Nighthawk flights

[stickbender]

     I can relate to that Eddie, but what is worse, are those sneaky little screech owls, that tend to quicken my pace about two to three feet more than normal, in a milesecond, and chew a hole in my under wear, till I suddenly realize it is only a little owl.  The thing that gets me worse than pheasant is the darn ruffed grouse.  You can be looking at the exact spot, they landed, and go right up to that spot, not see them, till you "start"...... to take another step.  I remember as a kid, I was up in Wisconsin at my Aunt and Uncle's Dairy farm, and was with the dog, when we jumped a bunch of them, and I watched where they landed on the ground, after my sphincter muscles relaxed enough for me to walk, and grabbed a stick, all ready for grouse for supper, and went to where they landed, and with the dog, just knew it was cinch.  Scared the snot out of me a second time, and even surprised the farm dog!  Nope, no grouse supper that time.  Yeah, I always loved the summer evenings, and nights, listening to the Bull Bats, their roar, and buzzes. like J.W. said it wasn't summer without them,  and yep as a kid, I jumped a little as one would swoop, and pull up just a few feet above me as I was walking home, or over to a Friends house.  Fond memories.  Thanks for bringing back.

                                     Wayne

[JW_Halverson]

My senior year of high school, I am walking home across a field on the edge of town, guided by nothing but starlight-no moon.  A flock of grey partridge explodes up off the ground on all sides of me. 

I am fairly sure at that very moment that the very bowels of Hell had opened up and Satan and all his minions had come just for my poor little dirty soul.  Now don't be thinking that I was afraid of the dark, oh no.  Grey partridge do this to me in broad daylight too. 

[Zuma]

I hope I get to hear the bombing sound these neat birds make.
They are usually just passing by my location here in the Shenandoah Valley.
I really appreciate reading the info and memories you folks take the time to
post.
Zuma
The Ruffed Grouse and ringneck is a heart stopper until you use that commotion as a point and shoot prompt. It's still one down in ten or so for the grouse lol
I haven't seen a grouse in several years. Raptors, fox, coyote, bobcat and ferrel pets
have increased in numbers here.

[Marc St Louis]

I had the misfortune of killing one many years ago.  I was going out to do some Bear hunting at an abandoned farm several miles from me and one dove right in front of my truck, there was no way to avoid him.  He bounced off my windshield and was killed instantly.  I stopped and picked him up and brought him home.  There is nothing to them, all feathers.

[SLIMBOB]

We call them Bull Bats as well.  Plentiful here in the Texas Hill Country.

[4dog]

Slim we got em here in southcentral Texas as well...see em on the roads eating bugs when im snakin...but i havnt been able to do much of that lately.   

[Stringman]

I was puttin up some hay with my brother last week and turned around to see these guys come out of nowhere! Couldn't tell if they were eating the dragonflys or what the dragonflys were after. At one point the sky was just full of em! Pretty sight.

[JW_Halverson]

The first photo shows those white wrist marks on the wing. 

[DC]

Oh yeah! I remember thinking they looked like the wing marks on a Japanese Zero.

[stickbender]

     Or, like the markings on the tips of the Brittish Spit Fire, or Hawker Marine, can't remember which had them.

                                    Wayne

[Zuma]

Awesome photos Stringman. If you got 20 in the
shot there was probably 40 a nanosecond before.
That's what I'm talkin about.
Zuma
I am kinda bummed. I haven't seen another
since I posted the first photo.

[H Rhodes]

Cool pic Stringman.  I have a couple that eat grasshoppers and dragonflies when I am bushhogging.  I have been watching them all summer.  They really put on a show. They are as graceful in flight as any bird I have seen.

[Zuma]

There is actually an F-117 Nighthawk. Stealth ground attack.
Zuma

[Outbackbob48]

I have seen a few in late summer here in NW Penna, I was mowing grass the other day an saw a different bird working the sky an then dove into my neighbors pond, Ya starting to see a few Ospreys around these parts also.  Bob

[Marks]

Ive seen a lot more Ospreys around here on the TN river the past few years too. My wife and I were fishing the other day and heard a huge splash right behind us. I thought it was a big bass slamming some shad but we turned to see an Osprey pulling out a 2-3 lb fish and fly off. It was cool. We also have a lot more Eagles here than we used to. Big white Pelicans too in winter.