A New Generation of Common Nighthawks

Common Nighthawks are quite common throughout the United States and Canada during the spring and summer months. I first became familiar with them when I noticed them flying circles around stadium lights during evening sporting events.  I learned that they were chasing and feeding on the flying insects that were drawn to the lights. They have very tiny bills as you'll see in some of the images below, but their mouths extend back to beneath the eyes. Their "gaping" mouths are great for snatching flying prey. Nighthawks are mostly active at night, but they are sometimes seen flying in daylight, especially during twilight hours. The distinct wing and throat markings of nighthawks are shown in the image below.

Common Nighthawk in Utah County, UT USA

Common Nighthawks have a rather long migration from South America so they tend to arrive here in Utah a little later than other migrant birds. Once they arrive they seem to get right down to the business of breeding. I'm glad that we consistently have breeding populations along some of our local rivers and in pockets of our local deserts. Males and females can often be seen flying together during the breeding season. During courtship the males will make a steep dive and then curve their wings near the bottom of the dive to create a "whoosh" sound as the air rushes through their flight feathers.

Common Nighthawks in Utah County, UT USA

I was showing an out-of-state visitor to some of Utah County's diverse birding habitats several weeks ago when I happened upon a Common Nighthawk nesting site beneath a Juniper tree. We were walking through a desert area that had a mix of sagebrush and junipers.  As I walked toward a particular juniper a female nighthawk flushed from beneath the tree and landed about 15 yards away.

Female Common Nighthawk Distraction Display Near Nest Site in Utah County, UT USA

She began a distraction display which made me realize we were near a nest site. I captured a short video of this particular female to show her protective display. This clip shows the initial display and then ends when she feels she has successfully deterred us from the nest site.

Nighthawks don't actually build nests. They simply lay their eggs on bare ground or gravel rooftops. Consequently, we walked carefully with our eyes to the ground to avoid stepping onto eggs or chicks that might have been blending in with the ground below us. We actually discovered two eggs and then allowed mom to lure us away with her short flights and distraction displays. She was a good mama bird.

Common Nighthawk Eggs in Utah County, UT USA

Common Nighthawk Eggs in Utah County, UT

I am fascinated by the cycle of life so I returned to the nest site a week or so later and concealed my presence with a portable blind. I had hopes of watching the new generation of nighthawks develop from one stage to the next by making periodic visits.  Mama nighthawk was still incubating eggs and did not flush since I remained in my blind.

Female Common Nighthawk Incubating Eggs in Utah County, UT USA

I let another week pass and returned to the site again in the blind. I noticed empty egg shells where mom had been incubating them during my previous visit.

It didn't take more than a few minutes to realize that mom and two chicks were just a few feet away from where the chicks had hatched. Mom moved toward the chicks as I started to back away from the site within my blind.

Female Common Nighthawk in Utah County, UT USA

Common Nighthawk Chicks in Utah County, UT USA

Female Common Nighthawk and Two Chicks in Utah County, UT USA

One chick moved under mom's chest while the other remained visible in the image below.

Female Common Nighthawk With One Chick Beneath and One Chick at Chest in Utah County, UT USA

I couldn't help but wonder how these birds raise their young on bare ground. They blend in rather effectively with their surroundings and mom is adept at distracting possible threats from the young ones, but they are still extremely vulnerable to the coyotes, badgers, rattlesnakes, and other predators that roam the desert floors. I hope these two young chicks progress to the point of making their first round trip flights to South America and back so they can continue the cycle of life by creating their next generation. I wonder if they'll return to the same desert for their own breeding seasons.

My most recent trip to the same general habitat resulted in a close encounter with what appears to be a male with all those bright white throat feathers. The female nighthawk did not show nearly as many white throat feathers.

Common Nighthawk in Utah County, UT USA

Common Nighthawk in Utah County, UT USA

A Nighthawk and a Little Doolittle Snipe Snooping

The Salt Lake International Center is a great place to bird for fall migrants during the month of September. It's on the southeast end of the Great Salt Lake and its abundance of trees, open fields, and small streams provide a great stopover point for a wide range of southbound birds. They can rest and/or refuel after crossing the lake. One of the challenges with birding this location is birding right next to a number of office buildings. Some office people are suspicious of people walking around with binoculars and cameras right outside their windows. A few local birders have been questioned by security guards, but most guards now are familiar with our unique behavior and leave us alone. The streets in the area are named after famous aviators such as Charles Lindbergh, Harold Gatty, Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, and the Wright brothers. Click here to see of map of the International Center.

