Date: 4/27/25 1:18 pm From: Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso...> Subject: [cobirds] Do they or don't they - C. Poorwill nesting in urban Denver?
This morning, I dropped my wife off for a very early bus to a pretty early flight, then went listening for Common Poorwills in Douglas County. (I heard two. They're back!)
This got me thinking about some of my first encounters with Common Poorwills -- back in 2015, when I saw them through most of May at Denver Botanic Gardens. Near the end of May, with a friend from NY visiting, we encountered *two* Poorwills roosting rather close together. This was on 5/29/2015. Amazing to see one nightjar, but to have good views of two? A rather incredible way for him to get his lifer Poorwills! I took pictures of both, but foolishly, took the photo of each individually!
All this had me wondering -- was this a pair? If so, were they nesting at Denver Botanic Gardens?
I never really pursued this question. But I did ask a biologist who studies the bird what he thought, and he suggested that the late date of the sighting was at least slightly compelling. (Poorwills are on their breeding grounds in Canada by late May, he noted.)
Here are some other observations. None individually provides evidence of nesting in urban Denver, nor do they cumulatively add up to evidence of this. But it's at least slightly compelling (to me, at least).
There are at least three sightings (2021, 2023, 2024) in early June of Common Poorwills in Denver. But all are during the first two days of the month. (There are no sightings in Denver after that until the second week of September.) They are around City Park, Wash Park, and possibly RINO. The RINO sighting is on iNaturalist; it's not as precise as the other two, which are on eBird.
In 2015, Common Poorwills were present at Denver Botanic Gardens from at least 5/1 - 5/29. An email I wrote at the time suggests I'd begun suspecting I was seeing multiple Poorwills about two weeks prior to the 5/29 encounter. In autumn, a Common Poorwill was present from at least 9/30 - 10/5. This bird was photographed quite a bit, as it stuck around at Cheesman in a conspicuous location. All told, it seems like Poorwills were present around Cheesman Park and Denver Botanic Gardens for over a month that year.
In 2016, Josh Bruening reported a Common Poorwill at DBG on 5/30. The earliest report from DBG in 2016 was 5/5.
In 2017, Rebecca LaRoche reported a Common Poorwill at DBG on 5/27.
In 2018, LaRoche encountered a Common Poorwill at DBG as early as 4/19. LaRoche reported multiple -- three, in one case -- on 5/7 and 5/11.
For further context: late May encounters with Poorwills in urban and suburban Denver aren't typical but neither are they especially rare. LaRoche, Chris Rurik, and I saw one along the High line Canal Trail in Cherry Hills Village on 5/24/2017. On the same date, three years prior, there was a report of one at Cherry Creek State Park. There are also 5/25 sightings at City Park (2019) and the Denver Performance Arts Center (2024).
If there's any central Denver birders out there who have June - July sightings of the species in their neighborhood or who stumble upon someone posting about them on Nextdoor, I'd love to know about it!
- Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO
- Jared Del Rosso Centennial, CO
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