October 6 concluded our 10th year tallying migrating Common Nighthawks at the Stone Bridge Common Nighthawk Watch in Setauket.
Over the 41-day period, August 27 - October 6, from 5:30 p.m. to dusk, we counted 1,564 birds, and logged 4173 hours at the bridge for a 0.38 birds-per-minute total. This year's count surpassed each of our last 3 years, but fell far short of our high in 2019 of 2757. Totals over the last ten years were: 2017: 2046 2018: 2018 (a coincidence) 2019: 2757 2020: 2245 2021: 1819 2022: 1625 2023: 1022 2024: 669 2025: 912 2026: 1564 In addition, to catch early migrators, we conducted a Supplemental Count from August 14 - 26. This count is separate, and will not be included in our regular watch totals. The Supplemental count total over the 13-day period was 234. Hours logged were 1880 for 0.12 birds per minute. Highlights included low-flying birds feeding at dusk, including one we named Tail-less. This nighthawk’s tail appeared to be torn off, likely a raptor attack. Tail-less delighted us every evening from September 7 through the 17th. This is the first time we have been able to document a nighthawk remaining in the area, and returning to feed on subsequent evenings, before migrating on. We would like to thank everyone who assisted at the Bridge this year, counters and observers alike. Their spotting and counting skills were greatly appreciated! And many thanks to Frank Melville Memorial Park for use of your stone bridge. Hope you will all join us next year! Patrice Domeischel and John Turner Stone Bridge Common Nighthawk Watch Four Harbors Audubon Society -- NYSbirds-L List Info: More information about this list here: http://www.northeastbirding.com Login to change your subscription settings here: http://LISTS.cornell.edu Posting Address: [email protected] Archives: The Mail Archive: https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html Sightings: Please submit your observations to eBird at http://www.ebird.org --
