Caught a Nighthawk today!

Grim/Don

Grim/Don

Joined
Feb 1, 2003
Messages
1,221
I went to dump a trashcan at work today and noticed a bird on the concrete, behind the dumpster. I thought he looked like a funny pigeon for a second, but didn't think too much about it, as he hopped away from me. Just a bit later I went back out to pick up some loose trash I'd noticed. The bird was still there, so I went over by it... He looked baby-ish or hurt to me, so carefully I picked him up and took him inside. All the girls were crazy about him! :D

1/2 my coworkers thought he had a broken wing, the other half thought he was just young.

One of my coworkers has some friends who had just released a rehabilitated hawk just last week, but he couldn't get in touch with them, so he took the bird to the Lakeside Nature Center here in Kansas City: http://www.lakesidenaturecenter.org/

Absolutely beautiful animal, I felt blessed to have had such a close encounter, and I'm overjoyed that he's going someplace where he's got a chance at sticking around. We talked about how, if he was sitting in a tree, he'd be invisible.


We did some internet searching and found out that he's a Nighthawk.

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Here in Texas we call those Bull Bats. When you are around a stock tank at sunset you will see them come out and catch insects. Really a neat looking bird when they are flying. Very acrobatic.
 
Beautiful bird. You did a really good thing. Way to go, Grim/Don! Thanks for sharing, too. I have seen the birds, but have never had the opportunity to see one close up, let alone a young one. Very cool.
 
I've seen a migrating flock at dusk. Those white patches on the wings reminded us of a flight of Japanese Zeros ! Very interesting birds. Birds are starting to migrate now keep your eyes to the sky !
 
Update: Talked with my coworker today. He said that the nature sanctuary was impressed with the bird and were going to run tests and do x-rays to make sure everything was okay with him. He filled out an info card with our work address, so we'll get a postcard if/when they release him or he doesn't make it.
 
Cool, keep us updated. Was it as calm as it looks in the pics? If so I'm surprised, the only time I ever caught a bird, it was a little sparrow to get it out of a house we were working on, and it freeked out, and struggled the whole time. I hope the little guy makes it, he's a cool looking bird.
 
Neat pictures, great job getting in contact with the right people and taking care of it:thumbup:. Let us know how it turns out.
 
We have some perigrine falcons nesting in boxes arrange on skyscrapers in the downtown area. They eat pigeons, which makes me like them all the more :) Nothing like seeing one in a dive take out a pigeon in mid air MUHAHAHAHA! They like starlings too, so they get a :thumbup::thumbup: from me!

See http://www.frg.org/ for photos
 
DaleW said:
We have some perigrine falcons nesting in boxes arrange on skyscrapers in the downtown area. They eat pigeons, which makes me like them all the more :) Nothing like seeing one in a dive take out a pigeon in mid air MUHAHAHAHA! They like starlings too, so they get a :thumbup::thumbup: from me!

See http://www.frg.org/ for photos
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I know, that is so cool, peregrine's are one of mine favorite animals, when they dive I think they reach the speed of almost 180 mph/hour.

I love how the nighthawk has red eyes, they look smexy.
 
There was a NG program about the peregrine and they set up an experiment- and clocked it at just over 200 mph !!! Incredible was the pull up from the dive the G forces must have been very high .All the bridges on the Hudson River support a pair of peregines. No pigeons on those bridges ! This is actually good for more than one reason .The three major causes of corrosion on bridges are water, salt, and pigeon poop ! Kill a pigeon and save a bridge.
 
stingray4540 said:
Cool, keep us updated. Was it as calm as it looks in the pics? If so I'm surprised, the only time I ever caught a bird, it was a little sparrow to get it out of a house we were working on, and it freeked out, and struggled the whole time. I hope the little guy makes it, he's a cool looking bird.
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No, he didn't like being held. Every now and then he'd chirp and his mouth was about the size of a silver dollar! As soon as he had a chance, he'd be out of our hands, so we set up a box to hold him until quitting time.

If/when I ever hear, I'll dig up this thread again. My buddy said that he took a snake to the nature center and it took them months to give him an update.
 
Good looking out. Most people just walk on by. It's great having a place nearby to take them.

I had an encounter with a stray last night myself, about 1:30 in the morning. I was on my way home from a walk and saw a fluffy tail a few feet away from me. It ducked behind an airconditioner and came out the other side to look back. It was a skunk.

I didn't take it home to worry over, though.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Good looking out. Most people just walk on by. It's great having a place nearby to take them.

I had an encounter with a stray last night myself, about 1:30 in the morning. I was on my way home from a walk and saw a fluffy tail a few feet away from me. It ducked behind an airconditioner and came out the other side to look back. It was a skunk.

I didn't take it home to worry over, though.
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New Jersey state bird, eh? [Dale ducks the wrath of Esav]

My father had a fellow volunteer fireman who thought it would be a bright idea to let a skunk have it with an air rifle. He missed and got nailed by the skunk point blank. It can be a breath-taking experience and he went down like a ton of bricks. His wife called the fire department, so all his buddies showed up to render aid. They still call him "Stinky" Petersen :)
 
I always liked nighthawks. They eat lots of pesky bugs. I used to watch them at dusk at my parents house. Their make a really impressive noise when they dive.
 
New Jersey state symbols: da state boid is da Eastern Goldfinch.
We have no state song but we do have a state dinosaur.
Who comes up with this ... stuff? :rolleyes:

But yes, the skunk is a fitting reminder of the bad old days when we used to drive through The Garden State, better known as The Garbage State, on the way to Pennsylvania. Burning garbage dumps alongside the highway. Charming.

Truly a fitting reminder in that we have no such garbage dumps around here, and Brother Skunk didn't bother, um, announcing his presence last night, either.

Don't worry. I am not sensitive about jokes like that, being a New Yorker at heart, anyway. Although I get along with skunks pretty well, it's rats I really like. :)

After hours,
close the store,
kill the lights,
lock the door.

The walls and floors all come alive
as mice and rats and roaches thrive,
hunting for a midnight snack,
knowing no one's coming back.

Running over shelf and table,
as only tiny feet are able,
sink and counter marked with tracks
as they leap from bakery racks.

In the morning, not a trace
of vermin all around the place.
 
i thought this thread was gonna be about a buck knife. i'm not disappointed, pleasantly surprised. nice pics, good lookin bird, and good work.
 
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