).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 10 April 2020, Heron County Park, Vermilion County (2020-038; Ryan Askren).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 26 April to 14 May 2020, Almond Marsh Forest Preserve, Lake County (2019-081; Adam W. Sell).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 28 July to 20 September 2020, Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2020-028; Isoo O’Brien).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 28 September 2020, Nygren Wetlands, Winnebago County (2020-058; Daniel T. Williams).
  • White Ibis (2), 5 August 2020, east central Wayne County (2020-031; Craig A. Taylor).
  • White Ibis, 31 August 2020, Quincy, Adams County (2020-039; Craig A. Taylor).
  • Roseate Spoonbill, 28-29 August 2020, Hardin County (2020-041; Craig A. Taylor).
  • Black Vulture, 16 May 2020, Zion, Lake County (2020-065; Linda Zoetmulder).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 25 July 2020, Rend Lake, Franklin County (2020-029; Ryan Healey).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 4-8 August 2020, Charleston, Coles County (2020-033; David Logue).
  • Ash-throated Flycatcher, 26 August 2020, North Pond, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2020-055; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 16 September 2020, Montrose Point, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2020-045; Mark R. Vanderpoel).
  • Fish Crow, 24 June 2020, Aurora, Kane County (2020-021; Theresa LeCompte).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 2 February 2020, southwest Jo Daviess County (2020-032; Scott A. Cohrs).
  • Evening Grosbeak (2), 29 October to 2 November 2020, Severson Dells Nature Center, Winnebago County (2020-066; Daniel T. Williams).
  • Evening Grosbeak (8), 31 October 2020, Greenwood Cemetery, Rockford, Winnebago County (2020-067; Daniel T. Williams).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 11 November 2020, North Pond, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2020-074; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 19-21 November 2020, Big Rock, Kane County (2020-073; John A. Heneghan).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 23 November 2020, Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2020-080; Tamima Itani).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 23 November 2020, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Cook County (2020-079; Tamima Itani). (Reports of Hoary Redpoll came from this location during 22 November 2020 to 6 January 2021.)
  • White-winged Crossbill, 21 November 2020, Evanston, Cook County (2020-083; Tamima Itani).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 28 November 2020, Montrose Point, Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2020-084; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Cassin’s Sparrow, 13 November 2020, Montrose Point, Chicago’s Lincoln Park (2020-070; Robert D. Hughes; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow, 18 November to 13 December 2020, Rockford, Winnebago County (2020-072; Barbara C. Williams, Daniel T. Williams).
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 15 November 2020, Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, Cook County (2020-082; Negin Almassi).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 5 May 2019, Sexton Creek, Alexander County (2019-073; Ida Domazlicky).
  • MacGillivray’s Warbler, 7 May 2011, Lost Mound National Wildlife Refuge, Carroll County (2011-042; Jeff Baughman).
  • Kirtland’s Warbler, 18 May 2020, Geneva, Kane County (2020-034; Scott A. Cohrs).
  • Black-headed Grosbeak, 16-24 October 2020, Woodstock, McHenry County (2020-060; Jean Graf-Teterycz; Matthew M. Cvetas, Daniel T. Williams).

Records Not Accepted

  • Parasitic Jaeger, 18 September 2020, Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County (2020-051).
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 24 October 2020, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2020-062).
  • Little Gull, 9 September 2020, La Grange, Cook County (2020-049).
  • Little Gull, 13 September 2020, Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnum County (2020-052).
  • Neotropic Cormorant (3), 16 August 2020, Savoy, Champaign County (2020-044).
  • Tricolored Heron, 22 August 2020, East Peoria, Tazewell County (2020-043).
  • Western Wood-Pewee, 14 September 2020, Mattis Park, Champaign, Champaign County (2020-047).
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 15 May 2020, Dam No. 4 Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County (2020-037).
  • Painted Bunting, 1 July 2020, Makanda, Jackson County (2020-023).