I work less than ten minutes from the Salt Lake International Center (SLIC), but I've been van pooling (trying to be a good citizen) to work so I have not been free to drive over to visit the SLIC before or after work. I had meetings that didn't accommodate the van pool schedule this past Wednesday so I drove my own vehicle and thought it would be the perfect time to drive through the SLIC before work. Unfortunately for me, mother nature decided to send a down pour of rain in my direction. I decided to try after work. Unfortunately for me, mother nature decided to send another down pour of rain and a few minutes of hail that caused me (inside my car) to seek shelter in a parking garage.

Not wanting to be completely shut out by the weather I waited until the rain stopped and made the most of the few minutes I had before losing what little light remained under very gloomy clouds. I had noticed a few Common Nighthawks flying before the rain started and saw them disappear behind a couple of trees as the rain grew heavy. I decided to scope out the horizontal branches and edges of buildings in that area hoping to discover a perched nighthawk.  They like to perch on flat rooftops and horizontal branches. I spotted one through a small opening between some tree branches on Neil Armstrong Road .

Common Nighthawk on Neil Armstrong Road Salt Lake City, UT

Common Nighthawk on Neil Armstrong Road Salt Lake City, UT

Nighthawks are typically active at dusk and dawn, during twilight hours, as they forage on the wing over open fields and wetlands. They are often seen flying at night around the bright lights of sports stadiums as they chase the bugs that are attracted to the lights. The bill seems small, but these birds have large mouths because the gape goes back to near the eye. You can see the fine whiskers along the gape in the image below. The gray, white, black, and buff colors provide great camouflage for these birds so they don't build nests-they simply lay eggs on gravel roof tops or on the ground. They winter in South America and breed during the spring and summer months across much of North America.

Common Nighthawk on Neil Armstrong Road Salt Lake City, UT

Here are images of Common Nighthawks in flight. The first was captured at dusk and the other mid morning with full sunlight. The first is likely an adult female or juvenile since it lacks the white band on the throat and undertail. The second appears to be an adult male based on the bright white feathers on the throat and across the undertail.

Common Nighthawk in the Orange Light of the Setting Sun Near Lakeshore, UT

Common Nighthawk Over Soldier Pass in Utah County, UT

As I was driving slowly along Jimmy Doolittle Road to make my way back home Wednesday night I saw some Killdeers feeding in a grassy area. I noticed two larger birds jumping a few inches off the ground and then face planting into the grass. I wasn't close enough to see what birds they were, but the behavior was something I'd never seen before so I drove closer. I saw very long bills on the birds and soon realized they were Wilson's Snipes. They were completely unexpected so I used my car as a mobile blind and did some snipe snooping while I had the opportunity.

Below is the best image I could capture of the odd face-planting behavior. I captured one snipe just after it plunged into the grass. You can see the short tail and wing tips pointing skyward, the two yellow stripes on the back and the crown of the head where the bill disappears into the grass.

Wilson's Snipe Face Planting Along Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

Just as I pulled over to get a closer look this bird blew toward me and began to forage in a drainage ditch. You can see how the bird goes from an alert posture (head raised high) to a more relaxed posture after it realizes I am not a threat (I was shooting from inside my car).

Wilson's Snipe Standing on Alert Along Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

Wilson's Snipe on Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

The long bill of a Wilson's Snipe is used to probe the mud for small invertebrates.

Wilson's Snipe Foraging Along Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

The snipe would stop to preen at times.

Wilson's Snipe Preening on Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

One final image before starting the engine and heading home for the evening.

Wilson's Snipe on Jimmy Doolittle Road in Salt Lake City, UT

Birds of Soldiers Pass and the Sound of Rice Crispies?

I thoroughly enjoyed spending a Friday afternoon and all day Saturday exploring parts of Zion National Park and the extreme southwestern desert of Utah a week ago so I decided I wasn't quite done with desert wanderings this past Friday night. I made the decision to get up early Saturday morning and head over to Soldiers Pass Road on the west side of Utah Lake in Utah County. My excellent birding friend and birding mentor Eric Huish had shared his experience of birding Soldiers Pass Road about two weeks before and it sounded like a fun place to explore, especially since he had reported Gray Vireos in the area, a bird I had never seen in northern Utah. The habitat is arid and hilly and begins with sagebrush at the low elevation and turns into pinyon-juniper at higher elevations. The possibility of seeing rarities and area specialty birds only 30 minutes from home was very appealing.

