Nightjar Survey Network

Description: 

Nightjars, or goatsuckers, are the most enigmatic group of birds in North America. Very little is known about the basic aspects of their biology, habitat use, and population status due to their cryptically nocturnal lifestyle.

In recent years, conservationists and the general public have come to share a general sense that populations of Nightjars are dramatically declining. However, there were no standardized data available to help describe these changes or to help with reversing population losses. This survey program was created to gain a better understanding on population status by implementing a standardized approach across the nation that will help determine the magnitude and scale of population changes so a course for conservation may be plotted. The Nightjar Survey Network relies entirely on volunteer participation. The program is coordinated by The Center for Conservation Biology at a national level with the help of partner organizations at state and local levels.

Nightjar surveys are only conducted ONE TIME PER YEAR, are easy to perform, and will not take more than two hours to complete. Volunteers conduct roadside counts at night, on scheduled bright moonlit nights, by driving and stopping at 10 points along a predetermined 9-mile route. At each point, the observer counts all Nightjars seen or heard during a 6-minute period. No artificial broadcast of the species call is used. When surveying a route, you are gathering information on changes in Nightjar populations over time while simultaneously increasing the knowledge on numerical changes in population to the composition of habitats in the landscape. The Mississippi Master Naturalist have adopted 3 survey routes on the coast. You must attend a training session to join us in these survey efforts.

For more information or to be added to the email list about this project, please email Mandy Rigsby - m.rigsby@msstate.edu

Adult Chuck-will's-widow. Photo by: Kathy Doddridge/Macaulay Library