Links
EBird is an online checklist program that I'd encourage all birders to use. It's not only a good way to keep track of your own sightings, but the data can also be used to determine which birds are likely to be found at a particular time of year or to find the best hotspots in an area.
Local Birding Groups
Illinois Birders Exchanging Thoughts is an email list run on Yahoo Groups. It is probably the best place to get updates on rare or unusual bird sightings. I post my weekly Peoria-area reports on IBET, but any time I find an unusual bird or have a particularly good day, I make a report on IBET as soon as I can.
Illinois Birding Network Facebook Group
The facebook group is a great place to share photos, get ID help, and discuss birding-related topics. It has replaced the old birder forum and even seems to have taken a lot of the traffic away from IBET in recent years.
Birding Illinois Facebook Group
The birding Illinois facebook group is more "laid back" than the other facebook group, but it's still a better birding group than many states have. A lot of users are only members of one group or only post in one group, so joining both facebook groups is the best way to make sure you don't miss any reports or pictures.
The official website of the Peoria Audubon Society. It is useful for information about upcoming events, but much of the site is out of date.
This facebook page is where I post most of my field reports. It is the best place to read and post the most recent Peoria-area bird reports. Unfortunately, since it's a page and not a group, it's not quite as user-friendly as the Illinois facebook group. It can be a little hard to find posts made by other users.
This site contains numerous lists submitted by Illinois birders, including things you probably never guessed anyone kept track of. Browse the lists, submit your own, and maybe set an obscure state or county record.
Birding Guides
This site contains guides to many of Illinois's birding hotspots. I love the idea, but after the first few months, there have been very few updates. There aren't many guides for the Peoria area, but every guide I have read has had useful information..
My favorite online bird guide. It has good pictures, behavioral information, species comparisons, and audio recordings. The site has other useful or interesting information besides the guide as well.
The Audubon guide is a close second. It doesn't have quite as much information, but often has information about species that All About Birds does not have.
The Macaulay Library is a collection of photos, audio and video. The quality varies, but the sheer volume of media can't be beat.
Xeno-canto is a site that allows users to upload audio recordings of bird sounds. The sounds are all free to download. The number and variety of recordings for both common and uncommon species is staggering. There are other bird recording catalogs, but this is my favorite.
This page has some tips about using and buying binoculars, as well as links to other guides related to birding.
Breeding Bird Survey Summary and Analysis
Data from breeding bird survey results over several decades. Contains some good range maps and information about species population increase or decline.
Maps
A powerful map tool from the Peoria County government. I originally only used this to determine exactly where the border is, but I've learned a new trick that I use often: If you click Identify on the top menu bar, you can click on any parcel of land and see its "Total Assessed Value." If the value is $0, it is not private property. I now use this with 100% confidence to determine whether I'm allowed to bird in a certain area (as long as there isn't any "no trespassing" sign). This map is what I used to draw the borders in my park maps.
Peoria County border vs. Illinois River navigation channel
A simple map I made showing a few differences between the current channel and the official county borders, mostly in Upper Peoria Lake. There isn't a lot of detail in this map, but by comparing it with another map you should be able to tell where the tricky spots are.
Weather Reports
A map of current wind directions and speeds across the entire country.
Aviation Weather Forecast for Peoria
A chart with temperature, precipitation, wind direction and wind speed forecasts for a 72-hour period.
River depth history and forecast. I use this to predict the best places to look for shorebirds and waterfowl. Lower than 12 feet seems to be the depth where significant mudflats start to appear; higher than 13 feet and a lot of beaches will be underwater (which might make waterfowl easier or harder to find, depending on the location).
My Pages
Most of the bird videos I get.