Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and Montana Audubon are seeking help from citizens willing to conduct surveys of common nighthawks this summer in multiple sites around the state.

Common nighthawks and common poorwills are Montana’s two nightjar species. Both are species of concern and species of greatest inventory need in the state, and agencies lack baseline data for them. This year’s survey focus is on nighthawks, but incidental observations of poorwills are also welcome.

“Nighthawks and other aerial insectivores are important indicator species and are a tipping point species of steep decline throughout much of their range, making it that much more important to get a sense of their population in Montana,” said FWP nongame technician Ella Engelhard.

Common nighthawks are most often active at dawn or dusk and are found in grasslands, shrublands, and open areas throughout Montana. They are migratory and are only present in Montana in summer months.

Citizen science efforts this summer will increase survey capacity and data and allow FWP and Montana Audubon to more effectively manage the status and needs of nighthawks. To recruit and train volunteers, the agencies hosted in-person trainings in several communities this spring and created an online training portal.

Volunteer interest has been high in western Montana, but there are still many survey routes available in north-central Montana, south-central Montana and all of eastern Montana.

Volunteers are required to take the training before conducting surveys. The online training video is less than an hour and can be accessed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOArM-d_ECs

Participants can select a site in their area and survey it once or twice over the summer following this protocol:

• Survey window is June 1-Aug. 10 (breeding season)
• Surveys are conducted 60 minutes before sunset to 90 minutes after sunset
• There are 10 survey stops spaced one mile apart within a quadrant, and at each stop you will survey for six minutes. So, a survey should take roughly an hour not including drive time.
• These surveys will be conducted in a passive format, meaning you will be looking and listening for nighthawks.
• The only gear you need are binoculars and OnX or a way to record latitude/longitude

“These are great surveys to do on a warm summer evening with a friend or family member looking for birds,” Engelhard said.

The survey website lists specific routes and maps by region. You can either enter your observations by downloading Survey123, a free phone app, or printing off a data sheet for manual entry. Some of the survey sites have pre-determined routes, while others allow the volunteer to randomly generate a starting point near roads with suitable habitat.

To learn more information, take the online survey training or claim a survey route, visit:

https://montanabirdsurveys.weebly.com/nightjar-training.html