Late yesterday afternoon, a common nighthawk appeared over our Columbia yard, zig-zagging his way northward. As I watched his flight, two more followed and, within a few minutes, 26 had passed overhead.
Preparing to leave for South America, these birds were fueling up on flying insects and will likely join many other nighthawks when their migration begins; indeed, flocks numbering in the hundreds are often observed in late summer once their journey is underway.
Common nighthawks nest throughout North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico and the Gulf Coast. Unfortunately, their population has declined, likely due to the widespread use of pesticides. Among the earliest fall migrants, these long-distance travelers begin to depart by late August and do not return to the Midwest until May of the following year.
