Birds of Sunset Park: Do You Have Time Today to Hear About Nighthawks?

Sometimes when writing these columns, I feel like one of those proselytizers from fringe religious institutions who knock on your door, trying to share some revelatory tidbit that will make their faith irresistible to you. So, on that note, do you have time today to hear about Common Nighthawks?

As you are reading this, I will assume the answer is “yes” and dive in! The Common Nighthawk is one of three nightjar species found in the Northeast, and a delightfully peculiar bird that graces New York City during spring and fall migration. Nightjars are mottled, earth-toned birds that effortlessly camouflage themselves when day-roosting on the ground or on a tree branch. As a family, nightjars are nocturnal and/or crepuscular (which means they are active at dawn and dusk), flying around and hawking insects. The Latin name for the nightjar family is Caprimulgidae, which translates as “goatsuckers,” a name deriving from stories of Ancient Greek goatherds who, on seeing these birds flying around open-mouthed at sunset, believed they were trying to drink the milk of their flocks!

Despite their name, nighthawks are not birds of prey. Though compact and somewhat nondescript when roosting, in flight they do look a little hawk-like with their boldly barred white bellies and angular wings with racing stripes. Their flight style is swooping and dynamic, as they change direction on a dime.

The first Common Nighthawks I ever saw were actually a flock of 15 or so, flying over Green-Wood Cemetery in fall of 2021. The following year, I set myself the goal of seeing nighthawks at my local patch: Sunset Park. They are dependably seen there during migration, and on certain nights, especially in mid-September, when the winds are right, they show up in groups of five or more, wheeling around above the main lawn.

Nighthawks are tough to photograph well, as they are so active in flight. Still, they are much easier than the other two East Coast nightjars, the Eastern Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will's-widow, which do not forage in the twilight like nighthawks.

However, if you do want to get a really good photo of a Common Nighthawk (or a Whip or a Chuck), your best bet is to find one when it’s day-roosting on a vertical tree branch. Roosting nightjars will stay in their chosen spots until shortly before dusk, when they rouse themselves, take flight and depart for good. Much easier than finding a nightjar, though, is having someone else find it for you. Birders find roosting Whips or Chucks maybe a couple of times a year in New York City, which is just to say it’s not a common occurrence at all.

I have been the beneficiary of others finding roosting nightjars, but I have also been lucky enough to stumble across a couple myself, and both times they have been Common Nighthawks. The first was in Cypress Hills Cemetery in 2024, and the second was in Sunset Park this past September. For the latter, I was scanning the treetops for warblers when something that looked like a lump on a high branch caught my attention: a nightjar! I had to do my due diligence to ID it, to make sure I had a Common Nighthawk rather than one of the other two rarer nightjars. But I was delighted to be able to observe a nighthawk at leisure and allow other people in the local birding group chat to come see the bird, too.

If you would like to be baptized into the wonderful world of nighthawks, join the Sunset Park Birds WhatsApp group. I am now leading bird walks in the neighborhood again and will also organize a pop-up nighthawk watch sometime this month, on a night when the winds are good. I look forward to you joining me.