Night hawk

[Dani#2]

I finally caught a picture of this bird....it's been in our area in the summer for YEARS....the other day, I heard it's call very close, it was up in our tree. This bird has an AMAZING wing span!!



Too bad I didn't get a better shot of his face, but.....here's a link to a site with a better pic.

click here

[homebird]

Pretty good shot non-the-less.
Maybe, now you know where he rests you can get another.

Can't say I've ever heard them - but then I was unaware of them - so many birds are hidden - crafty creatures.

[Dani#2]

If you click on the link I posted, I think on the left side of the screen, you can click on "song" and it will play it for you. That was the TRUE way of me identifying it......I hear that sound in my dreams, it goes ALL NIGHT LONG!

[homebird]

That song is neat. Not too musical - parrot like.
I kind of liked it.
I might have thought it was a crow - I'm pretty bad at bird calls.
... wonder if you'd be able to sleep in the city!? It sure beats all the city noise I hear each night. When I'm at my parent's country home I listen to their owl - haven't found out which type yet.

[Dani#2]

Homebird I am in the city....about 3 miles from downtown Chicago. I have no idea why he hangs out here.......but it's been at least the past 10 summers.

Kinda weird though, when I don't hear him, I do have trouble falling asleep. I keep thinking some moron got it with a bb gun or something....but he always shows up the following day.

[homebird]

Not in the country! - Well thank goodess the city still has some 'wild' in it.

Let’s hope he & his family live long & prosper. Have you wondered if any other locals have noticed the little gem in their neighbourhood? Maybe an article in the local rag would keep that tragic idea of loss at bay.
It would be bad if he met a pointless death.

As I live in a high-rise - I only see pigeons & peregrines & the odd red-tailed hawk from the balcony.

[Buteo]

About 9 years ago, my wife & I were over by the edge of the Escarpment near our house at sunset. We were standing in the middle of the field as the light was fading. I noticed there were a surprisingly large number of insects rising outta the field we were in & they were swarming around us.

From over the edge of the mountain, a mass of dark shapes filled the air. At first I thought that it was a huge group of bats, but after watching their flight patterns and seeing the distinctive white bands on their wings, I realized we were surrounded by nighthawks in a mass feeding flight. Diving & swooping, the sky was filled to the horizons with them swirling around us. I tried to do a quick count, but was next to impossible as there were well over a hundred birds in this flock. Their manouveurability was incredible and it was simply breathtaking to watch!!!! The feeding frenzy continued for about 20 mins before their numbers thinned and they finally vanished into the darkness. There wasn't a single bug left in the air by the time they left.

We'd gone out there many times for a couple of years afterwards, but it never happened again. Unfortunately since then, that field has now been flattened & turned into a Quad pad icerink.