IORC

IORC Update, 15 November 2022: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 10 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted nine 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

  • Broad-billed Hummingbird, 8 May 2020, Lerna, Coles County (2020-186; Eric Bollinger).
  • Black Rail (1 to 3), 17-30 May 2022, Illinois Beach State Park, North Unit, Lake County (2022-049; Beau Schaefer; Scott Latimer, Jason Newton).
  • Black Rail, 30 April to 1 May 2022, Killdeer Wetlands, Cook County (2022-050; Alex Haza; Henry Meade, Liam Pentangelo, Peter Tolzmann).
  • Limpkin, 11-30 August 2022, Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area, Cass and Mason counties (2022-047; Mike Chumley; Colin Dobson, Jarod Hitchings, Forrest Stonedahl).
  • Long-tailed Jaeger, 26-27 July 2022, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2022-051; Colin Dobson).
  • Short-billed Gull, 5-6 February 2011, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County (2011-043; Bill Rudden; Frank Holmes).
  • White Ibis, 7-8 August 2022, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2022-052; Jeanne Stacey).
  • White-faced Ibis, 23 August 2022, Boogerville, Wayne County (2022-053; C. Leroy Harrison; Ron Bradley).
  • Painted Redstart, 21 August 2022, Lakewood Forest Preserve, Lake County (2022-048; Jeff Bilsky; Hazem Alkhan, Pam & Dion Carmona, Dan Hayes, Alex Haza, Edward Hicks, Ryan Jones, Sean Kennedy, Lisa Maier, Henry Meade, Ian Sarmiento, Andrea Tolzmann, Peter Tolzmann, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson, Owen Woodhouse). First state record.

Records Not Accepted

  • Eurasian Hobby, 15 January 2018, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2018-077).

IORC Update, 8 October 2022: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 21 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 14 of these records and did not accept the other 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

  • Fulvous Whistling-Duck (5), 1 May 2022, Lake Charleston, Coles County (2022-033; Ron Bradley; Cary Hillegonds, Craig Taylor).
  • Eurasian Wigeon, 23 March to 21 April 2022, Rollins Savanna Forest Preserve, Lake County (2022-031; Beau Schaefer; Stephen Hurst).
  • Limpkin, 23 May 2022, Horseshoe Lake State Park, Madison County (2022-035; Mark Feldworth).
  • Snowy Plover, 21 April 2022, northwest of Gorham, Jackson County (2022-039; Keith McMullen; Rhonda Rothrock).
  • Gyrfalcon, 23-24 March 2022, east of Monticello, Piatt County (2022-017; Alex Lowe-Massi; Mike Avara, Tara Beveroth, Jim Herkert, Michael Ward).
  • Fork-tailed Flycatcher, 9-12 May 2022, Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County (2022-032; Miriam Bauer; Woody Goss, Ryan Jones, Sean Kennedy).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 18-22 April 2022, Loyola Park, Chicago, Cook County (2022-037; Scott Judd; Jeff Bilsky).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 19-20 April 2022, Park No. 566 and Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2022-038; Dan Lory; Wei Lu).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 18 July 2022, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2022-045; Mark Kolasa).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 10 January 2021, Rockford, Winnebago County (2021-121; Rebecca Davidson).
  • Evening Grosbeak (up to 7), 14-21 February 2021, Derby, Gallatin County (2021-120; Lois Huddlestun).
  • White-winged Crossbill (4 to 6), 8-9 May 2022, Naperville, DuPage County (2022-046; Hazem Alkhan).
  • Lark Bunting, 12 May 2022, Park No. 566, Chicago, Cook County (2022-034; Dan Lory).
  • Ovenbird, 10 November to 3 December 2021, University of Illinois, Chicago campus, Chicago, Cook County (2021-123; Hazem Alkhan).

Records Not Accepted

  • Cinnamon Teal, 27-28 September 2020, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2020-118).
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 10 September 2020, Park No. 566, Chicago, Cook County (2020-134).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 18 October 2019, Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Chicago, Cook County (2019-091).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 8 May 2021, Sexton Creek, Alexander County (2021-116).
  • Palm Warbler (Yellow), 22 March 2021, Limestone, Kankakee County (2021-095).
  • Townsend’s x Black-throated Green Warbler (hybrid), 14 May 2019, Washington Park, Chicago, Cook County (2019-087).
  • Painted Bunting, 16 May 2022, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Will County (2022-036).

