Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2004-15
| Common name: |
Whip-poor-will |
| Scientific name: | Caprimulgus vociferus |
| Date: | 5/23..6/2 [2004] also on June 14 and 18 2004 |
| Time: | Appr. 9:00 p.m. |
| Length of time observed: | Abt. 15 minutes |
| Number: | May..1, June..2 |
| Age: | ? |
| Sex: | ? male |
| Location: | Boulder |
| County: | Garfield |
| Latilong: | ? |
| Elevation: | 6,500 |
| Distance to bird: | ? |
| Optical equipment: | none: heard call |
| Weather: | fair |
| Light Conditions: | late twilight |
| Detailed description of bird: | -- |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | Song that of Whip-poor-will; appears like that of Mexican W., as described in Sibley |
| Behavior: | Several calls followed by silence |
| Habitat: | Pinyon, juniper, Ponderosa forest with sand and slickrock |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
none |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
Both observers have heard this species in Massachusetts and Tennessee over the years. |
| References consulted: | Sibley Field guide to Birds of Western North America |
| Description from: | Notes made later |
| Observer: | Nina Gove |
| Observer's address: | P.O. box 1399, Boulder, UT 84716 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | nina.gove@vanderbilt.edu |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | Walter Gove |
| Date prepared: | June 3, 2004 |
| Additional material: | The observers are aware that this bird is out of range. |
| Additional comments: |
[taken form a letter] When my husband and I heard the call of this bird, we independently believed it was the call of a Whip-poor-will, even though it was not exactly like the Whip-poor-wills we had heard (he) in Massachusetts and (both of us) in Central Tennessee. The latter birds had a call that was resonant and consisted of three "syllables." The call of the bird we heard in Boulder was more rough and did not have a resonant quality. It has a structure of two syllables. We heard the bird from our house, which is in a secluded location on a draw at the base of a fairly high mesa. The predominant vegetation is sagebrushes, Pinon, Juniper and Ponderosa. The spring in this area followed a winter with more snow this year than the previous three or four years. There are likely to be more insects. Sincerely, Nina Grove |