birdsoup

Shakespear, a fairly well-know author, was meticulous in selecting just the right word. One of his famous lines was “What’s in a name?” Of course he used a reference to roses but his point can also apply to birds. A bird’s name may be somewhat misleading but the bird is still the bird.

The Common Nighthawk is a good example. First, it is not a hawk. It is a proud member of the little known nightjar family. It is a predator but hunts flying insects. That makes it closer to a swallow than a Red-tail Hawk. And its flight is similar a swallow with zigs and zags and erratic, quick changes of direction.

Secondly, Common Nighthawks are most active at dusk and dawn and don’t fly in the inky black of night unless the moon is full. You often see them at night baseball games chasing after flying insects that are attracted by the bright lights illuminating the ball field. I’ve only see one in mid-day once. It was stretched out on a horizontal branch sound asleep. Its coloring blended in perfectly with the tree bark.

And finally, it is not extremely common in this area except in late summer when they are beginning their southbound migration. Then you may see loose flocks numbering hundreds of birds.

I haven’t seen a nighthawk yet this year. But next week Bedford Audubon is hosting a hawk watch to look for migrating nighthawk. This will take place at the Chestnut Ridge HawkWatch platform high above I-684 on Thursday, August 30th from 6-7:00 PM. I’ve never tried this before and am looking forward to it.
I will let you know what we see and experience.