I never saw an answer to Scott Downes' question of what might attract nighthawks to the city,
outside of Jane Westervelt's observation that they like ballparks for feeding.

I think the best answer is that they aren't nest builders, and they like to lay their eggs on gravel rooftops.
We once had a pair nesting on the gravel rooftop of a school I taught at.

Back to Jane's observation: my first memories of nighthawks were from the minor league ballpark in
Elmira, NY, and I had at least 17 in the air at one time in Fenway Park at the end of last August.
They were wheeling in and out of the lights in the darkness, so there were probably several more in the
immediate vicinity that I simply couldn't see.

Jim McCoy
Redmond, WA
jfmccoy at earthlink.net

----------
From: S. Downes[SMTP:sdownes at u.washington.edu]
Reply To: sdownes at u.washington.edu
Sent: Monday, July 06, 1998 9:34 AM
To: tweeters
Subject: Common Nighthawk in City

Tweets,
On Saturday evening I watched a Common Nighthawk flyby the Northern End of
Lk. Union at about 9:30 Pm. Since I have never seen a Nighthawk in the
City during the summer (did once see one in September of 1996) my question
is have other people seen Nighthawks in Cities areas (doesn't have to be
Seattle), and any speculations on what might have attracted them to the
city. Do to the recent discussions and the caution at the word Tit I
probably better not bring up the word GOATSUCKER for fear of getting my
mouth washed out with soap ;).
I will be on Lopez Island for the next 9+ days perhaps I can have some
interesting sightings to report back when I return.

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA