[birdky] RPT: Foraging Chuck-will's-widows

Last night Mark Monroe and I attempted to net bats in northeastern Bullitt
County on a small piece of land that the Ky. State Nature Preserves
Commission has acquired a conservation easement on to protect a rare plant,
Glade cress.  For only the 4th time in 15 years of netting bats, I got
"skunked" on bats . . . I guess the limited amount of forest and large trees
in the area limits the number of bats. However, Mark discovered a very neat
thing as we were waiting for bats to appear at dusk.  He walked up onto one
of the several natural openings on this tract and was scanning for foraging
bats when he noticed the characteristic, bright orange eyeshine of a
nightjar. He called me on the radio and I walked down to see what he had
found.  It was REALLY neat; turned out there were two Chuck-will's-widows
that were using snags in the opening from which to hawk passing insects,
just like Common Potoos in the tropics!  This behavior is known, but it may
have been documented most extensively on the wintering grounds in Central
America. Between the two birds, Mark saw them using three separate perches
for extended periods (two were about 15-20 feet tall, the third was maybe
25-30 feet tall). By the time I arrived, only one was still in view, but it
remained on the same perch for at least 5 minutes, sallying out for prey
twice.

bpb, Louisville
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