Monitoring of Owls and Nightjars in Illinois “MOON”

Presented by: Tara Beveroth S.O.S. for our Flying Bug Eaters Ingleside Hotel, Waukesha WI September 7th 2018 Outline:

• Nightjar Natural History • Nightjar challenges • MOON program • Future Outlook

Eastern Whip-poor-will The Myth of the Goatsucker aka “Nightjars” Nightjar Distribution

Nearly 100 species of nightjars in the world with 2 main subfamilies: Caprimulginae (80 species) and Chordeilinae (19 species) Common Nighthawk Nightjar Facts

Large-tailed Nightjar • Very short legs and bills with large eyes.

• Long wings

• Forward facing whiskers • Sensory • Facilitate prey capture • Nightjars usually nest on the ground and time their chicks hatching around 10 days before a full moon. Chuck-will’s-widow nesting • Unlike other birds that perch across branches nightjars usually perch along a branch, better concealing them during the day. They excel at blending in with their environment.

Eastern Whip-poor-will

European Nightjar John Audubon – Birds of North America

• Their mouths open wide vertically and horizontally, which allows them to have a large gaping mouth to easily scoop insects up during flight. Diet

• Primarily Insects • Moths • Beetles • Spiders • Crane Flies • Swarming insects

• They drink while flying low over water surface and scooping water with large bill. Illinois Nightjars Chuck-will’s-widow - threatened

Eastern Whip-poor-will

Common Nighthawk Habitat

• Chuck-will’s-widow • Deciduous, pine, oak-hickory and mixed forests • Openings or gaps in forests are very important for foraging

• Eastern Whip-poor-will • Open Woodland, dry deciduous or mixed forests • Herbaceous understory

• In Illinois, where they have been found to nest in the same area, CWWI prefer more open habitat on forest edge, while EAWP prefer more wooded , or pine groves or upland areas. Nightjar Challenges

• Food Availability • Pesticide use • Inclement Weather • Habitat Loss • Change in forest composition • Wintering habitat • Collisions/Run over • Predation • Climate Change

• Very hard to maintain in captivity Lack of management

CTAP data – David Zaya INHS

How are nightjar populations? 0.7 0.6 Eastern Whip-poor-will BBS, Christmas Bird Count, and Spring bird 0.5 count data are not reliable for estimating 0.4 population trends in nocturnal species. 0.3 0.2 0.1

0 Average # of EAWP/Party Hour EAWP/Partyof # Average

0.45

2014 1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2017 Year 0.4 Common Nighthawk 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.03 0.05

Chuck-will’s-widow Hour CONI/Partyof # Average

0.025 0

2011 2017 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2014 0.02 1975 Year 0.015

0.01

0.005

Average # of CWWI/Party Hour CWWI/Partyof # Average 0

1975 1978 1981 1984 1987 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017 Year Project MOON - 2008 Objectives: • Track trends in abundance and distribution over broad scales

• Investigate causes of declines

• Develop suitability models and best management practices for nightjars and owls Methods • Roadside point counts • 10 stops, ≥ 1 mile apart • Listen passively for 6 minutes while recording detections in 1 minute blocks. • Optional playback of EASO and BAOW. • 2 surveys run each year in May and June based on lunar cycle.

MOON Routes eBird Basic Dataset. Version: EBD_relMay-2013. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. May 2013. Eastern Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow MOON occurrences

eBird Basic Dataset. Version: EBD_relMay-2013. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. May 2013. eBird Basic Dataset. Version: EBD_relMay-2013. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. May 2013. Importance of Route Consistency

18

16

14

12

10

8

of of monitored routes # # 6

4

2

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 # of surveys over 10 years Average # of EAWP/route

6

5

4

3

2 Average Average of EAWP/route #

1

0 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Year Future Outlook

• Continued long-term monitoring • Continue to collaborate with partners. • Use LiDAR to assist in analysis of habitat use of Illinois nightjars. • Work with partners and private landowners to try different management techniques. • Prescribed Fire • Removal of invasive plants/clearcutting • Graduate projects • Incentive Programs • MOON Volunteers • United States Nightjar Survey Network • Western Great Lakes Owl Monitoring • Illinois Audubon Society • Cornell Lab of Ornithology • Critical Trends Assessment Program • Jen Mui • Loren Merrill • Terry Esker • Kelsay Shaw • David Bohlen Tara Beveroth [email protected] 217-265-7303