IORC Update, 2 September 2022: Records Reviewed

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

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

  • Eurasian Wigeon, 16 May to 5 June 2015, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2015-071; Dan M. Kassebaum).
  • Purple Gallinule, 9 October 2019, Skokie, Cook County (2019-092; Chicago Bird Collision Monitors).
  • Small-billed Elaenia, 26 November to 7 December 2021, Waukegan, Lake County (2021-060; Susan Zelek; Jeff Bilsky, Brandon Caswell, Matthew Cvetas, Gordon Garcia, Alex Hale, David B. Johnson, Nolan Lameka, David W. Nelson, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Brewer’s Sparrow, 19 May 1986, McCormick Place, Chicago, Cook County (1986-001T; David E. Willard).
  • Palm Warbler (Yellow), 1 November 2020, Chicago, Cook County (2020-185; S. von Fremd).
  • Painted Bunting, 10 May 2010, Chicago, Cook County (2010-034; S. Turner).

Records Not Accepted

  • Red-naped Sapsucker, 7 October 2018, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2018-078).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 1 December 2021, Lyons Woods Forest Preserve, Lake County (2021-084).
  • Townsend’s Warbler, 27 September 2020, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2020-117).
  • Lazuli Bunting, 23 September 2017, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2017-087).

Brown Booby added to the Illinois State List of Birds

On the basis of an individual found on 14 April 2022 in Pekin, Tazewell County by Russell David Hastings and photographed by Tracy Marie Hastings, Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) became the 453rd species on the official Illinois State List of Birds. The bird was present just the one day.

Photograph by Tracey Marie Hastings, 14 April 2022

IORC Update, 12 August 2022: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 49 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 47 of these records and did not accept the other two.

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 Rail, 6-8 May 2021, Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2021-117; Bob Fisher).
  • Snowy Plover, 29 April 2022, Waukegan, Lake County (2022-023; Brad Semel).
  • Snowy Plover, 31 May to 3 June 2022, Montrose Beach, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2022-030; Robert D. Hughes, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Brown Booby, 14 April 2022, Pekin, Tazewell County (2022-024; Tracey Marie Hastings).
  • Brown Pelican, 5 May 2018, Lake Pittsfield, Pike County (2018-081; Chree Bolin).
  • Tricolored Heron, 21 June 2022, Waukegan Beach, Lake County (2022-041; Dawn Fronk; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Swainson’s Hawk, 1-3 April 2022, Amboy Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Lee County (2022-043; Bill Rogers; Diana Rod).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 13 September 2019, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2019-090; Benjamin Guo; Ted Hartzler).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 22 September 2021, Grantsburg, Johnson County (2021-122; Cathy Morvich).
  • Sage Thrasher, 29 October 2018, Kansas Township, Woodford County (2018-082; Matt Fraker).
  • Sage Thrasher, 22 June 2022, Northerly Island, Chicago, Cook County (2022-044; Jing-Yi Lu; Matthew Cvetas).
  • Evening Grosbeak (3), 31 October 2020, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2020-158; Josh Engel).
  • Evening Grosbeak (5), 31 October 2020, Peterson Preserve, southeast of Cisco, Piatt County (2020-167; Nathan Beccue).
  • Evening Grosbeak (up to 25), 31 October to 1 November 2020, St. Joseph, Champaign County (2020-156; Brock Price).
  • Evening Grosbeak (1 to 5), 31 October to 4 November 2020, Grunwald Farms Family Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-164; Scott Cohrs; Wesley Sadler).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 1 November 2020, Tiskilwa, Bureau County (2020-155; Sarah Geiger).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 1 November 2020, West Chicago, DuPage County (2020-160; Matt Wistrand).
  • Evening Grosbeak (6), 1 November 2020, Downers Grove, DuPage County (2020-161; Joel Fromer).
  • Evening Grosbeak (7 to 11), 1-2 November 2020, Mattoon, Coles County (2020-157; Kathy Rowland).
  • Evening Grosbeak (7), 2-3 November 2020, Kaneville, Kane County (2020-162; Jason Newton).
  • Evening Grosbeak (15), 3 November 2020, Naperville, Will County (2020-184; Maria Turek).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 4 November 2020, Belvidere, Boone County (2020-154; Mary Beth Lowe).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 4 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-159; Nathan Goldberg).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 6 November 2020, Elburn Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-163; Bob Andrini).
  • Evening Grosbeak (7), 6 November 2020, Ft. Sheridan Forest Preserve, Lake County (2020-165; Josh Engel).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 7 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-172; Julie Rand).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 8 November 2020, Morton, Tazewell County (2020-183; Jennifer Dodson).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 9 November 2020, Riis Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-174; Eric D. Gyllenhaal).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 12 November 2020, southeast of Marshall, Clark County (2020-169; Steven Lima).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 14 November 2020, Montrose Point, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-173; Mark Kolasa).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 14 November 2020, Yorkville, Kendall County (2020-175; Larry Granat).
  • Evening Grosbeak (6), 14-17 November 2020, Grayslake, Lake County (2020-178; Mary Salemo).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 15 November 2020, Hampshire Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-166; Walt Lutz).
  • Evening Grosbeak (4), 15 November 2020, Serena, LaSalle County (2020-176; Joseph Young).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 16 November 2020, Libertyville, Lake County (2020-179; CiCi Birnberg).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 17 November 2020, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2020-171; Randy Shonkwiler).
  • Evening Grosbeak (2), 21 November 2020, Waukegan, Lake County (2020-180; Lisa Draper).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 23 November 2020, Bowen Park, Waukegan, Lake County (2020-177; Annette McClellan, William McClellan).
  • Evening Grosbeak (up to 52), 25 November 2020 to 30 May 2021, Harrisburg, Saline County (2020-181; Cathy DeNeal).
  • Evening Grosbeak (2), 30 November 2020, Ashmore Township, Coles County (2020-170; P. Switzer).
  • Evening Grosbeak (2), 17 December 2020, Little Wabash River bottoms, Shelby County (2020-182; Steven Lima).
  • Evening Grosbeak (up to 25), 17 December 2020 to 13 February 2021, Rudement, Saline County (2020-168; Cathy DeNeal).
  • Evening Grosbeak, 8 May 2021, rural Effingham County (2021-115; Karan Greuel).
  • Bullock’s Oriole, 11-13 May 2022, Winthrop Harbor, Lake County (2022-029; James Steffen; Matthew Cvetas, Annette McClellan, William McClellan).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 10 May 2022, Carpenter Park Nature Preserve, Springfield, Sangamon County (2022-040; H. David Bohlen, Ken Bohlen).
  • Swainson’s Warbler, 25 May 2022, Washington County State Recreation Area, Washington County (2022-042; Scott Atkinson).
  • Western Tanager, 20 May 2012, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2012-059; Paul Clyne).

