Two long awaited lifers
Mammal
26. North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) (Lifer)
I had a wonderful (And close) sighting of a family of NAROs when looking for some ardids that were new for my county. Later, a long-staying Swallow-tailed Kite was refound, and I fortunately saw it from about a mile away.
Birds
274. Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)
275. Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) (Lifer)
276. Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
As of now, I don't have any heard-only birds, something I'm proud of with a year of 4 owls and a nightjar species.
Fish
14. Brook silverside (Labidesthes sicculus) (Lifer)
15. Banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)
16. Round goby (Neogobius melanostomus)
Saw the latter two on a visit to Montrose, where I saw Nagamo, the child of Imani and grandchild of Monty and Rose
Insects
267. Four-banded stink wasp (Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus)
268. Sculptured moth (Eumarozia malachitana) (Lifer)
I had hoped to visit the mega shorebird hotspots along the Illinois River before my classes start Monday, but unfortunately, I've been down with a fever since I finished with my work on Wednesday, so I'm probably not going to get to 300 birds.
I made that post prematurely, here are two more amphibian species I had:
Amphibians
11. Cherokee Mountain Dusy Salamander (Desmognathus adatsihi) (Lifer)
12. Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)
Also, one last mammal, unless I see a live skunk later this year:
Mammal
27. Meadow Vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) (Lifer)
It's probably wrong to call Meadow Vole a lifer, they're probably the species in my backyard. However, I got great views of tons of them back in August at dusk at Springbrook prairie in DuPage Co.
I've not updated my invert list in a while. Some really nice species in this group.
Inverts
268. Flat-faced longhorn beetle (Astylidius parvus) (Lifer)
269. Virginian tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica)
270. Cream-edged dichomeris moth (Dichomeris flavocostella) (Lifer)
271. Hairy dichomeris moth (Dichomeris setosella) (Lifer)
272. American rubyspot (Hetaerina americana)
273. Two-spotted longhorn bee (Melissodes bimaculatus)
274. Heavy ochre harp ground beetle (Stenolophus ochropezus) (Lifer)
275. Carolina satyr (Hermeuptychia sosybius) (Lifer)
276. Saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea) (Lifer)
277. Versute sharpshooter (Graphocephala versuta)
278. Double-banded scoliid wasp (Scolia bicincta) (Lifer)
279. Red-abdomen mole cricket hunter (Larra analis) (Lifer)
280. Beggar moth (Eubaphe mendica)
281. Fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus)
282. Blue-winged scoliid wasp (Scolia dubia)
283. White-marked tussock caterpillar (Orgyia leucostigma) (Lifer)
284. Maize calligrapher (Toxomerus politus)
285. Common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens)
286. Poison ivy sawfly (Arge humeralis) (Lifer)
287. Bronze copper (Tharsalea hyllus) (Lifer)
288. American bumble bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)
289. Plain-tailed hanging-theif (Diogmites neoternatus) (Lifer)
290. Wheel bug (Arilus cristatus)
291. Gold moth (Basilodes pepita) (Lifer)
292. Cloudless sulphur (Phoebis sennae) (Lifer)
293. Visored Pygmy Spittlebug (Clastoptera testacea) (Lifer)
294. Red-headed bush cricket (Phyllopalpus pulchellus) (Lifer)
295. Five-banded thynnid wasp (Myzinum quinquecintum)
296. Versute sharpshooter (Graphocephala versuta)
297. Margined blister beetle (Epicauta funebris) (Lifer)
298. False milkweed bug (Lygaeus turcicus)
299. Twice-stabbed stink bug (Cosmopepla lintneriana)
300. Metric paper wasp (Polistes metricus)
301. Red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) (Lifer)
302. Coppery leafhopper (Jikradia olitoria)
303. Hyaline grass bug (Liorhyssus hyalinus) (Lifer)
304. Spotted beet webworm moth (Hymenia perspectalis)
305. Lucerne moth (Nomophila nearctica)
306. Helmeted squash bug (Euthochtha galeator)
307. American snout (Libytheana carinenta)
308. American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) (Lifer)
309. Citrus flatid planthopper (Metcalfa pruinosa)
310. Rice stink bug (Oebalus pugnax) (Lifer)
311. Bridled arches moth (Lacinipolia lorea) (Lifer)