Nighthawk watches this week Tues and Wed - Forest Beach Migratory Preserve

Join us at 6:50 pm on either or both Tuesday or Wednesday evenings (Aug29 and 30), at the Bill Cowart Memorial Raptor Watch platform, at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve. In the parking lot just south of the building, there will be a map posted at the kiosk, with the location of the raptor watch platform (for anyone who has never been here before). Large flights of nighthawks have already been seen in areas north of us, and this last week of August is usually the peak time at our location. (26 August was a good night in 2013, for example:http://futureofbirds.blogspot.com/2013/08/nighthawk-watch-aug-26-2013-forest.html). Other species already on migration may also be seen.

Learn more about the Common Nighthawk

from a painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Wikimeda Commons

It's almost time for the autumn migration of Common Nighthawks.

We'll be seeing them moving south in the evenings in late August and into September. Occasionally they continue movements into the daytime hours as well.

Here are some resources about this iconic, but declining species:

Video:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qpsyjmda5Q

Life history and ecology:
From ABC: https://abcbirds.org/bird/common-nighthawk/
From Cornell Lab: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/lifehistory
From BirdWatchingDaily: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/featured-stories/species-profile-nighthawk/

About declines in Canada:  http://www.bsc-eoc.org/organization/images/news/AIWorkshopreport2012.pdf
About their population decline, from ABA and eBird: http://ebird.org/content/pa/news/decline-of-the-bullbat-aba-bird-of-the-year/