John Turner's post prompted me to offer up the results of my own nighthawk watch, in afield in Heckscher Park's northwest section this past Monday evening (8/31).From 7PM-8PM I saw at least 15 nighthawks (8 visible at one time) moving in a generally southeast-northwest direction, some passing right overhead, others over the treeline at the south end of the field or beyond. Some backtracking and milling about by the birds renders my estimate of 15 birds a very conservative one - there could have easily been 25 or more. Over the last 14 years I've found Heckecher to be a very reliable location to observe migrating nighthawks. During late August and early September, if you start watching around dusk on a day with mostly clear skies and a light northerly wind, seeing at least 5-10 birds is an almost sure thing. - John Gluth
-- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES Temporary archive: http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
