Monday evening Sue and I traveled to the Quogue/Westhampton Beach area to listen for nightjars. We were not disappointed as we heard three distinct calling Chuck’s at different locations along South Country Road. After striking out on Old Meeting House Road (the one on the east side of Quantuck Creek) we returned to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge parking lot on the south side of South Country Road, where we heard a faintly calling Chuck’s on the south side of the railroad tracks but some distance away. We drove through the subdivision east of Old Meeting House Road but were unable to hear the bird from that location.
We then headed west on South Country Road to listen for Whip-poor-will’s, when we heard a second Chuck’s calling at mid-distance on the south side of South Country Road. A third, and much closer Chuck’s was calling a short distance down the road on the north side of South Country Road (audio obtained). We then proceeded to Stewart Ave. in Westhampton Beach, across from Gabreski Airport where at least two Whip-poor-will’s were calling. Back in the day, when Chuck’s occurred in western Suffolk County, I recall seeing a nest of Chuck’s with two chicks at Oak Beach, but this is the first time we have heard three adults calling in a single trip. Nice! Ken & Sue Feustel -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --