Nighthawks!

[Mary M White / Charles R Neil]

From about 5:30 to 6:30 or so last evening (8-31-25) we had a steady stream ofnighthawks flying over and around our yard and garden spaces here in Embarrass. They came in loose groups of up to 8 individuals doing their typical zig-zagging flights in pursuit of flying insects that we usually see during warm and humid evenings with little wind while they migrate in late August. With binos, I also noticed several dragonflies in the mix doing their own zig-zagging in pursuit of insects. Makes me wonder if some dragonfly predators became the prey of some nighthawks. 

The forecast for this evening (Sept 1) is much the same: warm, humid and only light wind, so maybe we'll get lucky and can see them again. 

Chuck Neil, Embarrass

[Andrew David]

Same here over by Warba!  We were treated to a much smaller grouping - only 2 but they were flying very low over our garden ~50 feet or so.  I've never seen them that close up before.  Hopefully we will see some again tonight.  

Andy David

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Andy David
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[Michael Joyce]

The nighthawk migration is one of my favorite things to observe in Duluth as we transition from summer to fall. I had the good fortune of biking amongst about a hundred foraging nighthawks along the north shore last Tuesday evening (Brighton Beach and up shore a few miles; I had a good number of flying insects hit my face just before I saw them foraging pretty low to the ground). My family lives in the eastern hillside area of Duluth, and last Wednesday we saw quite a few foraging and moving overhead -- my kids enjoy watching them change direction to capture insects while flying overhead. 

Michael