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Spring has arrived and the birds know it. Mourning Doves have returned to the suburbs of Denver. Our local Red-tailed Hawks are paired up. And Black-billed Magpie nests are becoming unwieldy tangles of branches.
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Other signs abound. On a recent walk, I spotted a Mourning Cloak as it flew into a massive cottonwood's massive canopy. On warm nights, I can hear earthworms dragging last year's leaves into their underground burrows. Meanwhile, Golden Currants and Wild Roses are opening this year's leaves.
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Even so, it will be weeks before a nightjar follows spring to Denver. Elsewhere, though, the family already heralds the change of seasons. Poorwills are singing in southern California. Eastern Whip-poor-wills are calling in the Carolinas, and there's a more northerly report of singing Whip-poor-wills in Virginia.
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Though we mark spring by equinox, Whip-poor-wills have been better indicators of the arrival of spring on local landscapes. Historically, the first Whip-poor-will's call signaled the end of frosts. All sorts of spring activities followed. Those who farmed knew to plant tender crops like corn and beans after the arrival of Whip-poor-wills. Children knew they could play barefoot outside once Whip-poor-wills sang. The year's first Whip-poor-will could even make dreams come to life, but only for those who knew how to unlock this obscure magic. (For instructions, see my post, "What does it mean when you hear a Whip-poor-will?")
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The Lost Art & Science of Phenology
I recently listened to an episode of the In Defense of Plants podcast that covered phenology, the study of the timing and patterns of seasonal changes in the natural world. The episode featured an interview with Dr. Theresa Crimmins, author of a new book (aptly titled Phenology) and director of the USA National Phenology Network.
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Whip-poor-wills have long been part of the seasonal calendars that people in the eastern US kept. In a letter to his daughter, Thomas Jefferson wondered if they signal when peas and strawberries ripen in New York and Virginia. (They probably don't.) In Tennessee, naturalists warned of "Whip-poor-will Winter," an early spring storm that followed the year's first call of a Whip-poor-wills.
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A related species, the Common Nighthawk, is less a seasonal sign and more an everyday weather reporter. Nighthawks have long-standing associations with rain, perhaps because rain softens soils -- which, in turn, allows for flying ants, a favorite prey of nighthawks, to emerge from the ground.
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There's perhaps no end to what we can learn from birds. One of the most ambitious and remarkable studies suggests that Veery breeding behavior in mid-May can predict the strength of the ensuing hurricane season better than meteorological models.
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Learn more about phenology and how to contribute your own observations @ the National Phenology Network's "Nature's Notebook" project.
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Recent...
Over the past few weeks, I've given virtual talks to Colorado Field Ornithologists and Sarasota Audubon. It's been great fun bringing the world of nightjars to these organizations. You'll find links to the recordings of these talks on my events page.
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and upcoming.
This coming Tuesday, I have an in-person talk (my first!) to Boulder Audubon. I also have an upcoming program on the human dimensions of urban wildlife at the University of Denver. The event at DU is entirely in person, but the talk at Boulder will also be streamed on Zoom.
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March 25 (7:15 PM) - Boulder Audubon. More here.
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April 1 (7:00) - "Angry Birds, Bad Bunnies and Wily Coyotes! The Human Dimensions of Urban Wildlife" - University of Denver. Registration for the course ($25) here.
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Global Nightjar Network's Goatsucker of the Month
The Global Nightjar Network's Goatsucker of the Month for February was the Large-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus macrurus), a nightjar that ranges from India to northern Australia. Read on for the GNN's species profile and visit the Global Nightjar Network's website or FaceBook page for more!
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Species Name
Large-tailed Nightjar
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Scientific Name
Caprimulgus macrurus
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Status and Distribution
Least Concern (LC) | India to N Australia
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Description and Ecology
As its name suggests, this goatsucker has a large, broad tail with bright white tail tips, which are buff-brownish in females. The 4 outermost primaries also follow this pattern. Overall dark brown to blackish, especially on the scapulars, with a distinctive white submoustachial stripe and throat. Prefers forested landscape of various types from rainforest edges to savanna and even urbanised areas, at elevations up to 2700 meters. It employs a “sit-and-wait” foraging strategy but also actively hawks for flying insects.
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Males sing their distinctive knocking song (“tok, tok, tok, tok”) while perched or (rarely) in flight, preferring moonlit nights and twilight. Breeding period timing varies regionally, spanning from early spring to late autumn. Typically, it breeds once per year, sometimes forming loose colonies. The 1–2 eggs are incubated primarily by the female for 3 weeks, with chicks fledging after c. 35 days.
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Interesting Fact
Due to its extensive range, this species forms 7 subspecies! Additionally, four other Nightjars (Jerdon’s, Andaman, Philippine and Sulawesi) were once classified under Large-tailed Nightjar, but are now recognised as distinctive species.
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Conservation Risks
Though fairly common with a stable population trend, this species has a patchy distribution and faces habitat degradation, particularly due to large grazers like feral water buffalo.
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Follow @globalnightjar for a new GOTM each month and other updates from the mysterious world of nightjars!
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Photos by Flickr users lonelyshrimp and NatureAtYourBackyard, obtained under a Creative Commons (CC) licence.
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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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