IORC Update, 14 November 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 17 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. Among these, IORC accepted 16 of the records while not accepting 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

  • White-winged Dove, 14 May 2018 in Shiloh, St. Clair County (2018-074; Karen Louis).
  • White-winged Dove, 15 June 2018 in Oswego, Kendall County (2018-076; Scott Johnson).
  • White-winged Dove (1 to 2), 4 May to 27 July 2020 (with two present during 9-14 May 2020) in Stonington, Christian County (2020-011; Tom Colin, Trevor Slovick, Ted Wolff).
  • Ivory Gull, 3 January 2018 at Lake County Fairgrounds, Lake County (2018-073: Amar Ayyash).
  • Little Gull, 1-2 September 2013 at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2013-084; Eric W. Walters).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 20 June to 3 July 2020 at Pratt’s Wayne Woods Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2020-022; Bonnie Graham).
  • Brown Pelican, 3 October to 8 December 2018 at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Williamson County (2018-071; Chelsea DeVivo, Nathan Goldberg, Kimberly Rohling).
  • Black Vulture (2), 14 July 2020 at Kickapoo State Park, Vermilion County (2020-025; Zachary Sutton).
  • Barn Owl, 27 September 2017 in Chicago, Cook County (2017-084; L. Challoner).
  • Prairie Falcon, 3 January 2018 in Ridgway Township, Gallatin County (2018-072; Ron Bradley).
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed), 22 May 2020 at Mississippi Palisades State Park, Carroll County (2020-024; Ethan Brown). The Committee’s decision was that this record pertains to Junco hyemalis caniceps.
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 20 August 2013 in Meredosia, Morgan County (2013-085; Shawn Billerman).
  • Palm Warbler (Yellow), 8 November 2016 at McCormick Place, Chicago, Cook County (2016-098; Mary Hennen, David E. Willard).
  • Western Tanager, 14-28 April 2013 in Warsaw, Hancock County (2013-083; James D. Paar).
  • Western Tanager, 21 May 2017 in Serena, LaSalle County (2017-085; Joseph Young).
  • Painted Bunting, 15-16 May 2018 in Mendota, LaSalle County (2018-075; Gene Rod).

Records Not Accepted

  • Black-headed Grosbeak, 3 October 2019 at West Ridge Nature Preserve, Chicago, Cook County (2019-070).

IOS 2020 Big Sit Fundraising Results

Big Marsh Zugun-Sittas
Big Marsh Zugun-Sittas. Photo by Matt Igleski.

Birding-related activities have proved themselves a great distraction in 2020.  The IOS Big Sit taking place from Sep 24-26 was a big hit with individuals seeking a bit of fun, social interaction, outdoor activities and good-humored competition while easily distancing and remaining safe.

Maybe the team names should have been subject to competition, given their creative nature!  Sedentary…sharpies?  Pelicans gone batty.  No Egrets.  Or this one, that came with a nearly one-page explanation:  Big Marsh Zugun-Sitta!

One team however had the name and the number of species to take the overall lead in the competition!  Kudos to Colin Dobson, Aerin Tedesco and Zachary Sutton of the COVID coRvids for a highly productive Big Sit at Lake Shelbyville in Moultrie County yielding 92 species of birds, including 13 species of shorebirds and 12 species of Warblers.  Wondering if Aerin will follow with a Covid Corvids band?

On the financial front and from the onset, one team crushed the fundraising aspect of the Big Sit.  The Rollin’s Raptors, led by legendary green birder Beau Schaefer and including Andy Stewart, Gustavo Ustariz, Steve Mulhall and Jerry Hampton brought in $1202!  Hurray for the Rollin’s Raptors!

Our current and past Illinois Young Birders stepped up to the challenge, with 3 Bruhs with Some Bins and the Youthful Jaegers battling it out at Montrose Point.  The name was an oracle of sort, as the Youthful Jaegers stole the show on both species (84) and funds ($589) achieved.

