I received a call one summer evening from a new resident in Wabasha, Minnesota, and she had a strange noise like a Darth Vader sound coming around her house and what could it be she asked. I walked down to her house and listened for the sound and when we heard it, I told her it was a nighthawk! A nighthawk used to nest on top of the roof of a newer addition to the Wabasha County Courthouse, and I told her that if she climbed the stairs up to the top floor and stopped on the landing and looked down out the window she might be able to see the nighthawk or the eggs.
Your story cracked me up, Nancy! I love that booming nighthawk sound and it's amazing how many people notice it but are utterly baffled by it. I'm glad you were able to enlighten the new resident! And how great that nighthawks were nesting on the courthouse. It's sad that we don't have as many gravel roofs available for nighthawks these days. Thank you so much for subscribing to Words for Birds! And I'm guessing that you attended the Environment for the Americas bird book club event tonight, so thank you for joining that event, too!
Too many decades ago I spent a wonderful summer camping with a couple of friends up a hidden gulch off Boulder Creek Canyon, just outside Boulder. (We had the permission of the land owner, Ernie Betasso, who on occasional Sundays would ride down on his horse followed by his Blue Heeler to share campfire coffee and pancakes with us. Like the old times, he would say.) Toward the end of the summer, at dusk, I started hearing a strange, intermittent noise, like some wild animal woofing. Maybe a bear, I thought. It would happen every evening. No one else knew what it was, so with trepidation, one early evening I climbed out of the gulch to the ridge overlooking our hidden campsite and sat silently, hoping to find the source of the continuing noise. No critter was apparent, but there were some birds circling around and diving down into the canyon below me for amusement as I waited for the woofing critter to show himself. I had never seen birds like that before -- some kind of small hawk, with white bands on their wings. They were fascinating. Suddenly it dawned on me that the woofing noise was coming from those birds, as they pulled out of their precipitous dives. Nighthawks, I later learned, and that evening vigil on the lonely ridge became a daily ritual for me, watching the nighthawks play until that magical summer came to an end.
I loved your story! Thanks for taking time to share it. You brought your experience to life for me with your wonderful recounting of those magical summer nights watching nighthawks. What a brave and transformative discovery you made, perched alone on that ridgetop that first night. It's such an incredible and unforgettable sound. Standing quietly at day's end and listening to the peents and booms of nighthawks has become one of my favorite pastimes. Thanks for giving me a feel for your magical summer. I hope nighthawks still fill your evenings!
Blush...why thank you! But my little brief moment alone on that ridge was nothing compared to your many years encountering the dangers in your everyday workplace -- the wild outdoors -- as described so eloquently in Feather Trails. The fight with the rattlesnake, facing down the cobra, and confronting your fears of the ubiquitous bears: "Closing my eyes, I tried hard not to think about wandering bears and to focus instead on the world as seen through the large, dark eyes of a Peregrine Falcon." And look what you accomplished. Like the Peregrine Falcons and my buddies the Nighthawks, you are a national treasure.
Now it's my turn to blush--and to beam from ear to ear! : ) Thank you so much for reading Feather Trails and for your incredibly generous words. I certainly don't feel like a very brave person, but the birds that I worked with always inspired me to put my fears and discomforts aside and do whatever I could to help them. How lucky we are to have nighthawks, peregrines, and other birds to help lift us up to be our best selves!
Thank you for another great read Sophie! Even as a child in Nebraska, I remember looking forward to hearing the nighthawks heralding summer with their deep-winged flights and peent calls. One of my most memorable nighthawk encounters was a few years back, camping at Toadstool Geological Park in Western Nebraska. The booming that night was particularly enthusiastic, as they swept earthbound and skyward above my camp site repeatedly. Magical! I felt as if I could reach out and touch them!
That sounds like the most magical sighting, Diane! And I love that you have a lifetime of appreciation for nighthawks! I SO enjoyed my nightjar surveys in Wyoming. There is really something special about being out with those birds at night. Thanks for taking time to comment and thanks for your kind words!
Such an incredibly fascinating family of birds! I used to hear whip-poor-wills in Vermont but haven’t heard one in forever. I remember my first encounter with Potoos in Central America…such cryptic coloration and amazing ability to camouflage themselves. Loved your article Soph!! Great writing as always and wonderful tips to help birds…and cool link to the nightjars.org website!
I don't remember ever hearing Whip-poor-wills in Vermont, and I didn't remember that they occurred so far north! I DO remember my first Potoo. Incredible! And I JUST learned that the International Ornithological Conference took them out of the nightjar order (Caprimulgiformes) in 2021 and reclassified them in a separate order (Nyctibiiformes), but their nocturnal habits and cryptic plumage remain! So glad you enjoyed the article and tips!
I received a call one summer evening from a new resident in Wabasha, Minnesota, and she had a strange noise like a Darth Vader sound coming around her house and what could it be she asked. I walked down to her house and listened for the sound and when we heard it, I told her it was a nighthawk! A nighthawk used to nest on top of the roof of a newer addition to the Wabasha County Courthouse, and I told her that if she climbed the stairs up to the top floor and stopped on the landing and looked down out the window she might be able to see the nighthawk or the eggs.
