July 2018 Nocturnal Insectivore Update

Nocturnal Insectivore Update

In early May we launched the second year of our multi-species nocturnal insectivore study.

We’ve studied Common Poorwills since 2015 and have a good sense of their phenology and behavior.

Though we’ve honed our tracking skills and search techniques, poorwills continue to amaze us with their camouflage.

We’ve captured more adult Common Nighthawks in the last week than in the entire 2017 season.

We captured what we hope will be a breeding pair near one of last year’s nest sites.

Similar to last year, Flammulated Owls continue to present our greatest challenge in capture and tracking.

Clear skies and mild temperatures helped get the nocturnal insect collections off to a productive start.

Mat added several new moth species to the barcode library this year

Mat also collected a “Big Poplar” or “Modest” Sphinx Moth

Mat’s trying a new type of insect trap: the Malaise trap, named after Swedish entomologist René Malaise.

Our work in the next few weeks will focus on tracking all radio-tagged individuals and monitoring nest sites