:-) that sounded toooooooo easy! (and fun)
On May 8, 2012, at 10:26 PM, Robert Ake wrote:
With the weather expected to be warm and no rain on the immediate horizon,
I decided to go after all three of Virginia's nightjars this evening. All
three have been reported already this year, so I knew they were around. I
started by going to Portsmouth to see if the Common Nighthawk reported by
Elisa Enders earlier was out hawking insects. I got through the downtown
tunnel with no problems, but it was apparently still too early in the evening
for the nighthawk to be active, though there was a nice street band playing.
So I headed out to Sussex County to get the other two. Chuck-will's-widows
are the easier of the two being present at First Landing State Park in some
numbers and all the southside counties as well. The more difficult one,
Eastern Whip-poor-will, is not really a problem. The trick is finding the
nearest one to Tidwater so the drive to get it isn't too long. Although a
few are heard west of the Great Dismal Swamp, they don't seem to stay around.
Last year I researched nearby locations for a visiting birder from
California and decided that the birds recorded near Piney Grove during the
VSO Foray were the closest. And that's where I went. It's a spot west of
Wakefield one mile west of route 604 on Harrell Mill Rd. Shortly after
turning off US460 and crossing the railroad tracks, I heard the first Chuck.
I heard a few more and then turned right, driving slowly for the mile. And
there was the Whip. So I turned around and headed back to Tidewater to try
for the nighthawk a second time. It seemed to take forever to get there and
of course there was a backup at the tunnel. I took a deep breath and turned
onto Crawford Parkway and eased up to the Baptist Church. The nighthawk was
peenting. I got out of the car and watched it dip and call for several
minutes. It finally appeared to land on the flat roof of the church,
indicating a possible nesting sight. I headed home with that smile on my
face that's only there when things work out as they were supposed to....and
it's not that common.
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