Belted Kingfisher photo: Ann Kramer

The annual Illinois Spring Bird Count is scheduled for May 8, 2021.

Last year in Cook County, we had a record number of participants - 200! In part this was due to many new participants counting birds for even a few hours around their homes, in the neighborhoods or local parks, and helping cover some forest preserves that often don't get surveyed for the count.

This both increased the amount of areas being surveyed, giving a better picture of what birds were in the county, and also gave the participants a fun way to get outdoors and enjoy birds and nature. We'd love if those who helped last year would help again, and of course we'd welcome more first-time participants this year also.

Contact Alan Anderson if you'd like to help out. Entering your species lists and numbers into eBird, having eBird email you the checklist, and forwarding that info to Alan is the easiest way to get him the info. Or if you don't use eBird, download the report form using the link above.

And thanks again to all who have volunteered or helped in the past or this year!

Alan Anderson, compiler for Cook County portion of the Illinois Spring Bird Count, casresearch@comcast.net Des Plaines

Feel free to contact me if you'd like to participate, and with any questions.

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to influence this year’s count. First and foremost, staying safe, and keeping others safe, should be a priority of all while counting birds. If you do not feel comfortable, please do not feel compelled to participate in the Spring Bird Count.