I've always been impressed and puzzled by the remarkable number of nighthawks recorded in early fall year from the Setauket Mill Pond area. Nowhere else on Long Island has numbers anywhere close to this. In fact, single-digit counts are the norm elsewhere except perhaps a few spots that are also close to the north shore of the island. I'm curious to know what aspect of the geography might explain this disparity? I would have guessed that south-bound migrants are reluctant to cross the full width of the Sound and perhaps make shorter jumps via Fisher's and Plumb Islands, mirroring the preference of several hawk species. However, that would predict large counts on the North Fork, which I'm unaware of. Alternatively is there something about the ponds and woodland of Setauket that is uniquely attractive to migrating Nighthawks? If the attraction is good rooting and feeding prospects, is there evidence that the birds counted on a particular evening remain in the area a night or two, or do they inevitably move on? Finally, is there any evidence of significant numbers on other north-facing extensions into Long Island Sound such a Eaton's Neck or Caumsett?
Angus Wilson New York City On Sat, Aug 29, 2020 at 8:42 AM TURNER <redk...@optonline.net> wrote: > We had a banner evening with 351 nighthawks passing by the watch, making > it the 2nd highest daily total we've ever recorded. We had a kettle of > about 130 birds circling above us at one point. Many swallows and swifts > and even some laughing gulls were feeding on the insect swarms above us. > > John Turner > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
