Date: 3/1/26 4:55 pm From: <aj...> Subject: [ia-bird] Winter Season Is Completed
Fellow Birders,
The winter 2025-2026 field season is now complete and it is time to report your sightings for December 2025, January 2026 and February 2026. Your records can be entered through eBird or the Iowa Ornithologists' Union website (iowabirds.org <http://iowabirds.org/> ). Directions are given under the tab "Iowa Birds" then "Report your Sightings" on the drop down.
Besides reports of rare and vagrant birds, species of most interest are those that have limited winter range in Iowa, and late fall, early winter or late winter/early spring migrants. Distribution of Iowa birds in late fall, and throughout winter is constantly changing and reports help document these changes.
For those of you who use eBird as their primary method of keeping their records please document your sightings with the IOU Records Committee as well - https://iowabirdrecords.org/. This is particularly crucial for Iowa's review species so that we have an accurate and consistent accounting of Iowa's birdlife. There have been some reports entered in eBird that were not documented in the past, which makes it impossible to include those records in the seasonal field reports and important records have been lost to science. Please follow up and document those species that are previously unrecorded for Iowa or are Accidental or Casual in the state, or those that are out of their usual season while in Iowa.
For those birders who document their rare bird sightings, it is very much appreciated. For those who haven't tried it yet, it is really easy, and you will be doing your part to advance Iowa's ornithological science and paint an accurate picture of Iowa's birdlife.
Thank you for doing your part to contribute to the 2025-2026 winter field season. Good birding!
