Home range size, overlap, and habitat selection of diurnally roosting Eastern Whip-poor-wills ( Antrostomus vociferus ) during the breeding season

Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) populations have declined considerably since 1970, primarily because of declines in insect prey and early successional forest breeding habitat. Previous studies on Whip-poor-wills have focused on tracking movements of adults on the breeding grounds and adults on the wintering grounds, tracking migratory pathways, and quantifying occupancy, yet few studies have focused on home range scale space use and habitat selection. We tracked 10 adult Whip-poor-wills from May–August 2022 at two Rhode Island, USA state management areas, Big River and Great Swamp, and five adult Whip-poor-wills (four of which were also tracked in 2022) from May–August 2023 at Great Swamp. We used diurnal locations to estimate home ranges for each individual and the extent of home range overlap for neighboring males, paired males and females, and the same males tracked in both years, as well as habitat selection at the home-range scale. Home range sizes of males and females were not different and averaged 18.05 ha. Home ranges of neighboring males minimally overlapped whereas paired males and females had a high degree of home range overlap. The four males that were tracked at Great Swamp in both years used very similar home ranges across years, suggesting that at least some individuals show site and home range fidelity. We found no support for selection for distance to any land cover types at the population level; however, 10 of 11 individuals selected for at least one land cover type and eight of 11 individuals selected for early successional forest openings (e.g., scrub and grassland), although the pattern of selection varied between individuals. These findings, when considered along with other published works on Whip-poor-will habitat selection and occupancy, underscore the importance of active forest management to maintain habitat mosaics on known Whip-poor-will breeding grounds.