2015 Peoria County Big Year

Chronological List:

1. House Sparrow (January 1, my front yard)

2. Dark-eyed Junco (January 1, my back yard)

3. Hairy Woodpecker (January 1, neighbor's yard)

4. Rock Pigeon (January 1, along Rt. 74 in the city of Peoria)

5. Mourning Dove (January 1, along Rt. 74 in the city of Peoria)

1. Ring-billed Gull (January 1, Peoria Riverfront)

2. Canada Goose (January 1, Peoria Riverfront)

3. Downy Woodpecker (January 1, Peoria Riverfront)

4. Song Sparrow (January 1, Peoria Riverfront)

5. Herring Gull (January 1, Peoria Riverfront)

6. Mallard (January 1, Detweiller Marina)

7. Bald Eagle (January 1, Detweiller Marina)

1. Common Goldeneye (January 1, Detweiller Marina)

2. Common Merganser (January 1, Detweiller Marina)

3. Red-bellied Woodpecker (January 1, Poplar Lane Park)

4. European Starling (January 1, along Rt. 29 in Peoria Heights)

5. American Kestrel (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

1. Pileated Woodpecker (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

2. Canvasback (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

3. Ruddy Duck (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

4. Lesser Scaup (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

5. Bufflehead (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

6. Ring-necked Duck (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

7. Red-tailed Hawk (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

8. Black-capped Chickadee (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

9. White-breasted Nuthatch (January 1, Altorfer Tract)

10. Northern Flicker (January 1, River Beach Pub & Eatery)

11. Long-tailed Duck (January 1, River Beach Pub & Eatery)

12. American Crow (January 1, along Rt. 6 near the Chillicothe exit)

13. Carolina Wren (January 2, my back yard)

14. Blue Jay (January 2, my back yard)

15. Tufted Titmouse (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

16. Red-headed Woodpecker (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Northern Cardinal (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

2. American Tree Sparrow (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

3. American Goldfinch (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

4. House Finch (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

5. Eastern Bluebird (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

6. Swamp Sparrow (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

7. Barred Owl (January 2, Jubilee College State Park)

1. American Robin (January 3, my front yard)

2. Great Horned Owl (January 4, Kickapoo Creek Recreation Area)

3. Northern Harrier (January 4, northwest of Dunlap)

4. Horned Lark (January 4, west of Dunlap)

5. Lapland Longspur (January 4, west of Dunlap)

6. Rough-legged Hawk (January 4, west of Dunlap)

7. Golden-crowned Kinglet (January 9, Lutheran Cemetery)

1. Iceland Gull (January 9, field south of the Peoria Landfill)

1. Cooper's Hawk (January 10, flying across Northmoor Rd.)

2. Great Blue Heron (January 10, flying in the distance at Rock Island Trail near Mt. Hawley Airport)

3. Lesser Black-backed Gull (January 11, Peoria Riverfront)

1. Thayer's Gull (January 11, Peoria Riverfront)

1. Glaucous Gull (January 11, Peoria Riverfront)

1. Brown Creeper (January 12, Riverfront Park)

1. Snow Bunting (January 13, Rt. 90, west of Princeville)

1. Pine Siskin (January 15, Springdale Cemetery)

1. Red-shouldered Hawk (January 16, Rt. 150 near Jubilee College State Park)

1. White-throated Sparrow (January 16, Kickapoo Creek Recreation Area)

2. Winter Wren (January 18, Robinson Park)

3. Eastern Screech-Owl (January 18, Robinson Park)

4. Snow Goose (January 18, Robinson Park)

1. Hooded Merganser (January 21, Peoria Riverfront)

2. Cackling Goose (January 21, Detweiller Marina)

1. American Black Duck (January 21, Poplar Lane Park)

2. Red-winged Blackbird (January 23, Banner Marsh)

1. Greater White-fronted Goose (January 23, Banner Marsh)

2. Mute Swan (January 23, Banner Marsh)

3. Eurasian Collared-Dove (January 23, along Rt. 24 in Bartonville)

1. Eastern Meadowlark (February 3, along Korth Rd.)

2. Cedar Waxwing (February 3, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Hermit Thrush (February 3, Jubilee College State Park)