American Avocet. Photo by Jake Cvetas.

Our young winners will receive beautiful handmade peanut feeders very generously donated by Tim Joyce of Wild Birds Unlimited in Glenview.

The IOS board is deeply grateful to every Big Sit participant, as well as to each donor, for their energy, enthusiasm and great generosity.  Together we raised $5255, which will enable IOS to continue strengthening our key offerings, such as our Illinois birds scientific research grants, our Illinois Young Birders programs, the Meadowlark journal and our field trips.

TEAM/LOCATION
 ORGANIZER TOTAL SPECIES
 TOTAL RAISED
Rollin’s Raptors

Rollins Savannah Forest Preserve (Lake)

 Beau Schaefer 79 $1,202
Tamima’s Backyard Larks

Evanston Backyard (Cook)

 Backyard Larks 38 $1,041
Youthful Jaegers*

Montrose Point (Cook)

 Simon Tolzmann 84 $589
Sedentary Sharpies

Fort Sheridan Hawkwatch (Lake)

 Adam Sell 85 $575
3 Bruhs with Some Bins

Montrose Point (Cook)

 Jake Cvetas 70 $555
The Thatchers

Thatcher Woods (Cook)

 John Leonard 44 $422
Pelicans Gone Batty

Downers Grove Backyard (DuPage)

 Vera Miller 26 $360
COVID coRvids**

Lake Shelbyville (Moultrie)

 Aerin Tedesco 92 $244
Big Marsh Zugun-Sittas

Big Marsh (Cook)

 Matt Igleski 71 $201
No Egrets

Middle Fork Forest Preserve (Champaign)

 Mike Avara 53 $42
Southern Screamers

South Shore Cultural Center (Cook)

 Jacob Drucker 84 $21
Total Funds Raised: $5,252
*Top species winner for youth category
**Top overall species winner

No Egrets
No Egrets (Middle Fork Forest Preserve). Photo by Michael Avara.

Black-bellied Plover and Long-billed Dowitcher
Black-bellied Plover (left) and Long-billed Dowitcher (right). Photos by Jake Cvetas.

Phoebe and Falcons.
Eastern Phoebe (left) – Photo by Aerin Tedesco. American Kestrel (center), Peregrine Falcon (top right), and Sharp-shinned Hawk (bottom right) – Photos by Trevor Slovick.

Philadelphia Vireo and American Wigeon.
Philadelphia Vireo (left) and American Wigeon (right). Photos by Matt Igleski.

 

 

IOS 2021 Big Sit Competition and Fundraiser

Friday, Sep. 24 – Sunday, Sep. 26

Art by Rebecca Jasso

About the IOS 2021 Big Sit

Stay put. Count birds. Raise money! After the success of the spring IOS Backyard Big Day, IOS invites you to join other birders throughout Illinois on the weekend of September 24-26 for the IOS 2021 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). 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 2021 IOS Big Sit funds will go towards supporting IOS and IOS initiatives like the Illinois Young Birders and the IOS Grants program. A prize will be awarded to the team that raises the most funds.

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/

Share the IOS 2021 Big Sit Facebook Event Page with friends.

Questions

Aerin Tedesco
IOS Big Sit Event Coordinator

Palm Warbler. Photo by Adam Sell.

IORC Update, 7 August 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 16 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. Among these, IORC accepted 14 of the records while not accepting two.

