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Late-April brings Common Poorwills (and me!) back to the Gambel's Oak thickets in Denver's suburbs. Late-May, meanwhile, turns Colorado's sunset into nighthawk o'clock. I stand outside and stare at the sky, waiting for a sighting of a migratory bird or two.
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While I've yet to spot a nighthawk, I've had wonderful encounters with poorwills this spring. I've watched them sing from moonlit trails under the May full moon. And late last week, amid a record-setting rainstorm, a poorwill took refuge in my yard! The encounter was brief; he flew off into another yard upon my too-close approach.
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Though not exactly typical poorwill behavior, it's also not exactly uncommon to encounter a migrating poorwill in urban and suburban Denver. This is especially so amid a cold May rain. "Poorwill weather" keeps migrating birds grounded until rains end and skies clear.
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Migrating poorwills are even spotted spending the day on asphalt in Denver. Their stone gray feathering does a pretty fair job blending into the urban habitat.
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For a family of birds known for being reclusive, the migratory behavior of poorwills can seem a bit confounding. But then again, perhaps the family's not as secretive as we believe. After all, Common Nighthawks nest on building-tops in the US and Canada. In Taiwan, Savanna Nightjars do the same.
And Whip-poor-wills were once notorious for singing on front steps and beneath bedroom windows. They seemed to take a special glee in keeping people awake all summer. It was a well-enough known behavior that the author James Thurber made a character turn murderous during a summer of sleeplessness in his 1941 short story "The Whip-poor-will."
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A Common Poorwill on a sidewalk in Denver. Photo by iNaturalist user Isaac Boardman.
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Recent...
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How to Save Whip-poor-wills
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A few months ago, I presented to Sarasota Audubon Society. During the Q&A portion, I got a terrific question about what people and organizations can do to support Whip-poor-will conservation. While there's no one fix, there is reason for hope: forest management strategies that support early successional habitat shows promise.
For more on what you can do to support Whip-poor-will conservation, see my recent post, "How to Save Whip-poor-wills."
Solving a Nightjar Mystery
In Vernon R.L. Head's book The Rarest Bird in the World, we learn of a spectacularly rare bird: the Nechisar Nightjar, which was described as a new species when a single aberrant nightjar wing was found in Ethopia.
Earlier this month, a new study suggested that the Nechisar Nightjar may be indeed be a rare bird, but not quite as rare as a new species: a hybrid nightjar. (Hybridization is fairly rare among nightjars.) Read more at the American Birding Association's post, "Has the Nechisar Nightjar Mystery Been Solved?"
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& upcoming
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The moon will be full on June 11. In the days leading up to this, it rises relatively early in the evening, meaning that your adventures after sunset will be well-lit. This is the perfect time to go out listening and even looking for nightjars!
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Global Nightjar Network's Goatsucker of the Month
The Global Nightjar Network's Goatsucker of the Month for April was the Little Nightjar. Learn more about the Global Nightjar does by visiting their website or checking out their FaceBook page! This month's entry is brought to you by Logan Parker, the GNN co-founder and Communications subcommittee member.
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Species Name
Little Nightjar
Scientific Name
Setopagis parvula
Status and Distribution
Least concern (LC), South America
Description and Ecology
A somewhat small, compact nightjar with predominantly cryptic gray plumage, a tawny collar, and white throat (male only). The Little Nightjar inhabits open woodlands and brushy savannas, but will also utilize modified forestlands such as eucalyptus groves. Despite the species relatively large range, much remains unknown about the life history of the Little Nightjar. Like many nightjar species, the Little Nightjar vocalizes at dusk, dawn, and into the night. The species has been documented vocalizing its “rattling, clacking, flat, unbirdlike” song into the late morning hours (Provost, 2020).
Interesting fact
Despite the species’ English common name, the “Little” nightjar is not noticeably smaller than many of Neotropical nightjar species.
Conservation Risks
None identified, but requires further stud y.
Top photo by Jair da Costa Moreira on Wikimedia Commons. Bottom image by Joseph Smit, 1866. All photos obtained under a Creative Commons (CC) license
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"To sleep where you may hear the whip-poor-will in your dreams!"
- Henry David Thoreau, 1851
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lonesomewhippoorwill.com
jared@lonesomewhippoorwill.com
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