4. Peregrine Falcon (February 6, Peoria Riverfront)

5. Sharp-shinned Hawk (February 8, Banner Marsh)

6. Redhead (February 19, Altorfer Tract)

7. Great Black-backed Gull (February 21, Peoria Riverfront)

1. Greater Scaup (February 26, Altorfer Tract)

1. Wood Duck (March 9, Gaylord Wildlife Area)

2. Killdeer (March 11, Rock Island Trail near the Mt. Hawley Airport)

3. Common Grackle (March 12, Altorfer Tract)

4. Brown-headed Cowbird (March 12, Altorfer Tract)

5. Fox Sparrow (March 16, Iris Park)

6. American Woodcock (March 16, neighbor's yard)

7. Green-winged Teal (March 17, Gaylord Wildlife Area)

8. Savannah Sparrow (March 17, Audubon Wildlife Area)

9. Brewer's Blackbird (March 17, Audubon Wildlife Area)

10. Wild Turkey (March 18, along Southport Rd.)

11. Gadwall (March 19, Banner Marsh)

12. Northern Shoveler (March 19, Banner Marsh)

13. Eurasian Tree Sparrow (March 19, Banner Marsh)

14. Belted Kingfisher (March 19, Banner Marsh)

15. American Coot (March 19, Banner Marsh)

1. Tree Swallow (March 19, Mendenhall Park)

2. Eastern Phoebe (March 21, Altorfer Tract)

3. Purple Finch (March 22, Rock Island Trail south of Dunlap)

1. Eastern Towhee (March 24, Altorfer Tract)

2. American White Pelican (March 24, Altorfer Tract)

3. Turkey Vulture (March 24, along Rt. 6 near the Chillicothe exit)

4. Horned Grebe (March 26, Gaylord Wildlife Area)

1. Double-crested Cormorant (March 30, Gaylord Wildlife Area)

2. Red-breasted Merganser (March 30, Marshall State FWA -- Spring Beach Unit)

3. Blue-winged Teal (March 31, Cottonwood Cemetery)

4. Greater Yellowlegs (March 31, along Foster Rd.)

1. Field Sparrow (April 1, Rock Island Trail, along Mt. Hawley Airport)

2. Rusty Blackbird (April 1, Mendenhall Park)

1. Pectoral Sandpiper (April 1, Mendenhall Park)

2. Pied-billed Grebe (April 1, Mendenhall Park)

3. Trumpeter Swan (April 2, Cottonwood Rd. east of Cottonwood Cemetery)

1. Wilson's Snipe (April 3, along Slane Rd. half a mile from the county border)

2. Smith's Longspur (April 3, along Slane Rd. half a mile from the county border)

3. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (April 5, Leslie Rutherford Park)

4. Brown Thrasher (April 8, Forest Park Nature Center)

5. Chipping Sparrow (April 8, Poplar Lane Park)

6. Purple Martin (April 8, Poplar Lane Park)

1. Northern Rough-winged Swallow (April 8, Woodruff Park)

2. Yellow-rumped Warbler (April 9, Forest Park Nature Center)

3. Solitary Sandpiper (April 9, Mendenhall Park)

4. Lesser Yellowlegs (April 9, Mendenhall Park)

5. Vesper Sparrow (April 11, along Slane Rd.)

6. Ring-necked Pheasant (April 11, Rock Island Trail Prairie Nature Preserve)

7. Bonaparte's Gull (April 11, Peoria Riverfront)

8. Sora (April 12, Banner Marsh)

1. Great Egret (April 12, Mendenhall Park)

2. Dunlin (April 12, Mendenhall Park)

3. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (April 13, Jubilee College State Park)

4. Louisiana Waterthrush (April 13, Jubilee College State Park)

5. Yellow-throated Warbler (April 15, Detweiller Park)

6. Northern Parula (April 15, Detweiller Park)

7. House Wren (April 15, Altorfer Tract)

1. Barn Swallow (April 15, along Ratcliffe Rd.)

2. Warbling Vireo (April 17, Woodruff Park)

3. Palm Warbler (April 18, Robinson Park)

4. Yellow Warbler (April 19, Leslie Rutherford Park)

5. Spotted Sandpiper (April 20, Altorfer Tract)

1. Black-throated Green Warbler (April 22, Forest Park Nature Center)

2. White-eyed Vireo (April 23, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Lark Sparrow (April 23, along Brimfield Jubilee Rd.)

