Comments on: Not So Common Nighthawks

By: Carol Steytler

Carol Steytler — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:20:14 +0000

You will be happy to hear that I just saw about 10-20 birds feeding over the Dormont Municipal Building tonight at 10:30pm. I believe that they were nightjars. They were slightly smaller than a pigeon with single white bars on their wings. I did not notice if they made a sound. They were actually quite white in appearance against the black night sky, with the moon in the background.
I have also seen them on the island of Bonaire. They will sit on the side of a dirt road and you can see their eye glow, kind of red, and they fly up into the streetlights to feed.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:45:42 +0000

Kate,

I’ve been listening to the “peent” and watching birds that fly like bats over our house near Schenley Park each evening for weeks, and meaning to ask you what sort of birds they might be. I’m happy to report seeing two nighthawks consistantly, and three or four on a few evenings. Thanks for answering questions before they’re asked!

By: Dick Simpson

Dick Simpson — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:38:35 +0000

I have lived in Washington DC near the Carter Barron Amphitheater for 40 years. I was formerly able to watch the Nighthawks circle above the Chimney Swifts each evening and watch a huge migration in late August or early September. I almost never see even one during an evening any more. In 2007 I chanced to look up and see a southbound migration of about 10. I have no specific knowledge of habitat on either end of the migration but I have empirical knowledge regarding available food right here in Washington DC. In the summer we attend performances at the Carter Barron Amphitheater. Twenty or more years ago, there would be so many insects flying around the lights that they might affect the performance. Now, there are at best a handful of insects around the lights. There are also only one or two bats in the tree tops, a few Chimney Swifts above the trees, and no Nighthawks. We’ve killed the insects so we have no birds. Almost weekly visits to the National Arboretum or the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens convince me that in general our bird populations are about 15% of what they might have been 20 years ago. The Bat Industry raises funds by claiming that they need money to protect the bats because if we lose the bats the insects will overrun us. This is absurd. The bats are dying off because we have killed off their food supply also. Silent Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter.

By: Steve Gosser

Steve Gosser — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:17:48 +0000

Last summer I quite frequently heard them in my neighborhood here in the New Kensington area. I heard at least 2 so I presumed they were nesting somewhere nearby. Sadly I haven’t heard any this year. I do miss hearing their “peent” in the evening.

By: Mary Ann Pike

Mary Ann Pike — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:14:17 +0000

Many years ago I used to see night hawks in Aspinwall when my mother took me to the grocery store…they would fly over the parking lot, catching insects that were attracted by the lights. And then when I started attending my daughters’ high school football games 8 years ago, there were night hawks that would fly around the stadium during the game. But after a few years, they were gone and never returned, and I haven’t seen one since. I didn’t realize that there was a widespread problem with the breed. It is surprising that they have been having problems recently, particularly since they have been successfully living in urban areas for such a long time. I am very sad to hear that, since I have many happy memories of warm summer nights spent watching their aerobatics and listening to their calls (not knowing what they were for a long time).

By: Annette

Annette — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:22:17 +0000

Hi, Kate. Thank you so much for posting the info on the upcoming 3BC meeting . I LOVE the common nighthawk and it’s constant chirping during the summer nights. I hear it until very late in the night in my neighborhood of Point Breeze.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:17:36 +0000

I have to say that I’m quite surprised by this as there is one (or more) who buzzes my bedroom window consistently on summer nights and has done so for years. I swear it makes laps around the block, zooming by my 3rd floor window with its “pneeet!” A few years ago it made me crazy enough that I was up at 3AM searching Cornell’s bird site listening to calls of nocturnal birds to figure out just what the creature keeping me awake was! I felt better when I learned they are major mosquito eaters. I guess I’ll think more kindly of “my” nighthawk now that I know he/she is among the endangered.

By: Traci

Traci — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:03:05 +0000

This is so heartbreaking. I wish I knew what more I could do to help them. It also makes me so angry. Is the drive for money so pervasive that industries relying on pesticides can’t at least make an effort to find alternative, eco-friendly alternatives? Are industrilized farms mostly to blame?

I can’t help but wonder what good artificial nesting sites will do, if the use of pesticides isn’t abated enough to support the bird’s recovery. It’s just so frustrating.

I’m sure I’m not alone if often feeling completely helpless to make a real difference.