Voices: Common Nighthawk

Macaulay Library Curator Greg Budney shares a close encounter he had with a Common Nighthawk as it called and produced sizzling wing sounds just over his head.

Learn more about the Common Nighthawk on All About birds: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Nighthawk/id

Audio recordings by David S. Herr. Photographs by Doug Backlund. To explore more audio recordings visit the Macaulay Library: http://macaulaylibrary.org/index.do

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Common
• Nighthawk
• song
• call
• audio
• bird
• watching
• birding
• Cornell
• lab
• of
• ornithology
• recording
• natural
• sound
• audiophiles
• ambient
• oregon
• malheur
• display
• doug
• backlund
• greg
• budney
• wildlife
• nature

[k9nething]

Thank you so much for this! I live in northwestern Oregon and although I knew the nighthawks and their call I did not know that the "boom" was coming from them too. That sound has been driving me crazy for years not knowing what was making it. Where I live the sound is very loud because of the acoustical nature of the place- you wouldn't believe the ideas I came up with for the origin of the sound! Seems really silly not to have understood that it came from the nighthawks now! Thanks again!

[LabofOrnithology]

@k9nething @grammisan @giveandlive @conifergreen @cazortz Thank you all for the great comments. Am glad you enjoyed the video!

[Illiasc]

I first started hearing these and finding out what they were here in Washington last summer, it was beautiful! Ours tend to make a much longer, deeper pitched diving sound though. Truly neat to hear.

[Chiquita79ST]

Wonderful sound always hear it here in Washington;)

[dundeedell1960]

Thanks! Living in Nebraska, these birds are pretty common. Lovely birds, and their call always gives me a Spring/Summer feeling! Never have heard of the booming, but I recall that there were periods in June when they would swoop down towards the front lawn when certain insects were hatching. Quite the sight!!!:)

[AnneMcCormack]

I really appreciate this video. I wish I'd seen one within 3 feet of the ground! I embedded it in my blog post about nighthawks "GardeningwithBinoculars"

[CZ3RO1]

Living in Toronto I finally know what bird is making that call every night. Thanks!

[Deposetheboyking]

We hear these in our neighborhood in Southern Wisconsin on late summer evenings. I have always maintained they were nighthawks and people looked at me like I was nuts. Thanks for confirming what I heard, but for some reason don't see!

[yes350yes]

I had never seen these birds before but on 9-3 I saw them in the field across the street must have been 20 or more in the flock as they continued to soar across the field and this continued all late afternoon. Great video , thanks for sharing

[onallumette]

Watched a flock of 30+ Common Night Hawks last evening, as they flew along the shoreline of the Ottawa River, near Pembroke, Ontario. Lovely to see such large numbers, as I haven't seen them in several years!

[Octagonapus97]

WTF? I thought Nighthawks sounded more like a whip-poor-will, but more drawn out?

[trotsky962]

I grew up in Montreal listening to these birds as I waited to fall asleep, I haven't heard one for many years. Thanks for the lovely memory. I now live in the Laurentians in Quebec, where whippoorwills were once common. Also gone. Nostalgia trip

trotsky 962