48 Nighthawks - Franklin Falls

[Rob Woodward]

Today marks the last day of the peak of nighthawk migration.  Once again, an unfavorable NW wind blew.  I talked to Zeke recently and the count is down this season at both Franklin Falls and Concord.  This reminds me of last year's Broad-winged Hawk migration that left both Alton Bay and Pack  Monadnock high and dry with record low counts.  Meteorology is likely if not certainly the cause behind that event, certainly not a population decline.

Could the same be true for this year's nighthawk watches?  What weather event could be behind it?  It has "seemed" like there have been a lot of days with northerly winds.  So I reviewed the data for the last three years and found these results, showing number of days with northerly winds out of count days through August 31 here at Franklin Falls:

2023 - 5/10

2024 - 4/15

2025 - 10/17

Yes, there have been more days with northerly winds, a lot more.  There is still another week of counting left in the season but I don't foresee making up the shortfall.  In 2023 we counted over 600 on 3 September but most days in September are single or double digit counts.  Unless there is an exceptionally high count, this probably marks the last posting to this listserv for the year from Franklin Falls.

Rob Woodward

Laconia, NH