On a night in the 3rd week in April I will hear my favorite bird, the whippoorwill. I LOVE hearing a whippoorwill call! They do not like civilization and many people have never heard one. The first time I ever heard a whippoorwill was 11 years ago when I first stood on the porch of the house that I live in. It was evening and a friend of mine and I had made a trip out to see this house with acreage that was for sale. A whippoorwill was calling loud and clear from a nearby tree. It was for me a big attraction to the property!
I took a tape recorder out one time and got close to a whippoorwill and recorded it. But I have never actually seen one. They will perch in trees but they nest on the ground. Their camouflage is astounding.
Hearing a whippoorwill for the first time each year is what truly signifies spring to me...