Marty’s photo of the day #4791: This has been the “Year of the Bird” at the Essen Wildlife Refuge. I’ve known for years that we have nighthawks here, but since they’re active at dusk and dawn, I’d only hear their calls and glimpse them zooming through the dark forest. Until yesterday, I’d never had the opportunity to photograph a stationary nighthawk.
Deb and I were on our evening walk when our dog, Nellie, flushed one from the ground onto a branch. I only had my pocket camera, so I marked where the tree was, hurried home, and returned with my Canon EOS R50 and a 400mm lens. Luckily the nighthawk was still on the same branch.
So a big thank you to Nellie! I had no idea that nighthawks were so beautiful.