Like most birders, I go birding in the morning. The day is new and birds are looking for food, water, and romance. But what happens when the sun goes down? Do birds still exist? Last night, I saw a favorite birding hotspot in a whole new way…by the glow of the moon.
But first, morning bird appreciation
Government Canyon is my favorite spot to go birding in San Antonio lately. This State Natural Area has an entry fee of $7 but is worth it.
Several morning visits there brought me views of amazing birds: the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler, the quirky Yellow-breasted Chat, known as the “French Mockingbird”, a tiny songstress of the rocks, the Canyon Wren!
Listen to a few of my bird recordings from Government Canyon:
Golden-cheeked Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Canyon Wren
Ready for anything with a giant dish
I brought my new Wildtronics parabolic mic with us on this recent visit, because ya’ never know! Since I swapped and adjusted the shoulder strap it’s been surprisingly a non-issue to carry while birding.
8pm instead of 8am
We began hiking down Johnston Trail at 8pm giving us an hour before full darkness.
During the first hour we saw and heard various familiar birds, just slightly less of them. Then during the first 20 minutes of nightfall, something magical happened.
My spouse was the first to hear a repetitive, whimsical bird song floating through the forest behind us.
I immediately turned around and started to follow the new birdsong. By melody alone, I knew this bird was a lifer for me.
Who’s Will and why are we chucking his widow?
My knee-jerk reaction when I heard this bird was to run to the Merlin app and begin recording it.
A familiar bird face flashed on my screen. It looked similar to a Common Nighthawk… but the name read Chuck-will’s-widow.
I was bursting with glee as I stood in silence pointing my giant parabolic mic into the darkness.
Final Chuck-will’s-widow recording
Impossible to see but maybe not?
I recently became aware of a growing practice in nocturnal birding: thermal imaging.
More advanced than the typical “night vision” goggles you may have seen, thermal imaging monoculars can reveal birds roosting in total darkness.
I haven’t had an opportunity to try out thermal birding yet, but am aware of:
- Zeiss DTI 1 monocular [Amazon]
- Seek Thermal lens [Amazon]
- many others
Using thermal to detect hidden birds would be helpful, then I can use my standard means of bird identification from there!
Have you tried thermal birding or birding at night?
