Guess the critter

MRichardson

I know what it is, but do you?

Soda Popinski

bird

MRichardson

nailed it

biglar

Soda Popinski said:

bird

Smart a**.    Looks like a Night Hawk to me.  Flies silenty, like an owl.  Spooky to watch.

JWT

night hawk or bullbat as we used to call them. i haven't seen one in years. they make the coolest sound when they dive. we would shoot BB's in the air with our slingshots to get them to dive. 

mplspug

Whip-poor-will...he has it coming to him.

MRichardson

It is in fact a nighthawk.  You can barely make out the white stripe on the primaries. 
It played the "injured bird" routine so must've been some eggs/chicks nearby. She eventually took off and flew away revealing the long wings (unlike a chuck-will's-widow or whip-poor-will).  Cool bird, never seen one up close like that before.

I remember hearing them called bullbats as a kid in the panhandle. I used to think they were drunk, from the way they fly (erratic) as well as their call which sounded to me like "beer!!"  I called them "beer birds."

mplspug

I'm a Yankee.  What do I know 

tankard

That's a new one for me.

JWT

MRichardson said:

It is in fact a nighthawk.  You can barely make out the white stripe on the primaries. 
It played the "injured bird" routine so must've been some eggs/chicks nearby. She eventually took off and flew away revealing the long wings (unlike a chuck-will's-widow or whip-poor-will).  Cool bird, never seen one up close like that before.

I remember hearing them called bullbats as a kid in the panhandle. I used to think they were drunk, from the way they fly (erratic) as well as their call which sounded to me like "beer!!"  I called them "beer birds."

when i posted i was trying to figure out how to describe the sound but couldn't quite get there. Beeeeer!  you nailed it! lol... they used to be common here. none at all now.

xenia

Common Nighthawk to be exact.  Here in South Florida we also get an occasional Antillean Nighthawk (mostly in the keys) in summer, and Lesser Nighthawks in winter.  The Antillean can be easily distinguished by its call.  The Lesser Nighthawk is a slightly smaller and has the white stripe on the wing closer to the tip.

Flash

Chuck will

L8RBRA

I had one sitting like that on my front walkway the other night. 

swampwalker

I believe it’s a member of the goatsucker family. Night Hawk - our common name for them was/is “bullbat” (don’t know why). They make a swooping sound when diving. Thanks for the pic!

spangler

I found a chuck wills widow nesting last year.  First one I've seen on the ground.  Actually, first one I've ever seen at all being a small nocturnal bird.

Def one of my favorite sounds tho to hear in the woods, announcing that daylight is soon to arrive. 

Scoutboat

mplspug said:

I'm a Yankee.  What do I know 

Night hawks were pretty common in the N.E.