Sunday, August 10, 2008

Sighting of Common Night Hawks


The common nighthawk is easily recognizable all across southern Canada as it flies high over city streets and rooftops, or country areas on summer evenings. A hollow booming sound is produced by the wings as the bird pulls out of a steep dive while in pursuit of flying insects. Nighthawks catch mosquitoes, flying ants, and other insects on the wing. Their enormous mouths, with surrounding bristles, are ideally suited for aerial capture. Nighthawks build no nests. Instead, they lay their eggs on the ground, or, in cities, on flat gravel rooftops.
The other evening we were having supper, and I noticed all these birds flying round in a circle. They started over our back yard and continued to move south. Curiousity got the best of me and I had to get my binoculars out and investigate. They have a very distinct white band on their wing and there must have been 12-15 of them. Its was hard to get a count because they move very quickly.

2 comments:

PsycChicMegaWatts said...

i thought i saw one the other night in GB...

PsycChicMegaWatts said...

Oh, and I am submitting my entry for the Toner Garden Name Contest.

I am going with

"The Grotto"