The snag broke right at the nest cavity, exposing the nest to the sky, and
so the adults relocated the eggs! Wow!
Michael
On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 8:18 PM Michael Fogleman <fogleman...> wrote:
> I've read about the egg-moving behavior which is very interesting! I
> haven't seen any long-distance movements with either nest, only gradual
> changes from day to day, presumably from regular activities.
>
> For the female that I first found incubating, she has never flushed no
> matter how close I get - even a week after the eggs hatched. Of course, I'm
> being very careful around her, but I'm still surprised at how confident she
> is in relying on her camouflage.
>
> For the other nesting pair, I only found the female and chicks _because_
> she flushed when I walked nearby - perhaps 20-30 feet away. But, her
> nestlings were already rather developed and well-camouflaged themselves
> (better camouflaged than mom, really, I was worried about accidentally
> stepping on one and had to use the thermal scope to relocate them even
> though they were right in front of me), so the timing might mean it makes
> more sense for her to put effort into distracting a potential predator. Or
> she's just a more flighty individual. Her flushing makes it harder to get
> natural footage, so I mostly left them alone.
>
> Speaking of Birds of the World, it says this of Chucks:
>
> "Not known to cast pellets, but probable due to close taxonomic
> relationship of Caprimulgiformes to Strigiformes (Sibley et al. 1988) and
> variability in this species' diet."
>
> I found this very interesting, because I got a video of a nestling casting
> a pellet! I've already reached out to someone who studies Chucks to see if
> anything I've recorded might be of scientific interest.
>
> P.S. a Pileated Woodpecker moving eggs sounds wild! I wonder why though -
> a snake approaching?
>
> Michael Fogleman
> Cary, NC
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 5:49 PM Christopher Hill <chill...> wrote:
>
>> Yes, great footage (even if I skipped around and didn't watch the whole
>> thing).
>>
>> Whips found/disturbed while incubating eggs may move the nest by picking
>> up the eggs in their (giant) mouths and flying them to a new spot, which
>> also seems remarkable. Since they basically nest on the bare ground, it's
>> not such a big deal to find a new spot and they will do that. I have
>> experienced this a couple years ago: flushed a whip off a nest mid-morning,
>> saw the egg or eggs (I don't remember if it was one or two). Passed that
>> spot 20 minutes later and the egg(s) was/were gone.
>>
>> Now that I've said that I went and read the Birds of the World account
>> and it more or less confirms what I said but says "probably rarely carried
>> in the mouth or between the legs." I'm not digging further into the
>> literature but I'm betting strongly on the mouth and against the feet/legs
>> idea. I've seen photos of both ducks and pileated woodpeckers moving eggs
>> in their mouth in flight. "Between the legs" does not sound right to me at
>> all.
>>
>> Chris Hill, Ph.D.
>> Professor
>> Biology Department
>> Coastal Carolina University
>> Office: Douglas 207H
>> (843) 349-2567
>> email: <chill...>
>>
>> On Jun 9, 2025, at 5:28 PM, Kevin Kubach <carolinabirds...> wrote:
>>
>> That is incredible footage! What a treat. Thanks for all your effort to
>> research, document and share this. About a month ago, I accidentally
>> flushed an adult Whip-poor-will in Fant's Grove WMA (Anderson Co., SC) and
>> realized I was standing a few
>> *Warning: Unusual link*
>> This message contains an unusual link, which may lead to a malicious
>> site. Confirm the message is safe before clicking any links.
>> That is incredible footage! What a treat. Thanks for all your effort to
>> research, document and share this.
>>
>> About a month ago, I accidentally flushed an adult Whip-poor-will in
>> Fant's Grove WMA (Anderson Co., SC) and realized I was standing a few feet
>> away from a nestling that I now have learned was probably 3 or so days old
>> (feather shafts visible in some places). The next day, I brought my
>> spotting scope in order to attempt to view the adult on the nest from a
>> distance. Much to my surprise, as I approached carefully, an adult flushed
>> from a different spot entirely, revealing two nestlings (the first time,
>> nestling #2 was either underneath #1 or had been swept many feet away by
>> the adult's eruption into flight, which according to the literature often
>> happens and may even serve a purpose in separating the young from "one
>> basket" should a predator find the nest). I also learned through all of
>> this and further research that the nestlings are capable of moving on their
>> own at only a couple days old. Having seen them, I never would have
>> expected they could move on their own, but in the context of survival for a
>> ground-nesting species, it makes sense. (And Michael's remarkable video
>> certainly confirms this.)
>>
>> Kevin Kubach
>> Greenville/Clemson, SC
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 4:14 PM Juanita Roushdy <carolinabirds...>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Michael,
>>>
>>> This is a stunning video capture and pure joy to watch - the
>>> determination of the nestlings and the patience of the parents unbelievable
>>> and a privilege to witness. Thank you so much for sharing it. It certainly
>>> made my day. A lot of patience on your part to locate and video the family.
>>>
>>> Again, thank you.
>>>
>>> Juanita
>>> Bremen, ME formerly from Bald Head Island, NC
>>>
>>> On Jun 9, 2025, at 2:26 PM, Michael Fogleman (via carolinabirds Mailing
>>> List) <carolinabirds...> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello friends,
>>>
>>> I recently discovered a Chuck-will's-widow nest on the Harris Lake Game
>>> Lands in New Hill, NC with the use of a thermal scope. I first determined
>>> where the male was singing at dusk to figure out roughly where to look. I
>>> also did some research on their habitat preferences. Still, it took
>>> multiple days of methodical searching with the scope to find anything. But
>>> I ultimately found two separate nesting pairs in different areas. I also
>>> found one of the males roosting on a few occasions. One nesting pair was a
>>> couple weeks ahead of the other in terms of development. The first was
>>> still incubating when I found it while the second had fairly large
>>> nestlings by the time I found them. I tried the same thing last year with
>>> an Eastern Whip-poor-will but had no success.
>>>
>>> The most exciting part was capturing video of nestlings when they became
>>> active at dusk. Lots of interesting behavior. So I wanted to share this
>>> video.
>>>
>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1htsf__yZF8 >>> <https://nam11%20.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1htsf__yZF8&data=05%7C02%<7Ccarolinabirds...>%7C1d2f6ed6ad824d39f30e08dda783233b%7Ccb72c54e4a314d9eb14a1ea36dfac94c%7C0%7C0%7C638850903862366990%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=O6kn1f01FmaLs4bh9rk%2FvrmxCH9zK4e9m1k3RgoDh9k%3D&reserved=0> >>>
>>> I believe the nestlings are just a day or two old in this video. I
>>> captured the video from behind camo cover, using a 135mm f/1.8 lens for a
>>> good balance between focal length and light-gathering abilities. I have
>>> lots of photos to share too, perhaps I'll add them to an eBird checklist
>>> soon.
>>>
>>> I'm often asked what my favorite bird is. I think I finally have an
>>> answer!
>>>
>>> Happy birding!
>>>
>>> Michael Fogleman
>>> Cary, NC< br>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
