The Saturday that falls on or between May 4 & May 10 (no alternate date).
Dawn-to-dusk counts are most desirable; those of less than 8 hours duration (except by advance approval) are discouraged.
Within the boundaries of a single county. (Avoid duplication of coverage).
When submitting final count results, use only the original yellow REPORT FORMS and DATA SHEETS. If replacement copies of either form are needed, please request one. These original forms are sent directly to the computer key-punch operators. Please record all information clearly and accurately.
Owing to publication schedules and deadlines, the county reports must be received on time. (Reports received late may be omitted from the statewide compilation.)
The original REPORT FORM, DATA SHEET, and DOCUMENTATION FORMS should be sent (in the envelope provided) directly to: Vernon Kleen, 1825 Clearview Drive, Springfield, IL 62704.
Please do not write anything in the heading portion of the "large yellow" REPORT FORM.
Record the actual number of individual birds recorded (by sight or sound) for each species in the blank space provided in front of the species name. Please write legibly.
For those species not seen or identified, leave the accompanying blank space empty (do not use "0"s)
Don't worry about the computer number in front of the blank space.
WRITE-IN SPECIES can be added in the large blank spaces at the bottom of the REPORT FORM. It is possible that several species will have to be written in; however, the REPORT FORM was designed so that it consisted of only one page for the convenience of computer data entry. The majority of WRITE-IN species will have to be documented; however, documentation exceptions include those species which are well-documented in known locations (such as Black Vulture in Pope County, Yellow-headed Blackbird in northeastern counties, etc.). Species occurring outside of well-known locations must be documented if they are to be included in the statewide compilation.
Some early-departing "winter" residents (Rough-legged Hawk, American Tree Sparrow, Lapland Longspur), early-departing migrants (Fox Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Le Conte's Sparrow) and late-arriving migrants (Connecticut Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, etc.) must be documented in order to be included in the final compilation.
County compilers/coordinators may provide, in advance, a list of species that do not need to be documented within their counties; that list must accompany the final report submitted to the state compiler and the reasons why those species did not require documentation this year. The state compiler and editor, and the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee may still require appropriate documentation to include the records of some species in the state compilation.
Documentation Forms should be completed in the field at the time of observation and for this Bird Count should be sent to the county compiler rather than the IORC secretary.
Leave the space to the left of the WRITE-IN species blank; that area will be used by the editor to insert the official species identification number for computer entry. However, do record the number of individual birds identified on the short line and the name of the WRITE-IN species on the long line.
Please complete every space in the HEADING portion of the DATA SHEET; incomplete data will render the count unusable.
Please note the special provisions for "OWLING" Hours; the actual hours of birding should be recorded in the spaces provided. Daylight hours are those hours beginning 1/2-hour before sunrise and ending 1/2-hour after sunset. All other hours are OWLING Hours. Refer to the special information sheet relating to OWLING Hours. If no OWLING was done during the OWLING hours, leave those spaces blank.
Refer to the examples page. Observers who travel together (within hearing and/or seeing distance of each other) are considered as only one party. A person walking or driving alone is also considered one party. Accuracy in compiling party hours and party miles is important. (Time and miles driving to and from a starting or ending location are not included in the party hours and party miles unless actual birding was taking place.) Please check the OTHER PARTY HOURS information page.
See the special information page for details. Use the special lines on the DATA SHEET for recording the "OWLING" hours spent on count day.