Memorial Day evening I paid a visit to Edgewood Preserve (DEC) in
Commack hoping to hear Whip-poor-wills, as I had last year. But by
nearly 9:00pm I'd heard only other locally nesting species settling in
to roost. Then, as I stood quietly just off the pavement
of Old Commack Road (southern end) listening intently, a dark shape
fluttered by no more than 5-6 ft. away, flashing white in it's tail. It
emitted a soft "whup" as it went by. I looked down the road and spotted
a dark shape on the pavement about 10 yards away.
When I shone my flashlight on the shape it flew up and disappeared into
the darkness giving that same soft call a few times. That scenario
played out one more time before the bird gave me the slip for good. I
never saw red eyeshine from the "Whip" when it was
in the flashlight beam, presumably because it was facing away from me
both times. This was only the second time I've had a visual encounter
with this species, the first a brief but also close flyby (in the dwarf
pine barrens near Gabreskie Airport). After that visual
exciting opening act I expected the vocal performances to begin in
earnest. But I only heard two short, distant bouts of singing before I
lefty at 9:20.
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