Every bird below was reported in Illinois by a birder submitting a checklist to eBird, the citizen science database run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This page refreshes hourly, so it reflects what's actually being seen in the state right now rather than what turns up here on average. Tap any species for photos, range, songs, and identification notes.
Birders have reported 196 species from 94 locations across Illinois in the last 7 days.
Species flagged as notable by eBird's Illinois reviewers — birds that are out of range, out of season, or reported in unusual numbers — over the last 14 days. One entry per species, most recent first.
The most recently reported species across Illinois in the last 7 days, with the location and date of the latest report for each.
Recent sightings are the single most useful signal in birding. A species list tells you what could be in Illinois; a sightings feed tells you what is being seen this week, at which specific ponds, woodlots, and refuges. During spring and autumn migration the difference is enormous — the same site can hold twenty warblers one morning and almost nothing three days later.
Read the location names as much as the species names. When several unrelated birds are being reported from the same place, that spot is being actively covered and is usually worth your morning. If a bird you want appears once at an obscure location, check it on the sightings map before driving — some eBird locations are personal spots on private land rather than public hotspots.
Checking a page is fine for planning; it's useless for chasing. Rarities often stay one or two days, so the birds worth driving for are gone before most people think to look. Birdr's rare bird alerts invert that: draw an alert zone around the part of Illinois you would realistically drive to, and Birdr checks fresh eBird data every 15 minutes and pushes you a notification when something notable is reported inside it. A free account covers one zone; Pro adds unlimited zones plus alerts for your watchlist species and life-list gaps.