Again, there were over 1000 observers in the field; some began at 
midnight (Pike County) and others continued until 2300 (Ogle County). 
In all, over 310,000 birds were tallied—slightly short of the high total 
set in 1974. Most observers were able to visit the best birding areas in 
their respective counties; however, we almost missed the Double-crested > 
Cormorant because of flooding as Whiteside County observers were not 
able to approach the nesting colony (nor the Mississippi River, for that 
matter); the only cormorant reported was found in Will County. TABLE 
1 shows that 17 counties had 20 or more participants; however, it 1s 
important to note that 50 members of the Peoria Audubon Society 
covered five counties and 32 members of the Southern Illinois Audubon 
Society were responsible for 12 counties. By surveying more counties, 
these organizations helped gather important information that would have 
been otherwise missed and therefore they deserve special appreciation. 
In twelve of the 81 participating counties there were only one or two 
observers. T'wo other counties participated in the count; unfortunately, 
all information was not properly completed and therefore could not be 
included in the report. 
A total of 36 species were reported from at least 73 (90%) or more 
of the counties (TABLE 2). Only 11 species were recorded from all 81 
counties. In contrast, 18 species were reported from only one county and 
15 other species from just two counties. 
TABLE 1 TABLE 2 
Counties with 
20 or more participants 
Species Reported from 73 (90%) or more Counties 
Mourning Dove 81 | Brown-headed Cowbird 73 
Livingston 44 Red-headed Woodpecker 81 | Chimney Swift 78 
Lake 39 Barn Swallow 81 | Rose-breasted Grosbeak /78 
Will 39) Brown Thrasher 81 }| American Goldfinch 78 
Bureau 35 American Robin 81 | Field Sparrow 77 
Vermilion 35 Starling 81 Song Sparrow VT 
Grundy 34 House Sparrow 81 } Northern Oriole 76 
Cook 33 Eastern Meadowlark 81 Killdeer 75 
McDonough 38 Redwinged Blackbird 81 | Downy Woodpecker 73 
LaSalle 30 Common Grackle 81 | Tufted Titmouse 75 
Edgar 29 Cardinal 81 | Wood Thrush 75 
Kane 2 Common Flicker 80 | Rock Dove 74 
Adams 26 Blue Jay 80 | Yellow-rumped Warbler 74 
McHenry 2 Common Crow 80 } Red-bellied Woodpecker 73 
Kendall 24 Gray Catbird 80 | Horned Lark i: 
Jersey we. Indigo Bunting 80 | House Wren 73 
Boone 2a Eastern Kingbird 79 | Chipping Sparrow 73 
Marshall 20 Common Yellowthroat 79 | White-throated Sparrow 73 
As evident in FIGURE 1, the greatest need for observers continues 
to be in the south-central and southeastern part of the state. Are there 
any volunteers from the larger counties willing to survey the neglected 
counties? New counties participating for the first time were: Moultrie, 
Warren, Cumberland and Washington. FIGURE 1 also portrays the 
number of species reported, the number of observers and the number of 
hours afield for each county. 
TABLE 3. shows the species observed, the number of counties 
reporting each species, the total number of individuals of each species 
reported, and the county reporting the highest number of individuals of 
each species (with that highest total in parenthesis ). 
