Bringing back the nighthawks

COURTESY PHOTO
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Longtime residents of the Connecticut River Valley may remember the foraging flights of common nighthawks over our towns and villages. Sadly, few if any common nighthawks are seen routinely anymore on summer evenings. The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas conducted in 2003 to 2007 found a 91-percent loss from the 1976-1981 atlas. One of the reasons for the decline in breeding birds was “Loss of preferred nesting areas, especially gravel on flat-roofed buildings”.

Despite this grim news, all is not lost. Common nighthawks may be seen as they migrate south through the Connecticut River Valley in August and September. What can we do to bring the common nighthawks back to the Connecticut River Valley as breeding birds? Come and hear New Hampshire Audubon’s Becky Suomala on Oct. 26 to find out. The presentation is at the Unitarian Universalist church in Springfield, Vermont at 7 p.m.

Nighthawks are declining throughout their range and biologists do not know why. The dawn and dusk “peent” call of these birds was once a familiar sound in cities and towns throughout New Hampshire, where they nested on flat, pea stone gravel roofs and fed on insects attracted to city lights. New Hampshire Audubon initiated Project Nighthawk in 2007 to investigate the potential for restoring nesting nighthawks by placing simple gravel “nest patches” on flat rooftops. Find out what we’ve learned about patches and nesting nighthawks and see photos of nests and chicks. Becky Suomala is a biologist with NH Audubon and the coordinator of Project Nightawk.