Common Nighthawk
Records of bird sightings for Salter Grove have been available since 2006 but the Common Nighthawk was only first recorded in May of 2021 as it was seen from the breakwater, migrating through the area.
The Common Nighthawk is not very conspicuous at rest because its mottled black-gray-brown plumage is effective in camouflaging the bird whether it is sitting on the ground or a tree branch. It is most noticeable when it is flying erratically overhead much like a swallow on long slender wings. Both the long notched tail and the wings are marked with white some distance from the tip. Adults have a triangular throat patch, white in males and buff in females, that is absent in immature birds.
Its name would suggests a nocturnal lifestyle but the Common Nighthawk is mostly active around the hours of dawn and dusk when there is still light. It depends on its vision to hunt flying insects over tree tops and grassland. In urban areas it feeds at night on insects attracted to street lights and to brightly lit billboards, ball parks and stadiums. Its beak appears tiny but opens into an outsized mouth fully the width of the head to easily consume swarms of flying insects.
Occurring over most of North America, the Common Nighthawk nests on sand dunes, the gravelly banks of rivers, grasslands, prairie, recently burnt woodland, and even on flat gravel roofs in towns and cities. Individuals may travel as much as 8,000 miles each year between breeding grounds in North America and wintering grounds in southern South America. The trip in each direction takes a leisurely 3-4 months as birds stop to feed along the way.