After the painfully dead night last night with neither whip-poor-wills or
chuck-will's-widows singing, our family hiked up to Merna's house on the
hill. Like last evening, it was breezy, but a whip-poor-will began to sing
even before we reached the house. We listened from the yard where the group
of us listened last evening, and at 8:50 the chuck-will's-widow sang. It
was distant, down off the ridge and behind our house, the very area we were
hoping he would sing last evening. By this time a few other whip-poor-wills
began singing around us too.
After walking back home, a couple boys and I walked a trail in our woods
toward where the chuck-will's-widow sang. We only heard an occasional
whip-poor-will in the distance and saw bear tracks in the flashlight beam.
By the time we returned to the house at 9:20, I wasn't hearing any singing.
It reminded me of last night.
If this year is like other years, I expect the singing of the CWW to pick
up, possibly in June. Ken Hinkle quoted me as saying the CWW sings better
in the mornings. A little clarification on that, that is how it has seemed
to me early in the season. In part, that is when I am out listening the
most. In time, though, hearing them in the evening becomes more consistent.
I'll try to post something occasionally.
Kevin Shank
Rockingham County
