There is nothing like a little self-quarantine and social distancing to bring a time-consuming project to its completion. This is not an easy task so it has sat on President Denis Kania’s back burner since late 2018. For all, it will be worth the wait.
This latest version is the sixth edition of a document that initially debuted in 1989. Each edition tries to capture the latest bird population trends. There have been considerable changes in populations as well as a fine-tuning of data analysis which led to this new and improved edition.
We have dropped four species from the list. Three of them, Upland Sandpiper, Common Tern and Evening Grosbeak do not have enough sightings to warrant their inclusion. Thayer’s Gull is no longer recognized as a species and so all of your Thayer’s Gull records are now lumped in with Iceland Gull. Several species are hanging on by the skin of their egg-tooth. If you want to see them included in the next edition I suggest you record some sightings of Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Lesser Blackbacked Gull, Glaucous Gull, Loggerhead Shrike and Yellow-headed Blackbird. These are all species that are disappearing from our DuPage birding landscape.
There are nine species that were elevated from the accidental list to the list of regularly occurring species as sightings of these species have increased in the last several years. These include Trumpeter Swan, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Whooping Crane, Willet, Pileated Woodpecker, Lark Sparrow, and Blue Grosbeak. We’ll take another look at trends in 2028 and see if all of these species stick around.
In addition to swapping species in and out of the list, there is also a review of abundance ratings for each species found in the list. This task has been made much easier with the availability of eBird records for many hotspots throughout the county. Around 280 abundance levels have changed in this edition as a result of the latest review. The sixth edition will no longer list accidental species for the county. The list has grown considerably over the last 10 years and there simply is not enough space on the checklist to include it. Many birders might be disappointed by this decision. It might be possible to retain this information on the DuPage Birding Club web site where an electronic version of the checklist will reside. This would require someone stepping up to maintain the list going forward. Please let the Board know if you have an interest in managing the accidental species list. Hard copies of the list will be available at future club meetings. An online version is now available. In addition, a mini-tutorial launched on July 8 at www.youtube.com/dupagebirdingclub.
Now that we have an updated list, we’re sure to be more eager to get out and do some birding. It will be fun to take the new edition out for a spin! Thanks to Denis for his diligence and hard work!