About 11:30 pm Thursday May 19 I heard what I thought was a
whip-poor-will then realized that it was not giving the Whip-poor-will
song but the voice had a whip-poor-will quality. It called 4 times. As
it called I said to myself "poor will, poor will" rising at the end of
the will. I returned after midnight, stayed at least half an hour but
heard nothing more. I went home and checked the MacCaulay Library. It
certainly was not a Common Poorwill. I listened to all the Eastern
Whip-poor-will recordings marked call or mechanical. None were this
bird. It sounded like this Chuck-will's-widow
http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/4583 . It is heard more as I heard it,
when the whip-poor-will quietens down. The 4 calls were given in the
same rhythm and cadence as this bird from West Virginia. I heard none
of the quieter, leading chucks. When you know it's "widow" you can make
out a double note but when you think it's poor "will", you (I at least)
can hear it as a single note. What else could it have been?
Meadow Wood Road is south of the QEW, between Mississauga Road in the
east and Southdown Road in the west. Southdown Road is the south
extension of Erin Mills Parkway. Meadow Wood runs toward Lake Ontario
from Lakeshore Road West. The bird was on the east side of the road,
north of the entrance into the Rattray Marsh Conservation Area. The
bird was south-east of me so it actually could have been calling from
the conservation area. When I looked toward the sound, I was seeing
evergreens: pine and or spruce.
Meadow Wood is a winding, hilly road with narrow edges. Most properties
have rocks or steaks to prevent parking. There is room for 2, maybe 3
cars at the entrance to the conservation area.
Kirsten Burling
Mississauga
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