The Armstrong's and I had a CHUCK-WILL'S-WIDOW in the Whitebreast Unit of Stephens State Forest last evening. It was located inside the NE entrance on 127 LN between the second Turkey Habitat Restoration sign and the equestrian campground. It was close enough to the road that I could hear bill snaps as it moved farther south where it continued calling. Two WHIP-POOR-WILLS were calling just outside the park entrance on 467th Street. A COMMON NIGHTHAWK in Osceola completed the Caprimulgidae trifecta.
On a somewhat related note, the WHIP-POOR-WILL colony near Booneville on the Dallas/Madison county line appears to have disappeared. We haven't heard any there for the last two seasons. That colony was present when Eugene's family moved to the area in 1940. You could hear up to 10 birds there in the late '80's, but only one could be heard in 2008/09. The decline seemed to move in step with the increase in houses in the area. (The rest of that ridgeline is now slated for development.) Sad to see them go. Denny Thompson Johnston --- Please contribute your sightings to our list; it is only as good as members make it! --- Birding channel recommendation for FRS/GMRS radio use: Primary selection; channel 5/0 , alternate selection; channel 6/0 --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Iowa Ornithologists' Union. Membership available on-line at http://www.iowabirds.org/iou/membership.asp. ----- You are currently subscribed to ia-bird as: [email protected]