Your story cracked me up, Nancy! I love that booming nighthawk sound and it's amazing how many people notice it but are utterly baffled by it. I'm glad you were able to enlighten the new resident! And how great that nighthawks were nesting on the courthouse. It's sad that we don't have as many gravel roofs available for nighthawks these days. Thank you so much for subscribing to Words for Birds! And I'm guessing that you attended the Environment for the Americas bird book club event tonight, so thank you for joining that event, too!
Too many decades ago I spent a wonderful summer camping with a couple of friends up a hidden gulch off Boulder Creek Canyon, just outside Boulder. (We had the permission of the land owner, Ernie Betasso, who on occasional Sundays would ride down on his horse followed by his Blue Heeler to share campfire coffee and pancakes with us. Like the old times, he would say.) Toward the end of the summer, at dusk, I started hearing a strange, intermittent noise, like some wild animal woofing. Maybe a bear, I thought. It would happen every evening. No one else knew what it was, so with trepidation, one early evening I climbed out of the gulch to the ridge overlooking our hidden campsite and sat silently, hoping to find the source of the continuing noise. No critter was apparent, but there were some birds circling around and diving down into the canyon below me for amusement as I waited for the woofing critter to show himself. I had never seen birds like that before -- some kind of small hawk, with white bands on their wings. They were fascinating. Suddenly it dawned on me that the woofing noise was coming from those birds, as they pulled out of their precipitous dives. Nighthawks, I later learned, and that evening vigil on the lonely ridge became a daily ritual for me, watching the nighthawks play until that magical summer came to an end.
I loved your story! Thanks for taking time to share it. You brought your experience to life for me with your wonderful recounting of those magical summer nights watching nighthawks. What a brave and transformative discovery you made, perched alone on that ridgetop that first night. It's such an incredible and unforgettable sound. Standing quietly at day's end and listening to the peents and booms of nighthawks has become one of my favorite pastimes. Thanks for giving me a feel for your magical summer. I hope nighthawks still fill your evenings!
Blush...why thank you! But my little brief moment alone on that ridge was nothing compared to your many years encountering the dangers in your everyday workplace -- the wild outdoors -- as described so eloquently in Feather Trails. The fight with the rattlesnake, facing down the cobra, and confronting your fears of the ubiquitous bears: "Closing my eyes, I tried hard not to think about wandering bears and to focus instead on the world as seen through the large, dark eyes of a Peregrine Falcon." And look what you accomplished. Like the Peregrine Falcons and my buddies the Nighthawks, you are a national treasure.
Now it's my turn to blush--and to beam from ear to ear! : ) Thank you so much for reading Feather Trails and for your incredibly generous words. I certainly don't feel like a very brave person, but the birds that I worked with always inspired me to put my fears and discomforts aside and do whatever I could to help them. How lucky we are to have nighthawks, peregrines, and other birds to help lift us up to be our best selves!
Thank you for another great read Sophie! Even as a child in Nebraska, I remember looking forward to hearing the nighthawks heralding summer with their deep-winged flights and peent calls. One of my most memorable nighthawk encounters was a few years back, camping at Toadstool Geological Park in Western Nebraska. The booming that night was particularly enthusiastic, as they swept earthbound and skyward above my camp site repeatedly. Magical! I felt as if I could reach out and touch them!
That sounds like the most magical sighting, Diane! And I love that you have a lifetime of appreciation for nighthawks! I SO enjoyed my nightjar surveys in Wyoming. There is really something special about being out with those birds at night. Thanks for taking time to comment and thanks for your kind words!
A lovely nighthawk has been gracing Snake Springs each evening!
That is such happy news! I love seeing and hearing nighthawks, and they need all the great foraging places they can get. Snake Springs is wonderful!
Love the sheriff story, too! Felt like being there with you.
I still smile every time I think of that Sheriff's follow-up phone call! So glad you enjoyed the story!
Your manner of spelling out bird calls really helps me conjure them.
I'm glad! Spelling out their calls/songs has helped me learn and remember them over the years, too.
Such an incredibly fascinating family of birds! I used to hear whip-poor-wills in Vermont but haven’t heard one in forever. I remember my first encounter with Potoos in Central America…such cryptic coloration and amazing ability to camouflage themselves. Loved your article Soph!! Great writing as always and wonderful tips to help birds…and cool link to the nightjars.org website!
I don't remember ever hearing Whip-poor-wills in Vermont, and I didn't remember that they occurred so far north! I DO remember my first Potoo. Incredible! And I JUST learned that the International Ornithological Conference took them out of the nightjar order (Caprimulgiformes) in 2021 and reclassified them in a separate order (Nyctibiiformes), but their nocturnal habits and cryptic plumage remain! So glad you enjoyed the article and tips!