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The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 31 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 26 of these records and did not accept 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
Eurasian Wigeon, 10-11 March 2024, Middle Fork River Forest Preserve, Champaign County (2024-008; Alex Lowe-Massi; Sarah Winnicki-Smith).
Snowy Plover, 31 May to 7 June 2024, North Unit of Illinois Beach State Park and Johns Mansville Ponds in Waukegan, Lake County (2024-028; John Kuenzli; Susan Lamberts, Carolyn Luecke, Annette McClellan, William McClellan, Valentina Roumi, Beau Schaefer, Adam Sell, Matt Tobin, Gustavo Ustariz, Steve Zehner).
Ruff, 27 March 2024, Richton Park, Cook County (2024-009; Jeffrey Stwora, Linda Stwora; Ian Sarmiento, Matt Zuro).
Ruff, 30 March 2024, Bellrose Unit of Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Pulaski County (2024-010; Keith McMullen).
Ruff, 23-24 April 2024, Greene Valley Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2024-018; Davida Kalina).
Ruff, 8 May 2024, Pecatonica, Winnebago County (2024-019; Dan Williams).
Pomarine Jaeger, 4 November 2023, Park No. 566, Chicago, Cook County (2023-100; Marky Mutchler, Peter Tolzmann).
Black-tailed Gull, 29-31 May 2024, Waukegan Beach, Lake County (2024-025; Matt Tobin; Geoffrey A. Williamson).
Short-billed Gull, 29 January 2024, Mel Price Lock and Dam, Madison County (2024-007; Jonah Eckels, Bill Rowe; Samuel Belley, David French, Paul McKenzie, Seth Winkelman).
Glaucous-winged Gull, 22 January to 25 February 2024, at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor and in Grayslake, Lake County (2024-006; Woody Goss; Nat Carmichael, Nathan Goldberg, Haley Gottardo, Stephen Hurst, Scott Latimer, Dan Michler).
Burrowing Owl, 10-13 April 2024, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2024-011; Kay McNab).
Prairie Falcon, 24 October 1993, Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Winnebago County (1993-079; John Longhenry).
Prairie Falcon (1 to 2), 28 October 2023 to 26 February 2024, southwest of Arcola, Coles County (2023-101; Tyler Funk; Ted Hartzler, Christopher Hensel).
Prairie Falcon, 26 February 2024, Essex Township, Kankakee County (2024-013; Bob Fisher, Donnalyn Quint).
Prairie Falcon, 26 May 2024, Johnsburg, McHenry County (2024-027; Michal Furmanek).
Say’s Phoebe, 24 March 2024, Hannaford Forest Preserve, Kane County (2024-014; Kevin Hatcher; Sandeep Biswas).
Fish Crow, 23 May 2024, Evanston, Cook County (2024-023; Tamima Itani).
Sage Thrasher, 13-14 April 2024, McKee Marsh in Blackwell Forest Preserve, DuPage County (2024-012; Josiah Verbrugge).
Lark Bunting, 8-9 July 2024, Park No. 566, Chicago, Cook County (2024-030; Alex Haza).
Great-tailed Grackle, 20 December 2023 to 12 March 2024, Monee, Will County (2023-108; Isoo O’Brien; Geoffrey A. Williamson, Susan Zelek).
Swainson’s Warbler, 29 April 1990, Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Winnebago County (1990-039; Lynda Johnson, John Longhenry).
Kirtland’s Warbler, 18 May 2024, Montrose Point in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, Cook County (2024-021; Graham Deese).
Townsend’s Warbler, 8 September 2001, Sand Bluff Bird Observatory, Winnebago County (2001-064; John Longhenry).
Western Tanager, 15 May 2024, Glacial Park, McHenry County (2024-024; Randy Schietzelt).
Black-headed Grosbeak, 18-22 July 2024, south of Du Quoin, Perry County (2024-031; Richard Wayman; C. Leroy Harrison, Bob Shelby).
Painted Bunting (1 to 3), 3 May to 19 July 2024 (and possibly later), East St. Louis, St. Clair County (2024-026; Joe Gardner, Yvonne Homeyer, Amy Rangel, Christopher Tomera).
Records Not Accepted
Smew (5), 3-4 April 2024, Woodstock, McHenry County (2024-016).
Limpkin, 14 January 2024, Forbes Biological Station, Mason County (2024-004).
Pomarine Jaeger, 28 October 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-082).
White-faced Ibis (2), 22 November 2023, Pyramid State Park, Perry County (2023-099).
Eyebrowed Thrush, 20 March to 2 April 2024, Eureka, Woodford County (2024-015).
This year 7 grant proposals were fully funded, totaling $17,000 in research dollars! IOS has now funded 140 grants, awarding over $137,000 since the program’s inception.
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 2024 IOS Grants Program received fourteen requests for funding, representing a notably diverse set of study goals. The IOS review team evaluated each proposal to determine this year’s recipients. In addition to money provided directly by IOS, donations by five organizations and many individuals made it possible for the 2024 grant recipient to receive full funding for their projects.
Sponsor Organizations: Dupage Birding Club Illinois Audubon Society Lake-Cook Audubon Society Chicago Ornithological Society Evanston North Shore Bird Club
Thanks to 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 Dustin Weidner, John Leonard and Matt Hayes for reviewing and evaluating all the requests.
Congratulations to the grant recipients! Watch for their project articles in future issues of Meadowlark. Following is a synopsis of the 2024 grants. Where noted, individuals and organizations targeted those grants for their donations.
