Hello!

At about 7:45 PM this evening while hiking the pet trail at Highbanks, I
observed approximately 150 to 175 Common Nighthawks swirling over the day
camp area (where the red barn is located that is observed from Powell  Road).
I tried to count most of them but their swirling about made it  difficult
so my estimate of the total is conservative.  I counted about  80-90 swirling
about within a somewhat tight ball directly over my  head in the sun light
while another 50 or so were flying lower  outside of the Nighthawk ball.
After about 10 minutes, the ball loosely  broke up and most of the Nighthawks
flew to the southwest.  At that  moment, another 30 to 40 Nighthawks flew by
directly overhead from the northeast  heading southwest.  After another few
minutes, not a Nighthawk was to  be seen.  I wonder if anyone observed good
numbers of Nighthawks in  Columbus this evening.  I feel very fortunate to
have been in the right  place at the right time to observe this spectacle.

Rob Lowry
Powell, Ohio

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