4 ILLINOIS AUDUBON BULLETIN 
Report and Results 
The ’76 Spring Bird 
Count 
by VERNON M. KLEEN 
Illinois Department of Conservation 
Saturday, 8 May 1976, the day we conducted our fifth annual 
statewide Spring Bird Count, was the best day of birding ever for 
many Illinois birders. Record numbers of birds, both species and 
individuals, were recorded in many counties and by many persons. The 
Count was most rewarding for participants in the southern two-thirds 
of Illinois because of a heavy concentration of birds there; that 
concentration was not apparent in the northern third of the state on 
count day but, as always, the northeastern counties continued to 
dominate the high species totals. 
As in the past, standard rules and procedures were used to 
conduct this count. Without such standardizations, the count would be 
meaningless. The only real problem encountered was getting the whole 
system computerized this year; after several meetings and long delays, 
the results were finally available. Some “bugs” must still be worked 
out (here in Springfield) to make the data more presentable for 
analysis and typing. 
Another near-perfect day, weatherwise, made birding enjoyable 
and allowed everyone to spend all day in the field. Early-morning 
temperatures ranged from low-to-mid thirties in the north to low 
forties in the south and by afternoon had climbed to the middle or 
upper sixties everywhere. For the most part, it was calm most of the 
day in the southern and central parts of the state with only light and 
variable winds reported in the early afternoon; however, in the north, 
the winds were stronger, reported in the 5-20 mph range — primarily 
from the W or SW. The skies were beautiful all day — few if any 
clouds were present. 
