[mou] Nocturnal Henslow's

[Jeff Dankert]

I just returned home from a vain Monday night search for
whip-poor-wills.

My route led me to Great River Bluffs State Park in southern Winona
County, where I enjoyed the nighttime "chorus" of a Henslow's sparrow in
the grassland.

This species is known to often sing at night. Ta-slick. Hurrah!

That wasn't as surprising as the absence of whip-poor-will song in the
wooded bluffs of Cedar, Pickwick and Little Trout valleys in Winona
County. It was a calm night. These valleys are quiet and sparsely
populated. I made about 24 stops in 20 miles, and all I heard were
spring peepers, two barred owls and a woodcock.

According to Janssen's "Birds in Minnesota," the whip-poor-will is "most
numerous in the southeast along the Mississippi and its major
tributaries."
He also says its "migration peaks in early May."

Regards,
Jeff Dankert
908 Parks Ave Apt 158
Winona MN 55987-5330
(507) 454-0033
renohawk@hbci.com