Hear ye, hear ye! Last summer, a Wisconsin birder went to his favorite Whip-Poor-Will spot, and located several calling Chuk-Will's-Widows. This was less than 15 miles from Houston County, MN as the crow flies! I have always figured Houston County may harbor several as well. Unfortunately, my day job is busy in the summer, and it's hard to get motivated to get out at night and cover the 821 miles of roads in Houston County.
BUT.... There are 17 Townships in Houston County. I could probably cover one township between 5/15 and 6/30. 821 miles divided by 17 townships equals 48.29 miles per township. That's not so bad! If I could get 17 parties to commit to covering one township, we could cover the county pretty well. This is not scientific. This is fun. Minnesota's only Chuck-Will's-Widow records are from over 20 years ago in Sherburne and Nicollet Counties. They've got to be here! What does 'covering' a township mean? A lot of that is up to you. Try to drive every road in your township during dusk/nighttime hours. Chuck-Will's-Widow's tend to prefer wooded hillsides, and there are a ton of those in Houston County. It is definitely not necessary to drive every residential street in La Crescent. I will not prescribe how often you should stop, how long you should stop for. Use tapes/don't use tapes - I don't care. It's up to you. Just try to cover your township any nights you want between 5/15 and 6/30. It probably would take more than one night, unless you have a small township, work quickly, and stay up all night. Learn to tell a Chuk-Will's-Widow from a Whip-Poor-Will call. Get a DeLormes atlas or a county map and pick one of the following 17 townships and let me know what you've picked. I'll let you know if more than one party has picked a township, and I will periodically update the listserves with remaining townships. Money Creek Houston Mound Prairie La Crescent Hokah Yucatan Sheldon Union Brownsville Blackhammer Caledonia Mayville Crooked Creek Spring Grove Wilmington Winnebago Jefferson Good Luck! ~Dedrick