This Western Tanager, photographed 8 May 2020 by Leroy Harrison, is one of two Western Tanagers accepted by IORC in this group of 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

  • Black-bellied Whistling-Duck (6), 4 June 2020 at Beall Woods State Park, Wabash County (2020-018; Robert E. Shelby).
  • Harlequin Duck, 1-4 March 2020 in Moline, Rock Island County (2020-005; Steven Freed).
  • White-winged Dove, 14-18 April 2020 in Metropolis, Massac County (2020-009; John Schwegman).
  • Wood Stork (3), 23-28 August 2011 south of Kidd Lake Marsh State Natural Area, Monroe County (2011-041; Carl DauBach, Pen DauBach).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 24 May to 6 July 2020 in Zion, Lake County (2020-019; Daniel T. Williams). Found by Steven J. Huggins.
  • Fish Crow, 10 May 2020 in Berwyn, Cook County (2020-014; Greg E. Neise).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 1-21 March 2020 at McCune Sand Prairie, Bureau County (2020-006; Davida Kalina, Craig Taylor). Found by Mike Madsen.
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed group) Junco hyemalis caniceps/dorsalis, 10 May 2020 in Arlington Heights, Cook County (2020-015; Fred Lieb).
  • Townsend’s Warbler, 16-26 April 2020 at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve, Cook County (2020-013; Isoo O’Brien). Found by Heidi Tarasiuk.
  • Western Tanager, 7-12 May 2020 in Albion, Edwards County (2020-012; C. Leroy Harrison, Robert E. Shelby). Found by Scott Attebury.
  • Western Tanager, 19-21 May 2020 in Yorkville, Kendall County (2020-017; Daniel Baechle).
  • Lazuli Bunting, 21 February to 1 March 2020 in Sherman, Sangamon County (2020-007; Trevor Slovick). Found by Jarod Hitchings.
  • Lazuli Bunting, 16 March to 2 May 2020 in Marion Township, Ogle County (2020-010; Barbara Williams, Daniel T. Williams).
  • Painted Bunting, 2 May 2020 in Chicago, Cook County (2020-016; Jeffrey R.R. Skrentny).

Records Not Accepted

  • Anhinga, 3 June 2020 in Wapella, DeWitt County (2020-020).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 16 March 2020 at Sand Creek Recreation Area, Macon County (2020-008).

IORC Update, 11 July 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted 19 of the records while not accepting six.

This Gyrfalcon, photographed here on 28 Jan 2020 by Tamima Itani, represents one of 19 records accepted by IORC in recent actions.

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

  • King Eider, 31 October to 2 November 2019 along the Evanston and Chicago lakefront, Cook County (2019-062; Tamima Itani; Matthew Cvetas, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Harlequin Duck, 3 February 2020 in Moline, Rock Island County (2020-004; Steven Freed).
  • Black Rail, 2 June 2019 at Killdeer Wetlands Forest Preserve, Cook County (2019-057; Stephanie Beilke).
  • Ancient Murrelet, 9-10 November 2019 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-063; Michael Carroll, Robert D. Hughes; Matthew Cvetas, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • California Gull, 21 September 2019 at Eldon Hazlet State Park, Clinton County (2019-054; Colin Dobson).
  • Arctic Tern, 14 September 2019 at Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2019-052; Colin Dobson).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 19-20 October 2019 at Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2019-058; Andrew Aldrich).
  • White-faced Ibis, 26 September to 23 October 2019 at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnam County (2019-051; Sarah Geiger; Andrew Aldrich, Keith McMullen, Dan Williams).
  • White-faced Ibis, 14 October 2019 at Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2019-069; H. David Bohlen).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 24 August to 4 September near Allerton Park, Piatt County (2019-064; Leroy Harrison).
  • Mississippi Kite, 28 August 2019 at Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2019-053; Adam Sell).
  • Ferruginous Hawk, 26 November 2019 in Rochelle, Ogle County (2019-065; Andy Sigler, Craig Taylor).
  • Barn Owl, 23 December 2019 at Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, Jasper County (2019-068; Bob Shelby).
  • Gyrfalcon, 26 January to 1 February 2020 south of LaSalle Lake, LaSalle County (2020-003; Tamima Itani, Lisa Maier).
  • Philadelphia Vireo, 30 November 2019 in Evanston, Cook County (2019-067; Jeff Bilsky).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 13 October 2019 in Oswego, Kendall County (2019-055; Scott Johnson).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 25 October 2019 at Henneberry Woods Forest Preserve, Kendall County (2019-056; Ryan Jones).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 19 January to 2 February 2020 at Silver Springs State Park, Kendall County (2020-002; Jeffrey Nelson; Andrew Aldrich, Dan Williams).
  • Clay-colored Sparrow, 1 January 2020 in Libertyville, Lake County (2020-001; Jeff Sundberg).

