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Hatteras Chuck-Will's-Widows



I spent the weekend on the Outer Banks, and I discovered that the area
around the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is a great place for observing
Chuck-Will's-Widows.  Be there at two minutes after 8, when they start
singing, and you have enough daylight left for a chance to see them
without needing a flashlight.  You're almost sure to see flying birds
and may be able to see a perched one.  The birds are distributed around
the new parking lot that is right next to the new lighthouse location;
the best spot is at the furthest end of the lot.

On Friday night I stumbled across the birds by chance and was
fortunate enough to see a flying bird swoop in and land on a nearby
perch where I had a good but slightly obstructed view of it.  Saturday
night I returned and was able to get a clear binocular view of a singing
bird for about a minute.  As I have actually seen a Chuck only once
before, this was the highlight of my weekend (although the Herald
Petrels were nice too).  Sunday night I returned yet again, determined
to go over the top and get a scope view of a singing Chuck, and I
succeeded in that too, for just a few seconds in fading light.  All the
perched birds that I saw were around 2-10 feet off the ground on dead
snags about 2-4 inches in diameter.  I should note that these nights
were around a full moon; singing behavior might be different on other
nights.

-- 
Kent Fiala
near Chapel Hill, NC