What is the Whip-poor-will Project?

Whip-poor-will - photo by Sandy Selesky

Purpose
The purpose of the Whip-poor-will project is: To study the distribution, populations, and breeding activities of Whip-poor-wills in Massachusetts. The data we collect will be the basis for future conservation efforts to ensure that this remarkable night bird will continue to be a part of the Commonwealth's natural heritage.

Opportunity
The project is also an opportunity for Massachusetts residents to contribute their observations to a database that will track Whip-poor-wills.

Birds to Watch
The Whip-poor-will Project is part of a larger bird conservation program called Birds to Watch that Mass Audubon is developing to ensure that birds have a future in the modern world. The goal of the Birds to Watch program is to develop effective monitoring programs for birds that appear to be in decline but do not yet qualify for an endangered species list. We need to track changes in the populations of these birds locally-i.e., in your town. Your participation will help us test methods for gathering data locally across a large geographic area and discover how best to engage Massachusetts residents in monitoring and ultimately protecting certain bird species. Our pilot project to monitor Baltimore Orioles enters phase II in spring 2010, and has engaged over 1500 Massachusetts residents in recording nesting orioles statewide. As we increase our capacity, we will add to our list of Birds to Watch. Your participation is vital in making this happen!

Partners
The Whip-poor-will Project is a partner in the geographically broader Northeast Nightjar Survey. This project, coordinated by New Hampshire Audubon, is systematically collecting data on all species of nightjars that occur throughout the Northeastern United States. For seasonal summaries of the NNS and more information on nightjars in the Northeast go to www.nhaudubon.org. The Massachusetts Whip-poor-will Project is undertaken in cooperation with The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and the Manomet Center for Conservation Science.

Become a Citizen Scientist - no experience required!
This spring on a fine evening when the moon is bright, take a walk in a wooded area where you live and listen for the haunting call of the Whip-poor-will. Then become one of our citizen scientists by documenting what you find. Either report birds you hear online using our new map tool or learn about other methods of documenting Whip-poor-wills in your community - or anywhere in the state. We are also interested in your Whip-poor-will Stories. Do you remember hearing these birds in the past in places from which they are now gone? Do your parents or grandparents remember them?

"The first step in solving the mystery of the Whip-poor-will's sad decline is to map where they are still nesting today" explains Chris Leahy, the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. "It would be tragic if we were to lose this wonderful bird. The more people we can get to report Whips from their local woodlands, the better chance we have to understand what we need to do to reverse the decline."