This year’s count period was considerably milder than last. Five counts reported highs of at least 50 degrees, with Cypress Creek and Western Mercer County both reaching 56. Only five counts failed to reach the freezing mark, with Hennepin the coldest at 27 degrees. Twenty-seven counts had above-freezing lows. It was quite windy across the state, with 24 counts reporting wind gusts of at least 15 mph. Elsah reported gusts of 20, while Springfield reached 36. Despite the warmer weather, only 161 species were recorded, the same count as 2013. One species, the Wilson’s Warbler at Kankakee County, was only reported during count week. Carlyle led the way with 103 species for the day, while Meredosia’s three count-week birds pushed them to 103. Sixty-two counts reported again this year, with a total of 1111 observers contributing 3248 hours over 20,196 miles. A total of 230 feeder hours were reported by 205 observers, while 222 nocturnal hours were logged. As always, Fermilab led...