Purple Martins and Common Nighthawks


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Posted by Robin Diaz on 18:46:44 09/01/11

Not rare or particularly exciting species, but the migration behavior of these birds was fun to watch. At 6:15 PM a tight flock of ~30 Purple Martins circled low over Key Biscayne, quietly muttering. It seemed like they were leaderless and couldn't decide where to go. At 7:20 PM a loose flock of 20-22 silent Common Nighthawks flew south along Crandon Beach, then started circling and feeding right at the tide line. It looked like musical chairs! They circled 5 minutes, then continued south. A neat Common Nighthawk migration pattern occurs over western NC the last week of August. They are silent and fly at dusk in squadrons.



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