I arrived at the Soldiers Pass turnoff, a few miles south of Saratoga Springs on SR 68, around 6:30 am. The sun was just coming over the mountains to the east and I was in hilly territory so the sun was reaching some east-facing spots of the hills and valleys of Soldiers Pass while still being hidden from most of the pass. Bird activity was still a little slow at that time due to the mostly shady conditions. However, I did get to park and observe a somewhat nervous yet curious Jack Rabbit as I waited for more sunlight to grace the pass.

Jack Rabbit Along Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

The first singing bird I heard then saw as I drove slowly up the pass was a Spotted Towhee. I could soon hear the chipping of Lark Sparrows coming from about ground level and from inside the junipers.  A Northern Mockingbird was soon heard then seen on a hillside. The west side of Utah Lake is a nice place to see the otherwise rare bird for northern Utah. Mockingbirds are much more common in southern Utah. Just as I reached a hairpin turn on the gravel road which rose into the sunlight I heard and spotted a couple of  singing male Black-throated Sparrows. This area of Utah County is also one of the few places in Northern Utah for reliably seeing these handsome sparrows. The soft morning light shone on the these birds as they sang from their respective sagebrush and juniper perches.

Black-throated Sparrow at Sunrise Along Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Black-throated Sparrow at Sunrise Along Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

The hills were coming alive with singing birds with the sun shining on most areas of the pass--Northern Mockingbirds, Spotted Towhees, Lark Sparrows, House Finches, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and more.  I stopped my truck at one point to try to identify a song that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. My brain was processing at a very slow speed, but it eventually came to me. It was the song of a Gray Vireo--the song I had listened to a few times on my phone's bird recordings earlier in the morning. I retrieved my phone, searched for Gray Vireo and then played their song. It was a perfect match. I pulled up the binoculars and located the bird singing from a hillside. I exited the truck, followed the song as I hiked up the hillside, and found a small open space between juniper branches to frame my first Gray Vireo image of the day.

Gray Vireo Through Juniper Bush Along Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

After sneaking a few images of the bird from my juniper hiding place I decided to move closer to obtain the image below. The Gray Vireo is a rather plain looking bird, but it was fun to hear them sing and watch them move about their habitat.

Gray Vireo on Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Below are images of the very first Gray Vireo I ever saw. It came to investigate me as I was attempting to photograph birds from behind some brush  in southern Utah a couple of year ago. At the time I thought it was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. My friend Eric Huish pointed out that it was a Gray Vireo when he saw the images after returning from my trip.

My First Gray Vireo South of Enterprise, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

The image below shows that the tip of the upper mandible actually crosses over and down slightly to the side of the lower mandible. I don't know if that is typical or not.

My First Gray Vireo South of Enterprise, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

When my friend Eric first reported hearing a Gray Vireo on Soldiers Pass a couple of weeks ago he said it was hard to hear the birds singing because a Cicada emergence was taking place and there were ten or so Cicadas calling from every sagebrush and juniper (thousands) in the area. The emergence had passed before I arrived this past Saturday, but I did here Cicadas clicking their wings from nearly every juniper bush. When I stood still and listened to these Cicadas clicking their wings it sounded like someone had just poured milk over a very large bowl of Rice Crispy cereal. The whole area around me was making that familiar soft popping sound. While I've had my share of Rice Crispy treats over the years, I haven't eaten a bowl of Rice Crispy cereal for a very long time so the sound took me back a few years, almost to childhood.

Cicada on Juniper on Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

This Lark Sparrow was perched near the Cicada I photographed above. The sparrow took flight just as I was getting focused on it in its perch. I wasn't quite ready for an action shot.

Lark Sparrow Taking Flight From Juniper on Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Shortly after leaving the Cicada and Lark Sparrow I saw a couple of Loggerhead Shrikes. I didn't get any photos of those birds, but here a couple of images of one seen previously on Antelope Island in Davis County, Utah. These predatory songbirds will prey upon insects and small rodents, as seen in the first image below. I watched the bird below drop from the thistle perch and take the small vole from the grass below. Shrikes will often impale their prey on  sharp thorns, barbed wire, or some other sharp object for later consumption.

