ILLINOIS AUDUBON BULLETIN ay 
The highest numbers of species were reported by Williamson (Crab 
Orchard National Wildlife Refuge) with 95; Alexander (at the southern 
tip of Illinois—Horseshoe Lake Conservation Area) with 89; Sangamon 
with 83; Union (immediately north of Alexander—Union County Con- 
servation Area and the Mississippi River) also with 83; Rock Island (on 
the Mississippi) with 82; Cass & Mason (Crane Lake, Illinois River) with 
80, and Fulton & Mason (Chautauqua NWR on the Illinois River) also 
with 80. 
The highest numbers of individual birds were reported by Alex- 
ander—431,495 (including 60,000 Canada Geese, 50,000 Red-winged 
Blackbirds, and 300,000 Common Grackles); Williamson—353,145 (in- 
cluding 80,000 Canada Geese, 16,000 Starlings, 35,000 Red-wings, and 
200,000 Grackles); Cook—Chicago Urban—207,169 (including 24,000 
Starlings and 175,000 House Sparrows); Fulton & Mason—190,053 
(including 170,210 Mallards); and Sangamon—156,715 (including 
75,000 Starlings, 15,000 Red-wings, 35,000 Grackles, and 20,000 
Brown-headed Cowbirds.) 
There is a major innovation in the report this year. Rather than fill 
about twelve pages with station data (count day, temperature, hours, 
etc.), a chart has been used to list this information. Besides saving space, 
this should facilitate comparisons among the various counts. Any blank 
spaces in the chart indicate that the specific information was not pro- 
vided by the local compiler. Compilers and their addresses are also 
listed. Comments regarding this new procedure would be appreciated. 
—524 Nathan Road 
Park Forest South, Ill. 60466 
Editors’s comment: In an attempt to record all observations of each species on 
a single line, it was necessary to prepare a large Table and then have it 
reduced to fit the Bulletin page. Although the numbers are clear and 
readable, they are somewhat small because of the reduction process. The 
Editor is interested in knowing how many people seriously use this 
information and the difficulties they encountered because of the small print. 
Again, Kit Struthers deserves much thanks for compiling the Christmas 
Count data; however, do not blame her for the small print. 
