Common Nighthawk

Common Nighthawks belong to a family of birds that is called Goatsuckers. This family includes other birds such as Whip-Poor-Will and Chuck-Will's-Widow, both of which got their names from the phonetic sound of their songs. The term Goatsucker comes from a myth that these birds actually sucked milked from goats at night. In reality, the birds were eating insects that buzzed around goats, and other livestock, at night.

Last Sunday, one of the field trip guides spotted a Common Nighthawk resting on a branch. We stopped, looked, photographed, and generally "oohed" and "ahhed". When we resumed our trek, there was another one resting on a fence post a few yards down the road that gave us even better looks.