IORC Update, 14 March 2021: Records Reviewed

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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).
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