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August 2012

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From:
rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
rob thorn <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 23 Aug 2012 23:44:37 -0400
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I'll second the hypothesis that Nighthawks are averse to crossing open areas like downtown Columbus.  I've found the best spots to see gathering flocks here in central Ohio are at the edge of large tree-poor expanses, especially where rivers or creeks lead south to them.  One such spot is Grandview Heights, which sits just before the largely-treeless areas of downtown and Franklinton.  Large flocks often congregate there after flying down the Scioto & Olentangy river corridors.  Another spot is the Columbus Airport, where both Big Walnut and Alum Creek skirt the northeast and northwest corners respectively.  Flocks of nighthawks are loathe to cross the open runways, and will veer along the tree-lined rivercourses.  I would guess that they may feel too exposed to hawk predation in the open, and may look to trees both for roost sites and for a refuge if they are threatened.

As an interesting comparison to the observations along the Olentangy, I've been out near the Airport for 4 of the past 8 evenings, and haven't seen a single Nighthawk.  Usually these areas will have small flocks, peaking at perhaps 100-150 a night for 1-2 nights in late August.  Perhaps they're running a bit late this year.

Rob
-----Original Message-----
>From: Paul Hurtado <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Aug 23, 2012 11:03 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [Ohio-birds] Common Nighthawks on the move (north?) over Columbus
>
>Here's a brief update from the past 2 evenings in Columbus, but first a few
>comments on Bills post.
>
>On Tue, Aug 21, 2012 at 12:36 PM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> ...
>
>        My half-baked explanation for the wrong-way movement is that here
>> on the north side of Columbus, birds moving south as it's getting dark
>> eventually see the bright and relatively treeless city center, and U-turn
>> toward the parks, etc., north of downtown for safe roosts. I wonder if
>> others have noticed this on the north side of big cities.
>>
>
>Interesting explanation, Bill.  I'm only familiar with birds migrating "the
>wrong way" from the spectacle of northbound fall migrants during "morning
>flights"at Higbee Beach in Cape May, NJ.  For those unfamiliar with this
>puzzling bit of migratory behavior, NJ Audubon has some nice information
>(and links to a few publications) here:
>http://www.njaudubon.org/SectionResearch/MorningFlight.aspx
>
>To add one small correction to Bill's post, Common Nighthawks migrate both
>during the day and at night. If I had to guess, I suspect the birds over
>Columbus were moving well past sundown, and not heading directly towards a
>roosting location.  My main reason for thinking this is that these birds
>were observed higher and higher later into the evening, either gaining
>altitude to move or just following insects upwards as it got dark.  Too bad
>they don't vocalize during migration - that would help answer a lot of
>question! ;-)
>
>
>A few more observations from the past 2 evenings:
>
>On the 20th I had a whopping 78 Common Nighthawks visible from my yard,
>from 7:54-8:23pm: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11417987
>
>Flock of 6 at 7:55 heading West/Northwest.
>Flock of 3 at 7:58 heading Northwest.
>Flock of 21 (with a tag-along ring-billed gull) at 8:04 heading North.
>Flock of 19 at 8:11 heading North.
>Flock of 29 at 8:18 heading Northwest.
>
>I couldn't help but wonder if those last three observations were of the
>same group doing some kind of big 7-minute loop over Upper Arlington - who
>knows!
>
>
>Yesterday evening (the 21st) I had 2 flocks while walking around the
>neighborhood from 7:42-8:10:
>http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11423789
>
>Flock of 5 @ 7:46 going west (low; not too far above the treetops)
>Flock of 7 @ 8:06 going west (low)
>
>and two more (total of 22) visible from my yard between 8:11-8:37:
>http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S11423936
>
>21 at 8:21 all flying north (high enough that they were hard to spot!)
>1 at 8:34 flying west (high)
>
>It'll be interesting to see how things progress in the coming weeks, and
>really interesting to see what happens with these and other aerial
>insectivores once the city starts spraying for mosquitoes this coming
>Monday...
>
>Good birding,
>Paul
>
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