Records Not Accepted

  • Arctic Loon, 8 May 2021, Morrison, Whiteside County (2021-118).
  • Anhinga, 6 May 2017, Mermet Lake, Massac County (2017-089).

Lesser Goldfinch added to the Illinois State List of Birds

On the basis of an individual found, photographed, measured, and banded by Leslie DeCourcey at Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, Cook County, Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) became the 452nd species on the official Illinois State List of Birds after the sighting was accepted as valid by the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee. The bird was present at Sagawau during 5-16 March 2022, allowing many interested birders to see and photograph it.

Photograph by Geoff Williamson, 6 March 2022

IORC Update, 8 July 2022: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 29 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 24 of these records and did not accept another five.

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

  • Ross’s Goose (blue morph), 6 March 2017, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2017-088; Dan Kassebaum).
  • Ross’s Goose (blue morph), 17 March 2018, Carlyle Lake, Clinton County (2018-079; Dan Kassebaum).
  • Common Nighthawk, 24 November 2021, East Fork Lake, Richland County (2021-108; C. Leroy Harrison).
  • Snowy Plover, 23-24 April 2022, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2022-020; Henry Meade, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Ruff, 25 April 2022, northwest of Champaign, Champaign County (2022-022; Tyler D. Funk).Parasitic Jaeger, 9 September 2020, Waukegan Beach, Lake County (2020-135; Cici Birnberg, Rob Birnberg, Gustavo Ustariz).
  • Neotropic Cormorant, 5 April 2022, East Fork Lake, Richland County (2022-019; Bob Shelby).
  • White Ibis (4), 4 August 2020, Big Lake, Brown County (2020-144; Colin Dobson).
  • White Ibis (1 to 3), 7-16 August 2020, Kaskaskia Island, Randolph County (2020-145; Josh Engel, Tommy Goodwin).
  • White-faced Ibis, 29-30 September 2020, Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, Grundy County (2020-147; Kirk LaGory, Matt Misewicz, Al Stokie).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 13 August 2020, Butler Grove Township, Montgomery County (2020-137; Nancy Redman).
  • Swallow-tailed Kite, 29 August to 19 September 2020, east of Anna, Union County (2020-138; Ted Wolff).
  • Say’s Phoebe, 11 April 2020, Geneva, Kane County (2020-136; Scott Cohrs).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 2-3 May 2020, east of Pontiac, Livingston County (2020-139; Nichole Akre; Benjamin Murphy).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 16 October 2020, Saganashkee Slough, Cook County (2020-140; Michael McNamee).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 20 November 2020, Centennial Park in Park Ridge, Cook County (2020-141; Krzysztof Kurylowicz; Peter Weber).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 4 December 2020, Hampshire Forest Preserve, Kane County (2020-142; Brendon Lake).
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided), 4-5 April 2022, Chicago, Cook County (2022-018; Scott Judd; Matthew Cvetas).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 6-8 March 2022, Evanston, Cook County (2022-015; Tamima Itani; Matthew Cvetas).
  • White-winged Crossbill (up to 15), 10-14 Mar 2022, Binnie Forest Preserve, Kane County (2022-016; Walt Lutz; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Lesser Goldfinch, 5-16 March 2022, Sagawau Environmental Learning Center, east of Lemont, Cook County (2022-014; Leslie DeCourcey; Matthew Cvetas, David B. Johnson, Henry M. Meade, Craig Taylor, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), 22 May 2020, Illinois Beach State Park, Lake County (2020-148; Al Nichols).
  • Western Tanager, 8-12 May 2020, Hoopeston, Vermilion County (2020-143; Michael P. Ward).
  • Western Tanager, 12-17 May 2020, Downers Grove, DuPage County (2020-153; Robin Cronin).

