File:Common nighthawk at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge Wyoming (52155830139).jpg

Common nighthawks arrived in numbers this week at Seedskadee NWR. Long-distance migrants, they migrate at all hours of the day in large flocks, on one of the longest migration routes of any North American bird. Most travel over land through Mexico and Central America and southern South America. Common nighthawks are among the last migrants to return to nest at Seedskadee NWR. Common nighthawks eat flying insects almost exclusively. They hunt on the wing primarily at dawn and dusk, and will hunt all day long upon first arrival. They open a tiny beak to reveal a cavernous mouth well suited for snapping up flying insects. Here, they take advantage of clouds of insects along the wetlands and river corridor, and into the adjacent sage steppe. Nighthawks eat midges, mayflies, flying ants, wasps, beetles, caddisflies, and moths. When on the ground, they will eat grasshoppers, crickets, ants, and other insects. At SeedsKadee NWR, common nighthawks lay eggs directly on the ground primarily in the sage steppe, which may consist of gravels, sands, bare rock, or open soils. They are one of the last nesting species to arrive and one of the first to depart. <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/.../Common.../maps-range" rel="noreferrer nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/.../Common.../maps-range</a>