Nighthawks

This is the time of the migration of the Common nighthawk. I had been wanting to go over to the Connecticut River and join the survey being done on the numbers being seen migrating but have not had a chance to get there.

This evening as I drove home from work, I found myself wondering if they ever migrate down the Sugar River. I even looked to the sky to see if I could find any but with no luck. As I drove up my road I saw my husband raking the grass he has just cut. I drove into the driveway and was making my way into the house feeling very tired when I noticed my husband looking up. I followed his gaze and to my delight I saw a number of what I thought were nighthawks flying and circling the pool below them.

I ran to get my binoculars and got a closer look. I had only seen a picture of a nighthawk and not the actual bird. I was pretty sure these were nighthawks and asked my husband to get my camera.

They must have been filling up for their trip south because they were flying in circles and very erratically trying to catch every bug they could get there beaks on. They were so quick that I couldn't use my zoom as high as I would have liked but I was able to catch a few pics of them.

It seemed as soon as I was finished taking their pictures, they flew off in a southwestern direction, probably on their way to the Connecticut River to finish their migration.

How lucky I am to have been home at just the right time to see these beautiful birds and how nice of them to save me the trip to the river. Enjoy the pics. Anne