[mou] Dedrick's Totally Informal Chuck-Will's-Widow Survey 2005

[Dedrick Benz]

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