1. Semipalmated Sandpiper (April 24, Mendenhall Park)

2. Prothonotary Warbler (April 24, Mendenhall Park)

3. Baltimore Oriole (April 24, Mendenhall Park)

4. Wilson's Phalarope (April 25, Mendenhall Park)

5. Western Meadowlark (April 26, along Akron Rd., near Slane Rd.)

6. Northern Mockingbird (April 26, Leslie Rutherford Park)

1. Pine Warbler (April 26, Kickapoo Creek Recreation Area)

2. Rose-breasted Grosbeak (April 27, Banner Marsh)

3. Common Yellowthroat (April 27, Banner Marsh)

4. Osprey (April 27, Banner Marsh)

1. Orchard Oriole (April 27, Banner Marsh)

2. Marsh Wren (April 27, Banner Marsh)

3. Blue-winged Warbler (April 28, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Great Crested Flycatcher (April 28, Jubilee College State Park)

2. Ovenbird (April 28, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Prairie Warbler (April 28, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Yellow-throated Vireo (April 29, Mendenhall Park)

2. Veery (April 30, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Long-billed Dowitcher (May 1, Mendenhall Park)

1. Least Sandpiper (May 1, Mendenhall Park)

2. Nashville Warbler (May 2, Forest Park Nature Center)

3. Scarlet Tanager (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

4. Wood Thrush (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

5. Kentucky Warbler (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Indigo Bunting (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

2. Magnolia Warbler (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Least Flycatcher (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

4. Gray Catbird (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

5. White-crowned Sparrow (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Red-eyed Vireo (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

2. Cerulean Warbler (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Swainson's Thrush (May 3, Jubilee College State Park)

4. Gray-cheeked Thrush (May 4, Mendenhall Park)

5. Chimney Swift (May 4, Mendenhall Park)

6. American Redstart (May 4, Mendenhall Park)

7. Baird's Sandpiper (May 4, Mendenhall Park)

8. Caspian Tern (May 4, Peoria Riverfront)

9. Forster's Tern (May 4, Peoria Riverfront)

10. Golden-winged Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

11. Tennessee Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

12. Black-and-white Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

13. Northern Waterthrush (May 5, Robinson Park)

14. Blackburnian Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

15. Acadian Flycatcher (May 5, Robinson Park)

16. Blue-headed Vireo (May 5, Robinson Park)

17. Blackpoll Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

18. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (May 5, Robinson Park)

19. Chestnut-sided Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

20. Cape May Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

1. Wilson's Warbler (May 5, Robinson Park)

2. Summer Tanager (May 5, Robinson Park)

3. Green Heron (May 6, Banner Marsh)

1. Eastern Kingbird (May 6, Banner Marsh)

2. Common Gallinule (May 6, Banner Marsh)

1. Yellow-breasted Chat (May 6, Banner Marsh)

2. Black-billed Cuckoo (May 6, Banner Marsh)

3. Bell's Vireo (May 6, Banner Marsh)

4. Grasshopper Sparrow (May 6, Banner Marsh)

1. Dickcissel (May 6, Banner Marsh)

1. Semipalmated Plover (May 6, Mendenhall Park)

2. Lincoln's Sparrow (May 7, Jubilee College State Park)

3. Eastern Wood-Pewee (May 7, Jubilee College State Park)

1. Bobolink (May 7, along Foster Road)

1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (May 8, Iris Park)

2. Bay-breasted Warbler (May 9, Robinson Park)

3. Mourning Warbler (May 9, Camp Wokanda)

4. Cliff Swallow (May 10, Dunlap sewage lagoon)

5. Orange-crowned Warbler (May 10, Robinson Park)

6. Philadelphia Vireo (May 12, Jubilee College State Park)

7. Alder Flycatcher (May 15, Jubilee College State Park)

8. Connecticut Warbler (May 15, Jubilee College State Park)

9. Canada Warbler (May 15, Jubilee College State Park)

10. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (May 15, Iris Park)

11. Northern Bobwhite (May 17, near the intersection of Elliot Rd. and Mendell Rd.)

1. Willow Flycatcher (May 18, Banner Marsh)

2. Blue Grosbeak (May 18, Banner Marsh)

1. Clay-colored Sparrow (May 21, along Wiley Rd., across from the intersection with Foster Rd.)

2. Black Tern (May 25, Dunlap sewage lagoon)

1. Bank Swallow (May 25, Dunlap sewage lagoon)

1. Common Nighthawk (May 25, Shell gas station on Knoxville Ave.)

2. Least Bittern (May 27, Banner Marsh)

3. Henslow's Sparrow (July 6, Jubilee College State Park)

• 1. Sedge Wren (August 3, Springdale Cemetery)

  2. Black-crowned Night-Heron (August 15, Mendenhall Park)

• 1. Red Knot (August 23, Mendenhall Park)

• 1. Western Sandpiper (August 23, Mendenhall Park)

  2. Eared Grebe (August 31, County Line Rd., west of Lawn Ridge)

• 1. Short-billed Dowitcher (September 7, Wetland south of Bartonville)

  2. Broad-winged Hawk (September 16, Iris Park)

  3. Stilt Sandpiper (September 22, Mendenhall Park)

  4. Northern Pintail (September 24, Mendenhall Park)

  5. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (September 30, Forest Park Nature Center)

  6. Merlin (October 10, Forest Park Nature Center)

  7. American Pipit (October 11, Dunlap sewage lagoon)

  8. Red-breasted Nuthatch (November 15, Lutheran Cemetery)

• 1. Franklin's Gull (November 15, Hoerr Nursery sod fields)

  2. Common Loon (November 20, Altorfer Tract)

• 1. Short-eared Owl (November 22, along Foster Road)

• 1. Black Scoter (December 4, Detweiller Marina)

• 1. Snowy Owl (December 22, along Hakes Rd.)

