The nighthawk show in the lights at the tower buildings at Tysons last night
was the best I have seen this year.
I arrived at about 8:25, just before the lights went on at about 8:28.
Within 2-3 three minutes there were 20 or so nighthawks swirling around low
over the buildings catching insects. Many of these birds were probably
roosting either on the top of the buildings on in the nearby trees. The
show got better as the night went on. By 9:00, there were at least 50-60,
and probably more, birds at all altitudes; some were low over the buildings
and some so high you could hardly see them. The sky was just peppered with
nighthawks.!! The birds were not only directly over the buildings with the
lights but spread out over the parking lot and Gallows Rd. to the west,
over the intersection of Gallows and Airline blvd. to the SE, and over the
Fairfax Square buildings to the NE as well.
The number of birds in view was not consisitent all the time, but several
times there were little clumps of 10-15 birds close together in the lights.
It was quite a show, and kept me there for over an hour. The next 10-14
days should be the heart of the nighthawk migration. Folks to the north (
Massbird) and west ( West Va.) are reporting major nighthawk migration
movement. If you have't seen this show, I think the next few nights might
well be a good time to look.
--
Donald Sweig
Falls Church,Va.
