Whip Poor Will

[Rupert]

I know this is off topic, but with a scattered bunch like we are I thought this to be a good way to survey what I see as a great concern. Has anyone noticed a change in the number of these birds that you hear at night. I know in my case here in Florida few if any are heard anymore. They have to be my favorite sign of Spring and their almost total disappearance is quite alarming. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

[DannyM]

Rupert, I have some around my place every Spring. As a matter of fact, I heard two exchanging calls early this morning as I was out to get the paper. I love to hear them call. A lot of times, late in the evening I will hear their call right at dusk and continuing for a while into night fall. I am located in Northeast Texas.

[Forum Admin]

A lot of aerial insectivores are declining - from whippoorwills, nighthawks, to chimney swifts and purple martins. There are projects studying the declines to determine causes, but you are not the only one to notice fewer whippoorwills.

from wiki "The eastern whip-poor-will is becoming locally rare. Several reasons for the decline are proposed, such as habitat destruction, predation by feral cats and dogs, and poisoning by insecticides, but the actual causes remain elusive.[6][full citation needed] Even with local populations endangered, the species as a whole is not considered globally threatened due to its large range.[7][full citation needed]"

[HunterH]

I know this is off topic, but with a scattered bunch like we are I thought this to be a good way to survey what I see as a great concern. Has anyone noticed a change in the number of these birds that you hear at night. I know in my case here in Florida few if any are heard anymore. They have to be my favorite sign of Spring and their almost total disappearance is quite alarming. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Rupert, I actually just heard one singing at our house last night....and this morning (early). I live in central PA. We often see one later on in the summer when we go spotlighting for deer. Their eyes glow bright red in the spotlight. We didn't hear any for several years, but the past few years we have been hearing more.

[scottfreidhof]

This is just my opinion based upon observation, but the decline in whip-poor-wills may be related to habitat. Here in NE Kentucky, whip-poor-wills seem to be most abundant in forests with a thicker understory of young trees, located near openings like fields. An ice storm cut a swath across central and eastern Kentucky in February 2003. Mature trees were knocked down throughout the forest especially on east-facing hillsides. Gaps were created in the canopy as a result. The extra sunlight reaching the forest floor stimulated thick growth of young trees. I found a whip nest on the forest floor in one of those patches of thick growth under the canopy.

All across the east, forests have matured and decades of shade caused the understory plants-trees-shrubs to thin out. Excessive deer browsing can be an issue to, especially in PA and WV. That more open forest understory may not be good habitat for whip-poor-wills.

[John Evans]

The Wills are back this year here. Their call is my second most cherished call. It means to me summer is right around the corner. We have mixed woodlands out here probably good habitat.

[latenightrob]

I'm in WV and about two weeks ago they made it back to our neck of the woods and I too love listening to them (although the wife is less excited when they land on our gutters at 3am)