This evening I was out scouting the sky over my Glencarlyn neighborhood in
Arlington from roughly 7:40-7:55 PM. I saw at least 5 Nighthawks flying high,
silhoutted dark against a bright evening sky. I also saw some Chimney Swifts,
including one unexpected group flight of about 20 that came through low flying
as though they were on a thru route, plus more of the usual circling small
groups. And just before I quit I spotted my first Bat -- I won't try to
speculate on the species.
Off-topic, we found ourselves in Zanesville, Ohio last Saturday night right off
Interstate 70. Around 9:15 PM, I looked up to see dozens of Nighthawks flying
about, many quite low I thought, often catching reflected lights from the
buildings (all low, no more than 3 stories) and signs around. I had never seen
so many so low, illuminated by lights from below. Hard to estimate, but perhaps
in the 50-60 plus range. When I checked again about an hour later, they were
still out but were feeding higher. Earlier I'd say many were flying at 80-100
feet. No vocalizing at all. Severe storms had passed through the area earlier
that evening, but things had calmed down and the sky was partly cloudy with
light breezy conditions and an air temperature around about 72F.
That sighting suggested to me that there are plenty of Nighthawks coming
through west of here. Cheers,
??? Steve Young
??? Glencarlyn, Arlington
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