Reporting Your Sightings

Your sightings are critical for our organization to meet its one unique purpose - documenting the history of birds in Iowa by 1) creating a written snapshot of activity for each ornithological season published in Iowa Bird Life and 2) maintaining a repository of written and photographic evidence of rare species occurring in our state (see "When Is A Bird In Iowa?" by Tom Kent). Observations should be entered by the 15th of the month following the close of the season to be included in the data used for writing the snapshot.

Reporting Tools

  • eBird—enter your sightings as you bird and we will include them in our seasonal file. Species on the Review List must still be documented and reviewed or they will be marked as unverified in eBird.
  • IOU Reporting—report your significant bird sightings for a season using the form below by the 15th of the month following the end of a season.
  • Records Committee Reporting—provide some written details and photos for any rare species found. Reports within two weeks of observation are appreciated.

Ornithological Seasons

White-crowned Sparrow © Reid Allen
  • Spring: March-May
  • Summer: June-July
  • Fall: August-November
  • Winter: December-February

IOU Report Form

My Records

You must be logged in to enter your sightings