Presence of Common Poorwill in Alberta

The Common Poorwill is a "Goatsucker" bird of North America. In Canada it is present in both British Columbia, as well as Saskatchewan. Yet remained unreported in Alberta until 1945Salt, W.R. and Internet Archive (1958). The birds of Alberta. [online] Internet Archive. Edmonton : Dept. of Economic Affairs. Available at: https://archive.org/details/birdsofalberta0000salt [Accessed 5 Jan. 2022].. The Cypress Hills are a group of large hills with similar biology to that of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the Cypress Hills are located in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, which is shared between Saskatchewan and Alberta. Multiple accidentals have been recorded in the Cypress Hills due to it's important locations, as well as its unique environment, including, but not limited to the Hermit WarblerFisher, C. and Internet Archive (1998). Birds of Alberta. [online] Internet Archive. Edmonton : Lone Pine Pub. Available at: https://archive.org/details/birdsofalberta0000fish/page/194/mode/2up [Accessed 5 Jan. 2022].. The exact extent of the presence of the Common Poorwill is hard to state exactly, since there is a lack of reports from the general public, however this should not be cited as proof of the Common Poorwills possible extirpation, as the Common Poorwill being both a nocturnal bird, as well as been similar in outline and appearance to that of the Common Nighthawk, which is a regular sight in Souther Alberta can both be reasons for this. John Acorn purposes that it is quite possible that the Common Poorwill even breeds in Alberta, simply that there is no evidence to prove it.
== 1945 sightings of Common Poorwill in Alberta ==
In 1945 the Common Poorwill was reported in the section of the Cypress Hills belonging to Alberta when, according to Walter Raymond, "Several were heard and one was collected". Also according to Salt Wilk and Walter Raymond, no more provincial records of the bird existed afterwards, one however must put into consideration the publication date of the book in which they said this, The birds of Alberta is 1958.
== Information ==
According to John Acorn, the Common Poorwill's presence in Alberta is concentrated in the Eastern slopes of the Cypress Hills, as well as the Milk River valley. He also puts Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, as well as Milk River Canyon and "sandhills south of Bindloss" as the "Best Sites" to spot Common Poorwills in Alberta. The Common Poorwill has only 8 reported occurences in Alberta, 3 of which were reported by MULTISAR in 2020.Ca, W. and Taylor, K. (n.d.). Working with COVID restrictions Grassland Gazette ISSUE 15 -WINTER 2020-21. [online] Available at: http://multisar.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Grassland-Gazette-Winter-2020-21-web-final.pdf [Accessed 5 Jan. 2022]. As of 2022 BirdsCanada is continuing it's Canadian Nightjar Survey to find out more information about both the Common Poorwill and the Common Nighthawk and their presence in Canada.Anon, (n.d.). Nightjar Survey | WildResearch: Conserving Nature Through Science and Outreach. [online] Available at: http://wildresearch.ca/programs/nightjar-survey/.
== New information ==
Due to some new information that I have discovered I feel like many of the points on this Article are now outdated, or misinformed. I highly doubt that only 8 sightings have been made. I also am surprised that this information did not pass my search results as I researched this to the best of my ability. To wrap up the new information, Recordings of calls of Common Poorwill's in Alberta have been recorded as recent as August 2021. That same bird was photographed by Bob Bowhay and Dan Schielbelbein in August and June of 2021 respectively. A Poorwill was also recorded near Fort Macleod in June 2020, as well as a different one being photographed and recorded throughout August to June in Cypress Hills Provincial PP. A Common Poorwill was photographed and recorded in Cypress Hills Provincial Park in 2019 as well as 2018. An Interesting addition was the find of a Common Poorwill nest near Medicine Hat in 2004. A Common Poorwill has been recorded in alberta every year since 2015.
Category:Scientific
Category:Alberta
Category:Birds
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