• 1. Tundra Swan (December 29, Ivy Lake Road flooded field)

• 1. American Wigeon (December 29, Ivy Lake Road flooded field)

IBET Reports

January 1

January 2-4

January 5-7

January 9

January 10-13

January 15-18

January 19-25

January 26-31

February 1-14

February 15-28

March 1-11

March 12-16

March 17-22

March 23-31

April 1-3

April 4-11

April 12-15

April 16-23

April 24-26

April 27-28

April 29-May 1

May 2-3

May 4-6

May 7-10

May 11-15

May 16-20

May 21-24

May 25-31

June 1-8

June 9-12

June 13-18

June 19-July 7

July 8-17

July 18-31

August 1-7

August 8-18

August 19-24

August 25-31

September 1-7

September 8-13

September 14-24

September 25-October 11

October 12-31

November 1-15

November 16-23

November 24-December 4

December 5-13

December 14-27

December 28-31

Year Review

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Rules: The rules are simple: Any wild bird I see or hear in 2015 counts as long as it is in or flying over Peoria County. I have found detailed maps of the county border along the river that I'll use to determine whether a swimming bird is in Peoria. The border is near the western edge of the river in most places; when the lakes are not covered in ice, nearly all birds are in Tazewell or Woodford Counties. Hearing a bird near a county border probably won't be a problem, but my Ring-necked Pheasant spot is within a quarter mile of the Stark County border. It's possible I will have to determine which side of the road a crowing pheasant is on.

Plans: Peoria's biggest birding weakness is its lack of large lakes. Most of Upper and Lower Peoria Lakes are in Woodford and Tazewell Counties, and there are no large mudflats or beaches in the county. Uncommon water birds and shorebirds are harder to find in Peoria than in nearby counties. I've never even seen a Horned Grebe in Peoria. I'll need to take advantage of the beginning of the year when the lakes are frozen but the river is still mostly clear of ice to get less common waterfowl like Greater Scaup and Red-breasted Merganser. Last winter I also had a White-winged Scoter on the Peoria side; I believe Long-tailed Ducks that were seen a couple winters ago were inside the Peoria border, but I never saw them myself. I expect to miss one or two uncommon but regular swimming birds and only be able to make up for them with one or two rarities at most.

In the spring at least one or fields will have large enough floods to attract shorebirds, but I don't know when those fields will be flooded. This year the large one along Galena Rd. was mostly dry by May. Last year it didn't flood until the end of April and stayed flooded until June. There are several species that have been seen by me or by others that I have never seen anywhere else in the county. While the field is flooded, I'll try to be out there a few times a week at least. In the fall, the backwater lakes on Mendenhall Rd. outside Baratonville dry out and have had some nice shorebirds at times. If those spots aren't productive, I can check out the sewage lagoons. There are at least three I know of that can be viewed without trespassing. The sewage ponds may also have some water birds that I miss elsewhere.

Other migratory birds are easy to find in Peoria. Worm-eating Warbler, Le Conte's Sparrow, and Brewer's Blackbird are the only "regular" migratory birds that I haven't found here in the last couple years. It's summer or winter residents that I'd have more problems with--owls, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Northern Mockingbird are three examples of birds that should be in the county but I don't know for sure where to look for them. I'm assuming I won't find most of them, but maybe I'll get lucky or get help.

My goal is 240 species, though I'd settle for 225 if I get busy or unlucky. With a little bit of luck on shorebirds, that shouldn't be too difficult. The checklist above is color-coded. Blue birds are birds that I consider guarantees. If I miss more than one or two of them, I'll be very disappointed. Orange are birds that should be in the county, but I'll need a little luck to find. Green are birds that won't necessarily be in the county but are seen often enough north and south of here that I consider them realistic. I used light gray to shade out birds that I consider completely unlikely. There are 240 birds in the blue and orange groups; I will probably need to get nearly all of those to reach my goal. Each month I will make a new checklist marking the most likely birds that month as well as the uncommon birds I need to target.