Jim Gilbert's Journal 
          Originally published in the Star Tribune on September 3, 1999

September 3, 1999

     Nighthawk Migration

The common nighthawk migration is on. In afternoons and early evenings, flocks of these blue-jay-size, dark-colored birds with long, pointed, white-patched wings can be seen gliding, diving and circling -- feeding on insects in the air and heading south. Having been summer residents throughout Minnesota, the common nighthawks are on their way to winter in South America. During fall migration, up to 1,000 common nighthawks are seen in a flock.

The common nighthawk is a wide-ranging aerial forager found regularly over many habitat types, including prairie cropland, woodlands, wetlands, and residential and business districts of towns and cities. In cities, they nest on flat rooftops. They have tiny bills but wide, gaping mouths. The birds sweep up in their large mouths all types of insects, from large moths and beetles to the tiniest of flies and mosquitoes.