Records Not Accepted

  • Barrow’s Goldeneye, 12-15 January 2022, Wilmington Island Park, Will County (2022-006).
  • Parasitic Jaeger, 7 September 2019, Illinois Beach State Park, North Unit, Lake County (2019-082).
  • White Ibis, 2 September 2020, Grand Tower, Jackson County (2020-146).
  • Cassin’s Vireo, 23 April 2022, Ewing Park, Bloomington, McLean County (2022-021).
  • Black-headed Grosbeak, 2 June 2019, Hastings Lake, Lake County (2019-086).

IORC Update, 5 June 2022: Records Reviewed

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 35 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 30 of these records and did not accept another five.

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

  • Mottled Duck, 14-27 June 2021, Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, Fulton County (2021-057; Colin Dobson, Nathan Goldberg, Frank R. Holmes, Benjamin Murphy, Steve Zehner).
  • King Eider, 23 December 2021, Heidecke Lake, Grundy County (2021-103; Matt Misewicz).
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 29 December 2021, Antioch, Lake County (2021-100; Adam W. Sell).
  • Ruff, 1-9 August 2019, Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge, Fulton County and Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, Mason County (2019-084; Chad Cremer; Tyler Funk).
  • Little Gull, 6-7 November 2019, Lake Decatur, Macon County (2019-080; Travis Mahan).
  • Pacific Loon, 14-15 December 2019, Lyerla Lake, Union County (2019-081; Christopher Gilbert, Keith McMullen).
  • Anhinga, 20 August to 6 September 2019, Grand Tower, Jackson County (2019-078; Henry Detwiler; Don Mullison).
  • Barn Owl, 22 April 2019, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2019-079; Andrew S. Aldrich).
  • Barn Owl (1-2), 3 October to 16 December 2021, Dixon Waterfowl Refuge, Putnam County (2021-092; Neil Zborowski).
  • Barn Owl (3), 5-21 October 2021, Saybrook Habitat Area, Anchor Township, McLean County (2021-114; Benjamin Murphy).
  • Barn Owl, 8 January 2022, Thatcher Woods Forest Preserve, Cook County (2022-005; Jeff Hardt).
  • Gyrfalcon, 13-14 November 2020, north of Charleston, Coles County (2020-149; Tyler Funk; Benjamin Murphy).
  • Prairie Falcon, 1 November 2019 to 1 March 2020, northern Coles County (2019-083; Howard Blum, Nathan Goldberg).
  • Prairie Falcon, 2 November 2021 to 2 March 2022, southeast of Arcola in Coles and Douglas counties (2021-091; Amy Lynch; Candida Abrahamson, Tyler Funk, Vicky Sroczynski).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 31 December 2021 to 9 January 2022, Garden of the Gods Recreation Area, Shawnee National Forest, Saline County (2021-102; Stephanie Beilke; Bob Shelby, Craig Taylor).
  • Townsend’s Solitaire, 6 January to 12 March 2022, Moraine Hills State Park, McHenry County (2022-003; Chuck Fields; Vince Moxon, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 30-31 December 2021, Northwestern University, Evanston, Cook County (2021-104; Woody Goss; Jake Cvetas, Matthew Cvetas, Sean Kennedy).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 5-7 January 2022, Wheaton, DuPage County (2022-001; Vince Moxon).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 6 January 2022, Brownstown, Fayette County (2022-002; Tammie Rogers).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 1 February 2022, Rockford, Winnebago County (2022-008; Dan Williams).
  • White-winged Crossbill (1-3), 26 November to 9 December 2020, Lake Bloomington, McLean County (2020-152; Michael McKinley; Benjamin Murphy).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 20 December 2020 to 26 February 2021, north of Peoria, Woodford County (2020-151; Pete Fenner; Steve Zehner).
  • White-winged Crossbill, 17 January to 8 February 2021, Tolono, Champaign County (2021-110; Aerin Tedesco).
  • White-winged Crossbill (up to 35), 31 January to 20 March 2022, Lyons Woods Forest Preserve, Lake County (2022-009; Annette McClellan; Tom Lally).
  • White-winged Crossbill (up to 16), 1-13 February 2022, Afton Forest Preserve, DeKalb County (2022-010; Karen Lund; Tom Lally).
  • White-winged Crossbill (up to 17), 13 February to 9 April 2022, Shamrock Hills Park, Crystal Lake, McHenry County (2022-011; Dan Williams).
  • White-winged Crossbill (up to 35), 13 February to 5 March 2022, Memorial Park Cemetery, Skokie, Cook County (2022-012; Matt Clarke; Dan Williams).
  • Great-tailed Grackle, 17 January to 20 April 2022, Monee, Will County (2022-004; Henry Meade, Dan Williams, Geoffrey A. Williamson).
  • Palm Warbler (Yellow), 7 May 2022, Gremel Nature Sanctuary, Lee County (2020-133; Georgi Baird).

