It could mean many things, according to the wealth of myth surrounding this night flyer.
The note of the whippoorwill borne over the fields is the voice with which the woods and moonlight woo me.
–Henry David Thoreau (1817–62), American Writer
Summer is sliding past. School has started here in my county. Much earlier than it used to when I was a kid and we generally had three full months of summer vacation or at least very close to that long. Many of the people who lived here back then were farmers. They wanted their boys and sometimes girls home to help with the summer crops. In fact, when I was in high school, farm boys could delay starting school for two weeks to help get in the tobacco crops.
I never had to miss school, but I did help in the fields after school until the crop was in the barn. Could be girls weren’t excused for farm work. If so, I didn’t know that. If so, I would have been glad about that. I didn’t want to miss school.
But even so, I savored every summer day. So many good things to see and hear in the summer. Bobwhite quails calling to each other. Frogs croaking in the pond. Stars spread across the clear summer skies like sparkling butter. Wildflowers in the fields. New mown hay. Creeks trickling over rocks. And whippoorwills at night. I did love hearing those whippoorwills sharing their name as the evenings went from dusk to darkness.
I don’t know how many times I’ve written whippoorwills into my stories. I know Jocie heard them in the Hollyhill books. I’m sure Kate heard them in Angel Sister and the other Rosey Corner books. Could be Lacey heard them in the Shaker book, The Blessed. Surely Calla and Sienna heard whippoorwills in When the Meadow Blooms. I know for sure that Jacci and Gabe talked about hearing them as they rode down the river on their showboat in my story, In the Shadow of the River. And I know Piper heard them in An Appalachian Summer. She was a city girl discovering the wonders of nature in the country and that included hearing screech owls and whippoorwills and seeing more stars than she ever imagined.
Whippoorwills are birds rarely seen. I’ve never seen one. They blend into the tree branches they rest on. They nest on the ground in woods but often close to a clearing. The birds lay their eggs on bare ground covered with dead leaves. Their camouflage makes their eggs and the birds keeping those eggs warm almost impossible to see. But you can hear them when they sing their names.
When I looked up whippoorwills online to find out more about them, I discovered that their numbers have declined greatly since I enjoyed hearing them as a child. That could explain why I don’t hear whippoorwills at my house now the way I did when I was growing up. I miss them. Maybe that’s why I’m always so ready to write them into a story. There is simply something about a whippoorwill’s song.
You can find some old wives’ tales about the whippoorwill’s call. One was that when a single woman heard her first whippoorwill in the springtime, she would remain single for the year if the bird did not call again. If the birdsong continued, she was still fated to remain single unless she had made a wish upon hearing the first call. Then if she kept that wish secret, she would find a husband. Others believed the call of the whippoorwill was an omen of death or bad luck. I never knew those legends before I found them tonight and never thought of bad luck when I heard the whippoorwill.
A song by Hank Williams asks if we hear that “lonesome” whippoorwill. I don’t think I thought they sounded lonesome exactly. For me they seemed to have a yearning sound. A promise for something more, but I didn’t know what more as I listened to them call their name over and over and over. I’m still not sure what that more was. Maybe it represented the unknown ahead of me. I heard the birds but never saw them the way I saw cardinals and mockingbirds. There seemed to be a little mystery to the whippoorwill and perhaps my future seemed a mystery to me then. Nothing but dreams and hope.
So, when I have Piper up in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, I let her hear the whippoorwill as she does the same wondering about her future.
You can still grab a copy of the ebook of An Appalachian Summer at your favorite online bookstore for less than $3.00. That’s a great deal for a summer read. Then you can stand with her on that hill under a few million stars and hear the whippoorwill tell you its name.
Have you ever heard a whippoorwill? Or seen one?
Comments 16
Such an interesting read.
No, I cannot recall ever hearing the call of a Whippoorwill. Maybe someday.
Author
So glad you enjoyed reading the post, Sharon. And I do hope that someday I’ll hear them call in the dusk of evening again.
I’ve heard them but have never seen them, that I know of. I don’t hear them very often anymore, usually I’m in the house away from the mosquitoes that time of the evening.