Loggerhead Shrike With Vole on Antelope Island in Davis County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Doesn't the look below seem to say, "Don't mess with me!"?

Loggerhead Shrike on Antelope Island in Davis County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Back to Saturday's images from Soldiers Pass. Another birding friend of mine, Martha, coincidentally birded the same location Saturday, but she arrived about an hour behind me. I met her coming up the pass as I was heading down. Together we chased the call of a Common Nighthawk. We hiked up a hillside from which we also heard two Gray Vireos singing. One Common Nighthawk flew over our heads as we stood near the top of one of the hills. We enjoyed watching the bird do its flight display. It would circle higher and higher while giving its insect-like "beeerrz" call and then take a steep dive and give its soft "boom", more like a humming "oooovvv" sound at the bottom of its dive. The bird came close at one point, but flew between me and the sun as it did so. Looking into the sun kind of blinds a photographer so I missed that shot. I did manage the image below as the bird flew high overhead. I increased exposure compensation in the field knowing the bird was back lit. That helped, but I also had to crop the image quite a bit to show the detail that is seen below.

Common Nighthawk Flying High Above Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

These birds are generally crepuscular, active mostly during dusk and dawn hours, as they hunt flying insects. They nest on the ground in gravel or on gravel rooftops. The flight display of this bird may have been to attract a mate or claim territory near an existing nest.

I want to share a better view of these summer visitors to Utah so here is a photo of the first Common Nighthawk I ever saw and then some taken while watching nighthawks feed on flying insects over an agricultural area near Lakeshore, Utah.

Common Nighthawk Roosting on River Lane in Palmyra, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Common Nighthawk Hunting Flying Insects Over Agricultural Fields Near Lakeshore, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Common Nighthawk Hunting Flying Insects Over Agricultural Fields Near Lakeshore, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

A pleasant surprise for both Martha and me was discovering two Juniper Titmice that were first heard then seen as they flew into some junipers and foraged for insects. They were probably a breeding pair considering time of year and location.

Juniper Titmouse on Juniper Along Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

I saw my very first Juniper Titmouse a couple of years ago as I was beginning to hike into Yellow Fork Canyon in Salt Lake County. The image below is of that first titmouse. It was carrying food in its bill. That is a sign that it was taking food to a nest or recently fledged birds. Otherwise it would have wasted no time swallowing the bug.

Juniper Titmouse Carrying Food to Nest Site in Yellow Fork Canyon Salt Lake County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Martha told me earlier that she was going to drive over the summit of Soldiers Pass Road and down into Cedar Valley to meet her husband George, who is a pilot, at the small airport in Cedar Valley. While we were visiting after observing another Gray Vireo together Martha's attention was drawn to the sound of an airplane coming toward our location. It was her husband George!

Somehow, despite the sound of roaring propellers during George's flyover, I heard the chatter of a pair of Bushtits coming from behind us. Martha and I both got a quick glimpse of the Bushtits before they disappeared into some cover. I managed one quick shot from a distance of one Bushtit as it very briefly popped up and perched on a juniper.

Bushtit on Soldiers Pass Road in Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Here's a closer image of a Bushtit I captured in my in-laws' backyard in Cypress, California last summer. They are very busy and nomadic, rarely being seen in the same area except during nesting season when the eggs and babies require constant attention.

Bushtit in Cypress, CA (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

Martha and I eventually said goodbye and headed our separate ways.  Just as I reached the bottom of Soldier Pass and headed back to SR 68 I saw some Lark Sparrows. I noticed one sparrow was holding food in its bill and suspected it was taking the food to a nest. The bird flew down low into a sagebrush. As I approached the sagebrush I noticed there was a nest with three little babies. I hope you can see the dried-grass nest and get a sense of how well it was hidden inside a sagebrush.

Dried-grass Nest of Lark Sparrows in Sagebrush on Soldiers Pass Road Utah County, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)

I'll finish with an image of a Lark Sparrow I captured a few weeks ago on my way home from work. It represents the most frequently seen bird during my drive up and down Soldiers Pass this past weekend.

Lark Sparrow Lehi, UT (Photo by Jeff Cooper)