One of the things I enjoy about living in rural Georgia is each spring I can enjoy the haunting calls of the chuck-will’s widow (also called the chuck). Unfortunately, I rarely hear this unmistakable call anymore. Others have told me that they too rarely, if ever, hear the bird’s chuck-will’s-widow call repeated countless times on a spring evening. As a result, one has to wonder if chuck-will’s-widow population is plummeting.
Data collected on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Annual Breeding Bird Survey indicate the number of chuck-will’s-widows have declined 58% between 1966 and 2019. The decline appears to be greatest in Tennessee, the Gulf Coastal Plain, and Oklahoma. In some portions of its range that extends from Texas and Oklahoma, across Ohio down to Florida, northward through the Carolinas and Virginia, as far north as New Jersey and Long Island, New York they seem to be holding their own. However, anecdotal evidence suggests the species is in decline in Georgia.
This prompted Birds Georgia (formerly Atlanta Audubon) to add the chuck to its list of Species of Concern. The organization hopes the designation will highlight the plight of the species and foster interest in addressing it conservation needs.
Biologists refer to the bird as a data deficient species. That is a fancy way of saying not much is known about the secretive bird. If you would like to increase our understanding of the chuck-will’s-widow, join The Nightjar Survey Network. Participants conduct roadside counts spanning 9-mile routes once a year. For more information on this important survey effort, Google… The Nightjar Survey Network.