Records Not Accepted

  • Ruff, 7 August 2019 at Peacock March, Will County (2019-033).
  • Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, 25 August 2019 at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2019-041).
  • Arctic Tern, 25 October 2019 at Lakes Charleston, Coles County (2019-060).
  • Anhinga, 1 October 2019 in West Dundee, Kane County (2019-050).
  • White-faced Ibis, 20-21 September 2019 near Island Road levee, Jackson County (2019-059).
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 16 May 2019 at Ewing Park, Bloomington, McLean County (2019-061).

Backyard Big Day Results!

Field Sparrow from Jill Anderson’s backyard on the IOS Backyard Big Day.

April 22, 2020 – The Illinois Ornithological Society Backyard Big Day went beyond our expectations on so many levels!  Nearly 200 households participated from 34 counties in Illinois.  People birded from their backyards, apartment windows, apartment building rooftops or grounds.  Birders are known to be competitive and spirited, and friendly exchanges were posted throughout the day.  One common theme emerged, surprise at what one could find in their own backyard or outside their window or from their rooftop if they looked long enough.  You would think Matthew Cvetas, ace birder, past president of IOS and past ebird reviewer for Cook County would have “seen it all” in his Evanston backyard.  Yet it was only mid-morning when he posted with much fanfare that he had a LeConte’s Sparrow in his yard!  Having a land-locked yard did not doom one to land birds, as one of Amanda Tichacek’s early flyovers over her Skokie yard was a Common Loon.  An apartment living situation did not condemn one to a paltry null list for the day, quite the opposite in fact, especially if your apartment benefited from direct (albeit distant) views of the Montrose Harbor and fish hook Pier, as in the case of Geoff Williamson, who ended the day with some 30 species out of his window.  Birders were treated to migrating Broad-winged Hawks, mating birds of all stripes, first-of-year birds, yard lifers, lifer lifers, etc.  One yard however, raked in one species after the other throughout the day for a total of 54 species, including a Worm-eating Warbler, a Yellow-throated Warbler, another 8 species of warblers, vireos, tanagers…Rhonda Rothrock’s yard at the edge of Shawnee National Forest was a microcosm of the forest itself.

Depending on circumstances, we may hold another backyard competition in May.  Please watch the IOS Facebook page, Red Hill Birding Facebook page and the IBET mailings for further announcements.

If you are new to IOS and would like to learn more about the organization please spend some time exploring the website. We would love to have you join as a member or make a donation to support many of our initiatives. The Illinois Ornithological Society publishes Meadowlark, which documents the highlights of bird life in Illinois.  IOS also provides grants to college students for ornithological research, and is the parent organization for Illinois Young Birders.  Adam Sell is a board member and secretary of the organization.

Josh and Adam both lead tours for Red Hill Birding, which has run fundraising tours for IOS to Panama, Montana, and (soon) to Colombia.  Show them your support by liking Red Hill Birding on Facebook and following them on Instagram.

[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.illinoisbirds.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IOS-Backyard-Big-Day-Results.pdf” title=”IOS Backyard Big Day Results”]

A Gift from IOS to the Birding Community

March 25, 2020 – As a way to showcase the redesigned Meadowlark Magazine to potential members, and in light of people being stuck at home more during the stay-in-place order, we are happy to announce that the latest issue of Meadowlark Magazine is available online here as a gift to the entire birding community. We hope you enjoy it!

