The last several evenings, as we sat out on our deck in Silverdale, Nighthawks
have been putting on quite a show. And quite a vocal one at that. In addition to
the "Jeeee", there have been frequent, and loud, "Booms" at the bottom of
plummeting stoops, a real thrill to see and hear.

I was impressed, like never before, with the speed of a Nighthawk. I think in
the past my brain has associated the birds' size/motion with swallows, and thus
under-reported the real speed. Nighthawks are ~fast!~ In straight and level
flight, when they set their minds to it, they move faster (I think) than any
bird I've observed. And in a stoop, I ~know~ they are faster -- like a falling
stone. Since the Nighthawk has no purpose in its stoop, other than to impress
and make a big noise at the bottom, it seems to not put as much stuff in the
slipstream as a Peregrine does to control its direction to a target. I have
never gotten such an impression of an unfettered, stone-like, drop with a
falcon, but the NH just looks like 32 ft/sec^2.

Are there any studies with accurate speed measurements of Nighthawks?

When I was a youngster, in Wenatchee, I saw Nighthawks all the time, but never
heard the "Boom." I don't know if I simply didn't associate the sound with the
birds or if they just don't do it that often.

At Johnson Marsh, east Fort Lewis, it was a pleasure to see the highly
successful Purple Martin houses set out in the water. Many birds. And at the
same place, I was stunned to see many Cedar Waxwings flycatching. I've seen them
do it on occasion, but yesterday they were all over the marsh, demonstrating
remarkable skill and persistence - not to mention beautiful flashes of color.

Several days ago, I reported a Steller's Jay, being mobbed by Rufous
Hummingbirds, disappearing into the trees in our yard, and reappearing with
something light-colored in its bill, the hummers in hot pursuit. I speculated
about the possibility of it having grabbed a fledgling hummer, or an egg. What I
didn't report, because less than a day had elapsed, was that the adult male
hummer was never seen again at our feeders, one of which is about three feet
from my face at my office window. I wonder now if the hummer got too aggressive
in it's attack and was nabbed by the jay. Of course, it's also very close to
that time when the males head south, so I'll probably never know for sure.

This was a strange hummer year. The male arrived just about on time, but he
tended his kingdom alone for a long time, until a female arrived very late in
the Spring. At about the same time, two yearlings (I think) arrived, sharing the
resources. I have seen no apparent offspring. The only other possibility is that
the female arrived on time, but remained completely hidden, never coming to the
feeders, until the young were fledged - and what I think are yearlings are
actually juveniles/immatures. ??????

Jerry


E-mail from: Jerry Blinn, 17-Jul-1996