I was sitting in the back yard this evening when, at about 7:15 as dusk was coming on, a single and silent nightjar briefly made a circle over the house and disappeared over the neighbor's roof. I was not able to get my binocs on it quickly enough to see any white on its wings. Then I saw movement as a bird landed in a large maple tree in my front side yard and folded its wings. With binocs, I saw that it was the nightjar, perched lengthwise on a branch. Because of the quickly fading light, I could only make out the dark silhouette. I tried to sneak into the garage to get my scope out of the trunk of my car, but after I got back into the yard and was extending the tripod legs, the bird took off. I saw it fly again only briefly before it went back over the same neighbor's roof and did not return. Most likely it was a Common Nighthawk - nothing about what I could determine of its shape or style in flight would contradict that - but I guess I should just stick with "nightjar sp". Two or three Chimney Swifts can still be seen overhead a few times a week. Kathy Mock Barberton, OH Summit Co., DeLorme 41, D6 "Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." -- David Letterman ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]