Project Lead
Project
Fully Sponsored by
Mike Avara University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The stopover and wintering behavior of Northern Saw-whet Owls in Illinois
Bob Fisher
Avi Berger University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
A Novel Approach to Investigating Developmental Changes in Eggshell Thickness
IOS will be hosting its annual August Shorebirding Weekend on August 24th and 25th, within the Emiquon and Chautauqua Wildlife Refuges. This is one of Illinois’ premier hotspots for migrant shorebirds and is host to numerous shorebirds each season. It’s not uncommon for us to see over 20 species of shorebirds on this trip! In addition to the numerous possibilities of shorebirds, the area also offers a nice assortment of passerines, herons, terns, and waterfowl. We look forward to sharing another weekend with all of you for some great birding! Lunch will be provided at the Dixon Mounds State Museum on Saturday, where we can cool off and relax before we continue birding for the afternoon.
The Illinois Ornithological Records Committee (IORC) recently concluded evaluations of 25 records of the occurrence of rare birds in Illinois. IORC accepted 15 of these records and did not accept 10.
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, 21 November 1936, Henry, Marshall County (1936-002; J.A. King).
Limpkin, 17 October 2023, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-092; H. David Bohlen).
Limpkin, 8 December 2023, Lake Springfield, Sangamon County (2023-115; Jarod Hitchings, Dennis Oehmke).
Limpkin, 12 January 2024, Borah Lake, Richland County (2024-005; Anna King).
American Golden-Plover, 16 December 2023, Rend Lake, Jefferson County (2023-111; Keith McMullen).
Parasitic Jaeger, 14 October 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-076; William Pixler, Peter Tolzmann).
Short-billed Gull, 8-11 January 2024, Lock & Dam 14 on the Mississippi River, Rock Island County (2024-003; Steve Freed; Brandon Caswell).
White Ibis, 17 November to 19 December 2023, Emiquon Preserve, Fulton County (2023-109; Forbes Biological Station).
Say’s Phoebe, 1-9 January 2024, Danville, Vermilion County (2024-001; Rob Kanter).
Bohemian Waxwing (1200), 30 November 1919, Beach, Lake County (1919-002; Colin Sanborn, Herbert L. Stoddard). Specimen record.
Pine Grosbeak, 17 November 1906, Beach, Lake County (1906-002; J.F. Ferry). Specimen record.
Pine Grosbeak, 22 November 1933, Chicago, Cook County (1933-001; E.B. Baker). Specimen record.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 16 December 2023, Rend Lake, Franklin County (2023-110; Keith McMullen).
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s), 19 November to 19 December 2023, north of Rockford, Winnebago County (2023-112; Barbara Williams).
Black-throated Gray Warbler, 7-14 January 2024, Elgin, Cook County (2024-002; Bob Andrini).
Records Not Accepted
Cinnamon Teal, 29 August 2023, Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area, Grundy County (2023-056).
Parasitic Jaeger, 6 September 2023, Chicago, Cook County (2023-049).
Parasitic Jaeger, 6 September 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-055).
Parasitic Jaeger, 12 September 2023, Burnham Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-052).
Parasitic Jaeger, 17 September 2023, Rainbow Beach, Chicago, Cook County (2023-058).
Parasitic Jaeger, 18 September 2023, Burnham Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-116).
Parasitic Jaeger, 23 September 2023, South Shore Cultural Center, Chicago, Cook County (2023-117).
Parasitic Jaeger, 27 September 2023, Gillson Park, Wilmette, Cook County (2023-118).
Parasitic Jaeger, 14 October 2023, Jackson Park, Chicago, Cook County (2023-075).
Audubon’s Oriole, 8 May 2011, Half Day Forest Preserve, Lake County (2011-044).
To the Illinois birding community, please consider supporting the IOS Grants program.
Since 2004, the IOS Grants Program has awarded multiple grants to applicants conducting projects relating to birds and/or birding in Illinois. Funding has been provided from a variety of sources including individual donations from IOS members and friends, donations from birding and bird conservation organizations and local birding groups around the state, the Gull Frolic, Big Day pledges, and more. We couldn’t offer this program without the generosity and support from the Illinois birding community!
Each year we receive many applications, 2024 (our 21st year) is no different, with four proposals submitted and the deadline still ahead. The submissions will be reviewed in detail by our Grants team, and we are striving to fund as many of the proposals as possible. We are hoping to notify applicants if they will receive funding by May 19th.
Many come from graduate students at various universities around Illinois, to support their research on birds. Some requests are projects in their 2nd or 3rd year of field research.
The IOS Grants are important on multiple levels:
They provide critical funding for bird research in Illinois, particularly when other funding sources are becoming increasingly difficult to find.
They promote scientific research and education in order to improve knowledge and awareness of birds in Illinois.
Supporting the IOS Grants program is one way that the birding community can show how we value the commitment and dedication of the applicants doing bird-related research. By donating to the IOS Grants program, individuals like you are supporting the work that builds our future, helping maintain and expand high quality habitat, identifying and mediating conservation issues, and ensuring that birds will continue to thrive in Illinois.
Please donate what you can, contact your friends, neighbors, family, local clubs and organizations, and ask them to help. IOS will help combine contributions to fund requests. Any amount is appreciated! If you or your organization would like to fully fund a request, we will help you contact the recipient and make the award yourself, if desired.
To make a contribution
Preferred method for contributions is to donate online on the IOS website. Click the Donate tab and designate “Grants Program donation” in the menu. Click here to donate online.
If donating by check, checks can be made out to the Illinois Ornithological Society and mailed. Please email grants@illinoisbirds.org to let us know to expect a check in the mail.
Mail checks to: Illinois Ornithological Society c/o Grants Program PO Box 931 Lake Forest, IL 60045
Thank you for your support! IOS Grants Team
Dustin Weidner Grants Program Director Weidner: 214-697-9266 grants@illinoisbirds.org
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).
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.
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
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).