I have heard Starlings do a decent imitation of a Nighthawk. I don’t count
heard only ones of them or Western Wood Pewees as I have seen Sky Rats imitate
them in April. I have long wondered how they know to do those calls then and
never in July.
Tom
From: orebird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:orebird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Wink Gross
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 9:18 PM
To: orebird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [orebird] Re: Early Common Nighthawk report
I too have an early (May 12) CONI in my queue. Heard only. Observer insists he
knows the call and that it wasn’t a Red-winged Blackbird. I’m not inclined to
validate heard-only review species, but perhaps there is something going on.
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45614849
BTW, Sibley says Lesser N. is silent in flight (but the app includes a “nasal
flight call”!—doesn’t sound anything like Common).
Wink
Sent from my iPad
On May 15, 2018, at 10:47 AM, Adrian Hinkle <adrian.hinkle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Doug,
That makes a lot more sense then. I figured she should know the difference.
Thanks for clarifying.
Adrian
On Tuesday, May 15, 2018, W. Douglas Robinson <w.douglas.robinson@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
For the record, Jenna knows the difference between a poorwill and a nighthawk.
She also offered to change the ID to a more conservative classification before
this discussion ever launched. I talked with her about it the morning after and
recommended taking a cautious approach given that the bird flew while she was
reaching for a camera and her companion didn’t know to look for presence and
position of white in the wings.
Doug
On May 15, 2018, at 10:08 AM, Adrian Hinkle <adrian.hinkle@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks for raising the question, Jeff. The slash is certainly better than
marking CONI, but am I the only one who is bothered that there is no mention of
the white wing patches? I'm not completely sold that it wasn't a poorwill.
Adrian
On Tuesday, May 15, 2018, Tom Crabtree <tc@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I vote for Common/Lesser Nighthawk. It is 3+ weeks early for Common.
Tom Crabtree
From: orebird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:orebird-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On ;
Behalf Of Greg Haworth
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 8:49 AM
To: orebird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [orebird] Re: Early Common Nighthawk report
While i am no expert on the vagrancy of Lesser Nighthawks, looking at eBird
distribution maps;
Lesser Nighthawks have made it to Chico (which is just about the north end of
their range) and have filled in to the south;
and there are only two reports in California for Common Nighthawk, which could
be suspect.
For what it is worth.
greg
On Tue, May 15, 2018 at 8:07 AM, Jeff Harding <jeffharding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Oregon Reviewers
While I was in Ireland familiarizing myself with Black-tailed Godwits and Song
Thrushes, an early report of a Common Nighthawk came through from Jenna Curtis.
I replied to her, asking if she had considered Lesser Nighthawk, and she had
not. I don’t think the description rules out Lesser Nighthawk, but the bird she
saw was surely a nighthawk.
I didn’t validate it because I remembered a comment from Dave Irons to the
effect that a nighthawk this early might be more likely to be a Lesser
Nighthawk than Common, since Lesser shows up in California in April. But in
this case, the habitat so favors Common Nighthawk, I wonder if it should be
validated as Common, or should I suggest she change it to something like
Common/Lesser Nighthawk?
Here’s the checklist:
Species: Common Nighthawk
Count: 1
Observation date: May 4, 2018
Location: Willamette National Forest, Idanha US-OR (44.6811,-121.9383), Linn,
US-OR
Submission ID: S45274112
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S45274112
Thanks for input,
Jeff
--
Avian Migration w/ PNW focus <http://birdsoverportland.wordpress.com/>