Fermilab Spring Bird Count

Most Numerous Species Summary by Species Summary by Year

The first Illinois Spring Bird Count was Saturday, 6 May 1972; 650 observers counted in 62 counties. Du Page did not participate that first year, but joined the statewide count in 1973. It started out small. Paul Mooring was the compiler in 1973, reporting 2329 birds of 72 species that were identified by 7 observers in 6 parties, who logged a total of 28 party hours in the field. Paul served as DuPage compiler until 1986, when Dick Young took over. Young kept the numbers until 1993, then Dick Blewett took over. Blewett retired and moved to Florida in 1996; Bob Fisher took on the job and has been the compiler ever since.

Participation in the DuPage SBC quickly grew, fielding 32 observers in 1974 that formed 17 parties and reported 101 species. In subsequent years the number of DuPage observers grew steadily, until in 1993 100+ people fanned out across DuPage. It has remained fairly stable at 100 or more since then. The data presented in these pages only covers the years from 1990 till the present where this bias is relatively small (see below). Since it straddles the Kane - Du Page county border the Fermilab site contribution has been less stable and the data presented here only covers the years from 1997 onward. During this period the Fermilab site count has been mostly confined to the DuPage portion. The 2008 site counts, however, appear unusually low because a large proportion of the birds counted were reported to the Kane county count.

All this would not be possible without the dedication and commitment of the many birders who give of their time and expertise to identify and count our birds on those Saturdays in early May, regardless of weather (On May 8, 1989, for example, compiler Dick Young reported snow showers and a high of 40oF!). Just like the proverbial postman, 'Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these birders from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.'

Species Counts

Display a plot showing how the number of species found on the count has evolved over time or produce a more detailed summary of species counts.

Individual Counts

Display a plot showing how the number of individual birds found on the count has evolved over time or produce a more detailed summary of individual counts. Since the trends in the individual count is dominated by the Canada Goose count, it may be of interest to also display a plot showing how the number of individual birds without Canada Geese has evolved over time or produce a more detailed summary of those counts.