Yesterday an Eastern Whip-poor-will was found at the Northwestern Mutual Building downtown. It was probably a window strike during the night and flushed up in the morning, to sit on a ledge of the building. Later in the day, I saw a rare bird report that someone found it sitting in a Maple Tree. It was on my way home, so I decided to see if I could find it. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to find. I haven’t been there in a while and when I arrived, I realized just about every tree there was a Maple! I walked towards the building and then a little east, walking along the concrete walkway, and then turned to the south and there it was! I thought to myself, “wow that was easy!” Very rarely does it ever work out like that. It was only about 10′ off the ground and very cooperative. I had to walk back to my truck and grab my small lens, as it was way too close for the 600mm. There were several angles that provided decent views, but still covered by leaves. It’s been decades since I’ve seen one and I have never photographed one. It was still being seen today, but in a different tree. Today, it was about 25′ up on a dead branch, somewhat blocked by leaves from below, still camouflaged enough to be hidden. Enjoy!
