Fall's Nature Notes Nighthawk Migration: September 8, 1999 by Laura Erickson Birders throughout much of the continent are noticing nighthawks flying in the late afternoon and evening. In east-central states such as Missouri and Pennsylvania birders have been reporting big flights in the last few weeks. Wisconsin birder Mike Elling does a lot of football officiating, but this past week he found himself wishing he could watch the skies above the football field as over a hundred nighthawks winged over. Nighthawks start migrating in August. On Friday, August 20, in Duluth, MN, I was supposed to be helping organize a Boy Scout rummage sale but kept getting distracted by nighthawks flying over. Duluth is at the western tip of Lake Superior, a dangerous barrier to migrating birds. They must follow the shoreline until they clear the lake. I was lugging boxes back and forth from cars to a neighborhood church, but still managed to count over 800 nighthawks in an hour, and then I rushed home to sit on my rooftop and enjoy them in peace as the sun got lower in the sky and disappeared. In 2 ½ hours, I counted 2,219 nighthawks! The name "nighthawk" sounds like it must belong to a tough predator, but the only animals nighthawks can kill are flying insects. They leave before cold weather hits so they won't run out of flying insects, which fuel their long journey to South America. Each bird weaves a crooked path through the sky, darting this way and that as it spies tasty insects as it travels south. A nighthawk is easy to recognize with long, thin wings marked with a white crescent near each tip. If you watch carefully, you can pick out the adult males by their white chin strap and white tail markings. By mid-September, nighthawks will be gone from Canada and the northern states, and by late October they'll be down in Central and South America. So if you're running cross-country or playing football or soccer, or just outside for the fun of it, look skyward once in a while and see if you can't find some of these delightful travelers. Copyright 1999 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form