Author
I suppose I’m usually in the house at that time of day too, Connie, but before we had air conditioning our windows were always open and I could hear the outside noises. I’ve never heard one since we moved from the old farmhouse into the house where we are now. But I keep hoping to someday. I will have to go outside now to hear them. While I loved the conveniences of our newly built (years ago) house after we moved, I did miss being outside more to see the stars and sunsets and hear the birds and bugs.
Always heard the whippoorill on summer nights while staying with grandparents on the old KY farm . That was many years ago. I love the Hank Williams song . He was one of the best !
Author
Hank Williams was one of my mother’s favorite singers, Nancy. I was always a little surprised by that when I was a kid. I don’t know why. Maybe I didn’t think she’d have favorite songs and singers the way kids do. Later, I realized that we all have a little kid in us forever.
I do not remember ever hearing a whippoorwill before but love to hear a Bob White. Unfortunately I have not heard a Bob White in some time now. Since there is much industry growing up behind my house, I now only hear loud noises coming from it.
Author
Exchanging the sounds of country life and birdsong for construction noises and cars isn’t the bet, Pamela. I think it is harder to hear nothing but country sounds these days. That’s certainly true for me with a parkway about a mile from us by the way the crow flies and neighbors living just across the road. When we first moved to our farm, we were the only people back our little lane, but everything changes.
I haven’t heard a bobwhite for a while either. Miss hearing it the same as I do the whippoorwill. When I was a kid, I liked to whistle the bobwhite back to the bird to see if it would answer back to me.
I remember hearing whippoorwill s as a child and Bobwhites, but not recently! I am amazed that God would create beautiful birds that sing to us or like Mr Bluejay call to us for our pleasure!
Author
Birds are a blessing and a wonderful creation, Bonnie. I’m like you in that I’m very grateful for the beauty and the songs of the birds that fill our world. I do wish the bobwhites and the whippoorwills would make a comeback on my farm.
I hear them often, but not as often as I used too. When I saw your photo of one, I realized I’ve never seen one. Now I’ll be sure to look for it next time I hear one. I heard a bobwhite this week and realized I hadn’t heard one of them in a long time. Maybe there’s a family that’s moved in close by. Have you ever seen a baby bobwhite? Cute little things! We had them in the fence row bordering our yard on the farm.
I enjoy listening to the birds every morning and watching my feeders in the winter. It’s a nice diversion on dreary winter days to see all their beautiful colors.
Have a great week Ann. School has started here too, but the hot days of summer are back after last weeks mild temperatures. I’m one of those folks that love summer heat far more than chilly fall and cold winter. (although I’m not a fan of our humidity!)
Author
Wow, it has been hot, Lavon, and going to be hotter tomorrow. I picked my beans at 7 a.m. today to keep from melting the way I did when I picked them Monday.
As for the whippoorwill, I doubt you will be able to see that bird even if you do hear it and look for it. The information I’ve seen online suggest you can almost step on one without seeing it because they are so well camouflaged. But then again, you might be the exception.
We rarely hear Bobwhites anymore. So rarely that I really perk up when I do hear one, but then I won’t hear it again. The bad winters in the 1970’s killed all of the Bobwhites out around our area although I have heard them at my brother-in-law’s house in a nearby county where the birds are still in the area. I think people here have tried to raise them and release them into the wild but maybe there are too many coyotes these days for them to get established. But I do listen for them every year. Bobwhites, I have seen.
I’ve never heard nor seen a whippoorwill. Because of that Hank Williams song, I always assumed it was a sad sound. Maybe I’ll check on youtube for a recording of one.
Author
I hope you found a good recording of the whippoorwhill, Ler. Maybe it’s the mood you’re in already when you hear a whippoorwill that makes it sad or beautiful or whatever it is for you. Of course, standing out in the near dark in the country and hearing the call is much different than hearing it on a computer.
I did find a recording. I was surprised to find that the whippoorwill doesn’t sound sad at all. Wish I could hear one “in person sometime.” Btw, I must have hit the r instead of e when posting before. Lol
Author
Oh, that’s funny. I thought I might have a new reading friend named Ler. But always glad to see your comments, Lee.
I think what you think about the Whippoorwill’s call as to whether it’s sad or not depends on how you are feeling at the time.