Sunday, March 22, 2015

Bobwhites and whippoorwills

I can’t imitate many birds, but I can do a very good call of the bobwhite and the whippoorwill.  Unfortunately, if I do one for you, you won’t be able to check my accuracy against the actual birds--at least in our area. 

When I was a kid, every evening at dusk I could hear the call of whippoorwills.  It has literally been decades since I heard one.  The whippoorwill is not yet listed as an endangered species, but local populations have disappeared.  It is a ground nester, and as such is often a target for feral cats and coyotes.  

As for bobwhites, which were also common when I was a kid, researchers for the Pennsylvania Game Commission now believe there are no wild populations left in the state.  According to the latest issue of the Game News, a recent survey conducted in conjunction with Penn State researchers was unable to find any bobwhites in the state.  The Game Commission will try to reintroduce the species.


In the meantime, Republicans in Congress continue their attempts to gut environmental laws, fragment habitat with fracking pads and pipelines, and push for more fossil fuels.  

1 comment:

  1. Cry me a River. You tree huggers are all alike. You would starve before you will kill an animal for food.

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