FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Re: Nighthawks, Gloucester Co., 9/2/06

["Meredith Bell" <merandlee@xxxxxxx>]

At that exact time on Sept 2, my husband Lee and I saw those same Nighthawks 
directly overhead in our yard on Little England Rd in Hayes. We were in the 
yard cleaning up from Ernesto and first noticed a large flock of 100+ 
Laughing Gulls suddently appear our yard and the neighbors' across the 
street. Within a few minutes 20+ Common Nighthawks showed up, too, flying 
low. We stood in awe for about 10 minutes watching them swarm above us 
before I ran in the house to grab the binoculars, though we could see them 
quite easily with the naked eye since they were so low. What a show! They 
actually stayed in this same area for 45 minutes, then some of them moved to 
a nearby soybean field where they could be seen flying swiftly back and 
forth just above the soybeans. Others moved higher in the sky and were 
easier to track with the binoculars.

We just got power back yesterday and were out of town today, so I apologize 
for the delayed post. We'll watch over the next few days to see if they make 
another appearance.

Meredith Bell
Hayes, VA
merandlee@xxxxxxx

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Hewitt" <dhewitt@xxxxxxxx>
To: <va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 1:57 PM
Subject: [va-bird] Nighthawks, Gloucester Co., 9/2/06


> In the evening of Saturday, 2 Sept (1845 - 1945), I saw approximately 30 
> Common Nighthawks milling about in the air over Rte 17 between Gloucester 
> Point and the Gloucester courthouse area. The count is incomplete since I 
> was in a car and sticking only to the Rte 17 corridor. Most birds were 
> moving north, oddly. First for me in Gloucester and impressive views of 
> most - very low in the sky.
>
> We're still cleaning up from the storm here, and the only odd bird I have 
> seen was what I could best ID as a Clapper Rail flying by the lab over the 
> littered beach just after the swells died on Friday at 1400 hrs. I've kept 
> my eyes eagerly open in the days following the mess, but nothing better 
> has shown itself in the Gloucester Point area.
>
> Dave Hewitt
> Gloucester, VA
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------
> Dave Hewitt
> Fisheries Science/Crustacean Ecology
> Virginia Institute of Marine Science
> College of William and Mary
> P.O. Box 1346
> Gloucester Point, VA  23062
> 804.684.7333
> dhewitt@xxxxxxxx
> http://www.vims.edu/fish/students/dhewitt/
>
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