Thank you for the update. I live very close by. I’m looking forward to
stopping there soon.
Deb
On Fri, Jun 13, 2025 at 12:12 PM Gyekis, Joseph Peter <jpg186...>
wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
> I've been doing these Nightjar Survey Network point counts in spring or
> early summer moonlit nights for a few years now along the Allegheny Front
> on Underwood Road and Strawband Beaver Road, with many stops along the edge
> of regrowing clear cuts.
> It's hard to get up there in perfect conditions with minimal clouds and
> wind, no precipitation, when the moon is close to full. Most of the time
> the counts are a little bit subpar conditions—like the 11th was a little
> windier than desired but still decent. The 10 stops require 6 minutes count
> time at each spot plus a few minutes to drive between them, so with how
> short nights are this time of year, it always cuts into a little sleep. But
> it's fun when it works out because the whip poor wills are plentiful up
> there.
>
> It makes sense that it's also an area where moths are abundant along the
> roads while driving. I've seen a luna moth and a couple other big moths
> (maybe Imperial I think), plus great numbers of mid sized and small moths.
>
> The total number of birds of all species are in the middle of this table,
> with the survey dates and times on the rows/columns:
> Unsurprisingly, doing a count in the morning gets a lot of dawn chorus
> starting up long before sunrise, hence the big totals.
>
> The species breakdown totaled across all 6 years of effort are here:
> Especially at the first two stops, the biggest challenge for counting the
> distant whips is how loud the up close ones are.
>
> The mammals are also fun, I usually hear some flying squirrels, hear
> coyotes about half the outings, and see some porcupines on the road.
>
> When counting in late May, I usually hear some nocturnal flight calls too,
> especially thrushes and cuckoos.
>
> Anyone in State College wishing to enjoy an impressive chorus of many whip
> poor wills should walk the scrub oak/pitch pine scrub areas along Scotia
> Range Road at dawn or dusk. That area the density is even more spectacular
> than the Underwood clear cuts, and quicker to drive to for most of us.
>
> Joe
>
