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Whip-poor-will
Monitoring Results from the second New York State Breeding Bird Atlas suggest dramatic decreases in breeding Whip-poor-wills in New York State since the 1980s. Such declines are consistent with Atlas results and anecdotal evidence from neighboring states and provinces. As a result, a Northeast Nightjar Survey project was established in 2005 to begin collecting population information for these poorly-known birds. In 2007, the New York State Ornithological Association (NYSOA) organized Whip-poor-will monitoring efforts in our state, as part of the coordinated effort throughout the Northeast. There were two major goals for the NYSOA monitoring efforts in 2007: to conduct 30+ random survey routes in areas with Whip-poor-will concentrations during the first and/or second Breeding Bird Atlases; and to conduct targeted monitoring at known Whip-poorwill hotspots, such as pine barrens sites. The purpose of the random survey routes is to collect data that will allow us to develop population trends for this poorly-known species. The goal of monitoring and research efforts at selected hotspots is to determine what factors allow this species to remain abundant at certain sites. NYSOA will once again be coordinating Whip-poor-will monitoring in New York State this year, as part of the regional Northeast Nightjar Survey project. Last year's monitoring effort in New York was a great success, with NYSOA volunteers surveying more routes and detecting more Whip-poor-wills than any other state in the Northeast. A complete summary of New York results from 2007 can be found here. Most of the routes surveyed for Whip-poor-wills last year will be covered by the same volunteers again this year. However, there are a few routes in northern and eastern New York in need of new volunteers this year. See available routes and learn what's involved In 2007, NYSOA's first year of organizing Whip-poor-will surveys in New York State, more than 70 volunteers conducted 34 random-route surveys as well as additional monitoring in several known Whip-poor-will hotspots. Thanks to these efforts, the project had excellent geographical coverage in northern and eastern New York, with random routes surveyed in 21 counties around the Adirondacks and in the Hudson Valley region. The combined results of the random surveys, hotspot monitoring, and casual observations paint a picture of a species that is scarcely distributed throughout much of its New York State range, occurs in higher densities in northern New York, and is abundant in a few hotspots. Whip-poor-wills were detected on nine of the 34 random routes conducted. Two-thirds of these nine positive routes were located in the North Country counties of Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Clinton, and Essex, while only one-third of the total routes surveyed were in this region. The following maps shows the location of all places where Whip-poor-will monitoring was conducted in 2007 in New York. Whip-poor-will Monitoring
Routes and Hotspots
Click on the images below to enlarge.
While all of the random surveys followed the same protocol, this protocol was sometimes modified for the hotspot monitoring due to the unique characteristics of different sites. Below are brief summaries for the hotspots, listed in alphabetical order. A summary of these observations is provided in Table 1. Albany Pine Bush. This is a pitch pine barrens in Albany County. Two Whip-poor-wills were heard on trail-based point counts; these are the first Whip-poor-will records at the Pine Bush in more than a decade and are an encouraging sign as habitat management work continues here. Connetquot River State Park. This site in Suffolk County supports a pitch pine/scrub oak barrens. The average of the two observers' totals was 10.5 Whip-poor-wills. This is an important historical site for Whip-poor-wills, with an estimated 100 birds in 1974. Fort Drum. The random route protocol was used in a previously unsurveyed area on the eastern part of the base, in Lewis County. Despite containing habitat that was not considered ideal by Fort Drum standards, 25 Whip-poor-wills and two Common Nighthawks were counted. Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens. These jack pine barrens are found along the Clinton County/Quebec border. Three Whip-poor-wills and six Common Nighthawks were noted in two point counts. Jefferson County Alvar Communities. Alvar communities are globally-rare ecological communities that include grasslands, (non-pine) barrens, and woodlands. Two standard-length survey routes were created to pass through known alvar areas, with 35 Whip-poor-wills counted on one route, and 29 on the other. Rocky Point Natural Resources Management Area. This site in Suffolk County supports pitch pine barrens. The average of the two observers' totals was 23.5 Whip-poor-wills (at eight point counts). These two observers also heard one Chuck-will's-widow and one Common Nighthawk during their survey, completing a very rare "nightjar sweep" for one spot in New York State. Table 1. Whip-poor-will hotspot surveys in New York, 2007.
While several volunteers unfortunately did not hear any Whip-poor-wills, as a group we compiled an impressive list of birds heard during our surveys, with 21 species tallied: Canada Goose, Ruffed Grouse, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipe, American Woodcock, Black-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Screech-Owl, Barred Owl, Great Horned Owl, Common Nighthawk, Chuck-will's-widow, Whip-poor-will, Winter Wren, Veery, Hermit Thrush, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Yellow Warbler, Ovenbird, and White-throated Sparrow. I would like to thank all of the Whip-poor-will volunteers for participating in NYSOA's 2007 Whip-poor-will Monitoring project. Thanks to their efforts, New York State had the best survey coverage in the entire Northeast in 2007, and I hope we can duplicate that effort in 2008! Respectfully submitted, |
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