Unraveling the Annual Cycle of the Eastern Whip-poor-will

RANDOLPH — On Monday, August 14 at 7 p.m., Marja Bakermans and Andrew Vitz will present: “Unraveling the Annual Cycle of the Eastern Whip-poor-will.” Bakermans is an associate professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Vitz is the state ornithologist at the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

Remember the calls of the whip-poor-will on summer nights? Unfortunately, these calls are heard less frequently today as their population has experienced steep declines over the last several decades. Learn about the research done on the nocturnal whip-poor-will. In this talk, Bakermans and Vitz will share information on capturing and fitting birds with GPS tags at nesting sites in New England. Then how they used those tags to study their migration timing, pathways, habitat selection, movement patterns on the wintering grounds. This work is helping to identify areas that are in need of protection on the wintering grounds and migration pathways to promote the conservation of the species in New England.