Common Nighthawks are passing over the Twin Cities in flocks of 100+ birds. These amazing fliers are insectivores and can often be seen in the evening swooping under ball field and parking lot lights, catching moths, mosquitoes and other bugs. They fly at amazing speeds which, while fantastic for catching their winged prey, result in very traumatic injuries when they collide with something like a glass window or a building. This is one of many nighthawks weve admitted in the last few weeks. The admit exams need to be fast and quiet because nighthawks stress very easily. In one photo Vet Leslie Reed is checking for open wounds, wing extension and palpating for fractures/swollen joints. The other photo gives you an idea of the large size of a nighthawks mouth. When foraging, nighthawks swoop through large swarms of bugs gathering them in their giant mouths. Sadly, as we mentioned we oftentimes see, the fractures were severe and could not be mended so we humanely ended the birds suffering.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 01:20:00 +0000