Common Nighthawk!

Christ....I've been shooting a lot the last few days..need a rest! Going through post-processing hell! Anyway, here is a highlight from last week. I never thought I'd get any shots of a Common Nighthawk during good daylight hours. Not the greatest shots, but I was happy to get them. Related to Whippoorwills, these mostly nocturnal birds have very small bills but they open to a VERY large mouth! This bird was found at Higbee Beach in Cape May. I was just about to leave after fairly unsuccessful shooting and someone told me about it. I don't know how anyone ever found it. Talk about camouflage! Anyway, the shots were from a good distance away, slapped on the 1.4 TC and cropped these.

Nice captures. Thanks for sharing.

The bill does look small but what interests me Bob, is that is looks totally camouflaged on the tree trunk. And in the last shot blends in well.
Nice colours to these shots and light looks good also, nice ones, well done.

Thanks! Anthony: I wish you could have seen it through a spotting scope. These pictures in no way do it justice. The feather detail was outrageous, very intricate. And yes, it did seem to blend in completely with the bark!

Those are very nice, sharp photos - well done!
You did well to spot those birds on the branches - talk about being camouflaged. Great job!

Elfie

First I've seen on the forum, very, very difficult to spot. Excellent shots.

Excellent shots. Good work as always Bob.

Awesome shots. I have never seen this bird before , thanks for sharing your find.

great shot I've never seen one not on the wing. We'll be leaving for Cape May and Higbee beach in two weeks.
Sam

How neat! I NEVER would have seen that bird, the camo is amazing. Great pictures.

Thanks for the comments everyone! To really experience how awesome these birds are you must see/hear their courtship display (over open areas, pre-dusk). As they are rapidly descending from high above, the male will spread his wings to stop him and it makes a tremendous BOOM sound that you would never believe came from a bird! Eerie sound, especially in a desolate area. Then the darker it gets, the closer they come in to feed on insects. I've had them fly right over my head. Truly magnificent.

sam walker wrote in post #2042090
great shot I've never seen one not on the wing. We'll be leaving for Cape May and Higbee beach in two weeks.
Sam

Hey Sam, hope you have a great time in Cape May. You'll be arriving at a great migration time. Hawk-watching will be at its prime!

Wow, the camoflauge is amazing! I'm sure i would miss it even if it's few feet away from me.
Nice job capturing this interesting bird.