View Meadowlark Summer/Fall 2017 (.pdf)

To our members and those slated to receive this issue of Meadowlark, our printer is currently still operating as an essential business. There may be delays, but we expect you to receive your print copy in the mail within the next few weeks.

If you are not currently a member or let your membership lapse, we encourage you to become a member today and help us continue to grow IOS as an organization. In light of the current economy and the fact that we have already had to cancel outings that we rely on for revenue, we are particularly grateful to those who can join at the “Contributor” level or higher or are able to make an extra donation to support the work of IOS.

Finally, thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue of Meadowlark either through documenting rare bird sightings with IORC, sending us photos, posting sightings in eBird, writing articles, or assisting field reports and field notes.

Matt Igleski
IOS President

IORC Update, 17 March 2020: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of five records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois and occurrence of regularly occurring species at unusual times. Among these, IORC accepted two of the records while not accepting three. Among the accepted records was the following addition to the list of species having occurred in Illinois: Small-billed Elaenia.

Paul Sweet, Bob Hughes, and Adam Sell examine study skins of Large Elaenia, Small-billed Elaenia, and White-crested Elaenia in preparation to vote on record 2012-007, the Chicago elaenia.

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

  • Small-billed Elaenia, 17-22 April 2012 at Douglas Park, Chicago, Cook County (2012-007; Aaron Gyllenhaal, Ethan Gyllenhaal; Mark Bowman, C.A. Bridge, Bonnie Duman, Matthew Fraker, Gordon Garcia, Nathan Goldberg, Jerry Goldner, Jim Hully, Stoil Ivanov, Ken Koontz, Nolan Lameka, Joshua Little, Lisa Rest, Ryan Sanderson, Brian Tang, Monte Taylor).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 3 May 2018 at Northwestern University, Evanston, Cook County (2018-069; Allison Sloan).

Records Not Accepted

  • Barnacle Goose, 25-28 February 2019 at Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County and Bartlett Lake Prairie Wetland, Oswego, Kendall County (2019-002).
  • Mottled Duck (2), 30 May 2013 at Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2013-016). This was a resubmission of a previously accepted record, based on better understanding of detecting evidence of hybrid origin in this complex.
  • Mottled Duck, 29 October 2013, 16 November 2013, and 28 April 2014 at Sangchris Lake State Park, Sangamon County (2013-065).

IORC Web Resources and Review Files

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) has recently made publicly available, via a set of web pages, a variety of information related to its work. They are found at http://geoffwilliamson.info/iorc/. Importantly, a section of these pages regarding documentation of bird records represents a portion of the IORC archives. This archival material includes documentary items sent to IORC (mostly written documentation and physical evidence in the form of photographs, videos, and sound recordings, but also a few other items) plus also the evaluation votes and comments of IORC members. The web pages from 2011 to the present are essentially complete with respect to the documentary materials. With regard to votes and comments of IORC members on records, IORC’s practice now is to provide here all votes and comments going forward; however, these are not now available for all records.

Each year’s listing of records includes for all records the serial number, species or form, county, first and last date of observation, and status of the record. Where this or other information on these web pages differs from that in published IORC reports, the latter represent the official record.

IORC members examine Slate-colored and White-winged Junco specimens at IORC’s February 2020
meeting in the Field Museum of Natural History. Left to right: Bob Hughes, Paul Sweet, Adam Sell,
Doug Stotz, Vida Kalina.

IORC is making all this material web-accessible, and hence readily available, to inform better the birding public about IORC’s work and to facilitate access to at least part of its archives. IORC hopes that this material’s availability will encourage the submission of documentation of rare and unusual birds in Illinois, will help to improve the understanding of the documentation and review process, and will by example help to improve the quality of submitted documentary materials.

Question, suggestions, and corrections may be directed via email to the IORC Secretary, Geoff Williamson, at iorcommittee <at> gmail <dot> com.

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