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June 24, 1962 - Nighthawk Focus Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh, Cutchogue The Nighthawk Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven I am sure we have all heard the word, Nighthawk, in one sense or another, but not too many of .us have had this oppor- tunity that Judd Bennett has as he reports to us today. From his past two, articles, he needs no further introduction. PS. NIGHTHAWK By Judd Bennett While on a field trip this Spring I had the luck of finding a sleep- ing . Nighthawk. Ordinarily one does not see this bird at rest. And it is a day to remember when the luck holds to include a short flight and a landing in a well - lighted open spot. The startling first burst of a fleeing bird is slightly unsettl- ing at best, and one usually sees little, seldom more than just enough, to say softly the name, before there comes the mild dis- appointment.. Nothing like this happened. I had a chance to fully recover and to calm down — to become a bit spellbound. After the first rush and flutter this male Nighthawk rose slowly, lifted himself in a soft - winged takeoff, to a low sunlit oak limb. He settled down quickly became calm and, appeared sleepy. It is not uncommon for them to rest in the cover of grassy pastures where they re- main quiet and safely hidden par- tially due to the similarity of grass and leaf golors to their grayish, brown - flecked and patterned feathers. Unless one approaches heavy - footed and gets very close there is no rush- flight. There is a chance you will not see them. It is just as difficult to pick them out anywhere for they blend in nicely when motionless and in a low very pigeon-like squat always, characteristically, sitting lengthwise. They are not a perching bird. For A Closer Look Y I thought this particular bird was in a migration pause be- cause he seemed extremplu * ;-^I light as did the white throat band, before he crouched down, slightly above the throat bristles of the whiskers, brush - like about the mouth, became clearly visible. An eye every now and then blinked open and shut. I held myself at 20 feet and for a - quarter - hour observed through good ten - power glasses. I enjoy- ed that rare moment of the bird- er's life. Nighthawks have one very de- finite identifying mark and that is the white wing - patch. You need see nothing else. There are some other special points one should note — the wings, at rest, are longer than the tail — the throat - patch, white in the male, tin ­d indefinite in the feamle. It is an allover dark- ish gray bird somewhat speedy looking — long winged and big - mouthed. Endless Flight We rarely see the Nighthawk except in flight. He is in flight endlessly over the tree tops, and 'the open and grassed -'.over pas- tures and the "brush" filled fields. He is not hard l6 -End. At anytime during mid - 'summer, heated and muggy days, he is generally about • somewhere. Evening would lie' the best time 'to search him out. When you have named a "bird find" it is a, little more fun to reflect upon the tag given it. In this case;_ the words Night and Hawk both have an enlivened 'ring — a little touch of stirring mystery comes forth; beyond its being a fairly good name. But, hawk he, is no(. He is- a Goat - sucker. That.)ast is a ringer too. The, Nighthawk is' a Goatsucker as. is the ,related Whip - poor -will apd the Chu(k- will's -widow (just . an oddly narn6d bird more often seen in bhq.Sguth). All of this family are closely related in size and strongly resemble one an- other in habit and - coloratiori. The exception to note carefully is clean cut. We most often see the Nighthawk and seldom hear him -- in reverse — we most often hear •th' Vhip- poor -will and seldom see 4. They are not one and the sarhe bird though the ,careless often "think so. Outsized Mouth One of the_'pleasing and stim- ulating sights of the bewitching hours of sundown is the sailing out on forage of the Nighthawks out over the heat - deadened greens of the open capturing bugs by the thousands from swarms stimulated to well up. ward into the cooled air. Night- hawks literally careen through this vast sea of insects with their mouths fully opened and they easily fill their gullets to the hilt. For birds they have a tre- mendous, notable, mouth which is widely flared Ad is edged by billslits which cut way back in a deep cheek - slash. When the outsized mouth is opened the fore part of the head seems gone. The huge opening is remarkable. and terribly efficient: They fly right smack into the insects and with little effort scoop up all in the path of flight. These flight -hunts are thought of.as a "hawking ". The mouth is . never closed when the chase is on. Quite a wonderful experience would be the chance to watch a brooding female use this excep- tional jaw opening along with a hiss hopefully mimicking a rep- tile in the frightening off of small intruders. She sounds like a defiant cat and feints in bold rushes and forward sallies care- ful always-to appear little more than a pink - mouthed dangerous snake. She must be a fearsome sight to- a timid creature. Nest in the Open For their nests, often defended in this way, the Nighthawks seek out bare stony flattened earth, rocky and gravelly, coarse cov- ered barrens completely in the open. Somehow they survive the broiling they must be exposed to when the scorching days of sum- mer burn on. Two eggs are laid and these are handsomely creamy white but sometimes tint- ed a pale olive gray and wholly spotted with browns. The eggs ,resemble the stones and gravel and the nesting mother appears, for all the world, as just a few dead and tossed leaves, without any movement as they instinc- tively remain frozen in place. They rely on the chance that your path will not cross their little domain. Visual Powers The Nighthawk, the Whip -poor- will and also the Chimney Swift' all have just .about the keenest and sharpest visual powers among all the birds — actually seeing the bugs they chase after when only a waning baleful moon feebly lights the night. They can operate just as well in the shim - mering.stark glare of the noon day sun. Nearly everyone interested in the life of our birds has also an eagerness to sort them out and apply a mild comparison. 'In this instance, when we single out the Nighthawk, they do stand out obviously for a markdown of quite wonderful. This is very close to being correct and desir- able They could be admired alone for their vast migrations, for their spring wanderings which reach the extremes of the cold distant Arctic Ocean areas and the opposite wintering area at the ends of far - down South America — also, for their equally notable flights, seemingly so tire- less, made in pursuit of tiny gnats and big fat moths -- often directly aiding man. Nighthawks are very beneficial We first see them each year about the middle of April and they are gone when - September feels like Odtober. Aerial Work There is a stunning aerial bit done by the courtship - stimulated male. He then, at times, wings upward - to considerable heights =-- not out of sight — turns for a down plunge, goes head first, with wings but partly folded in, spins out on fully opened wings near the ground level, then, in the swing -up produces a fair sized "boom" — easily heard at some distance away. You would, indeed, be lucky to see this dis- play. As they are a most common summer resident on Long Island they should be looked for during the remaining moments of a day's end when, in most instan- ces, little else but the Mosquit- oes are buzzing with activity. Many of us find delight in names, as I've shown I do, and a few moments of reflection in- *eludes the "how; why, and when" — and, sometimes who. Who gave us the names, those tags we love? and are often stuck with. There are some real dand- ies for the little efficient Night- hawk. The common one using Night (wonderful worst) and Hawk .(splendid too) seems fine. Now, how about,.— Burnt Land Bird — Chimney Bat (could be confused with Chimney Swift) -- Mosquito Hawk — and, my good- ness! Pork and Beans. I will be fair and tell of the last - it comes from the calls which apparently, to some of our ancestors, wholly without a- pinch of poetry in their souls, seemed ever so plain- ly and undeniably the simple good words of Pork and Beans,' And that is a high level for the unadorned -- no nonsense tag. Any Old New Englander would cheer and probably insist. Goat - sucker has been dropped and is now remembered as a family name only. It was not a shining choice either. The main thought In all this is simple — to have you know a bit more about a bird you should ads iiire rl