I wanted to share a great evening last night in Warren Co at my usual spot off 337, northeast of Tidioute and not far from Hickory Creek Wilderness. I went to check on whip-poor-will which I have found there the last couple of years, but was rewarded with much more. We arrived at 8:46 pm which seemed to be the perfect time, as the whip-poor-will was calling when we arrived, along with robins, towhee, and catbird. After a minute, I heard the sounds of woodcocks, with at least two birds in display flight, a species I haven't found there previously. A barred owl started calling in the distance. Last year we had found a saw-whet owl calling here, so we played a couple calls, and within a minute had a response with a toot call. At one point, the whip and saw-whet were calling at the same time and I was able to get a brief faint recording. We took a brief walk down the access road just to the gate, and also heard the saw-whet giving a few wail calls. At that point the activity wound down and we headed back to camp after a couple minutes of appreciating the beauty of the stars. It was just a magical experience and worth the drive after dark when it's sometimes easier to just sit on the couch or go to bed early. Every time I face that choice of going out for birds or staying home, I never regret it..
Get out there and enjoy the spring and all the new arrivals !