Breeding Records Accepted

  • nesting record of Merlin, 13 May to 2 July 2020, Galesburg, Know County (2020-150; D. James Mountjoy).

Records Not Accepted

  • Black Rail, 30 June 2021, near Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2021-046).
  • Anhinga, 8 May 2021, McDowell Grove Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2021-096).
  • Hoary Redpoll, 10 December 2020, Afton Forest Preserve, DeKalb County (2020-125).
  • Hoary Redpoll (1-2), 12-14 February 2022, Lake Barrington, Lake County (2022-013).
  • Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided), 9 November 2021, Champaign, Champaign County (2021-070).

Changes to the IORC Review List

Much of the work of the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) consists in the evaluation of evidence for the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. For this purpose, IORC maintains a “Review List” that consists of all bird forms for which IORC will review all records (possibly excepting records from specified areas for some forms). The Review List includes all species of Casual and Accidental status (less than eight records in the last 10 years), first state records, first state nesting records for a species, and other forms that IORC decides warrant close evaluation. Each year, IORC considers adjustments to the Review List as the status of species changes in the state.

At its 19 March 2022 meeting, IORC made a number of changes to the Review List, all of which involved removing species from the list (due to an increase in the number of records of those species) or excepting records of some species from specific areas. These recent adjustments to the Review List are listed below. The full list is found on the IORC web page.

  • Little Gull — removed from the Review List
  • Anhinga — records from southern Illinois no longer require documentation
  • Black Vulture — removed entirely from the Review List (previously, records from southern Illinois did not require documentation but records from central and northern Illinois did)
  • Swallow-tailed Kite — removed from the Review List
  • Barn Owl — removed entirely from the Review List (previously, records away from known locations for the species required documentation)
  • Townsend’s Solitaire — removed from the Review List
  • Hoary Redpoll — removed from the Review List
  • White-winged Crossbill — removed from the Review List
  • Western Tanager — removed from the Review List
  • Painted Bunting — records from the East St. Louis (St. Clair County) area no longer require documentation

Most of the species above still occur only in relatively small numbers, and consequently, observers of these species should include details about their sightings when contributing them to the observational record, for example via eBird or when submitting to seasonal report editors for the reports published in the IOS journal Meadowlark. However, formal review by IORC is no longer necessary. IORC generally will still review records of species recently removed from the Review List when documentation of sightings of those species is submitted directly to IORC.

IORC Membership for 2022

The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) welcomes Kyle Wiktor to the committee as its newest member. Kyle began a three-year term from 2022-2024 upon his election at the 19 March 2022 meeting of IORC.

Please join IORC in thanking Matt Fraker for his six years of service on the committee from 2016-2021. Matt has done excellent work in evaluating records submitted to IORC and in contributing to other work of the committee. Members are eligible to serve two consecutive three-year terms, but then are required to step off the committee.

IORC consists of six members, each serving staggered three-year terms, and a secretary, elected annually. The voting membership of the committee consists of these seven individuals. For calendar year 2022, the IORC membership is as follows.

  • Geoffrey A. Williamson (Secretary)
  • Davida Kalina
  • Walter Marcisz
  • Adam Sell
  • Paul Sweet (Vice-Secretary)
  • Terry Walsh
  • Kyle Wiktor
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