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Eastern Whip-poor-wills remain uncommon in Saskatchewan, having been detected in six squares during the atlas. Most records are from the known core of their range in the province, with four records made along Highway 123 in 2017 and 2021, and one heard on a nocturnal recording from the Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest. Two observations were made further north than other historic observations, with a recording made at Jan Lake and another heard on the Churchill River, about 25 km west of Sandy Bay.

Excerpts Adapted from the Birds of Saskatchewan:

Most people's experience, if any, with the Whip-poor-will is through its haunting song, the production of which, along with foraging and nesting, is tied to the lunar cycle (Mills 1986). A beautifully cryptic bird, its well-camouflaged eggs and young, nocturnal activity, and large woodland territories have made it one of the least studied North American birds. Insectivorous, it lives on insects which it catches primarily by sallying from perches (Cink 2002). It breeds from a narrow band in east-central Saskatchewan east to Nova Scotia and south to parts of Oklahoma and Georgia, and it winters chiefly around the margins of the Caribbean south to Honduras.

The habitat requirements of the species are poorly known in Saskatchewan. Range-wide, Whip-poor-will breeding habitat depends on forest structure rather than composition. These birds avoid wide-open spaces and closed-canopy forests. Semi-open forests with clearings and regenerating areas following fire or logging are preferred.

The Eastern Whip-poor-will is a sparse summer resident of the east-central part of the province from southern Prince Albert National Park east to Cumberland House and south through the Porcupine Hills, with the highest numbers along the Cumberland House road. Given their apparent breeding habitat preferences as described above, clearing forest for agriculture is probably the reason for the range contraction of Whip-poor-wills since the 1920s.

Original text by R. Mark Brigham. Text adapted by Daniel J. Sawatzky

Read more about the Eastern Whip-poor-will in the Birds of Saskatchewan here.

LeeAnn M. Latremouille

Recommended citation: Latremouille, L. M. 2025. Eastern Whip-poor-will in Latremouille, L. M., S. L. Van Wilgenburg, C. B. Jardine, D. Lepage, A. R. Couturier, D. Evans, D. Iles, and K. L. Drake (eds.). 2025. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Saskatchewan, 2017-2021. Birds Canada. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan https://sk.birdatlas.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=EWPW&lang=en [14 Nov 2025]