I was conducting some playbacks for Bicknell's Thrush on Mt Cardigan 
(Canaan, NH) last night for Mountain Birdwatch and was surprised to find 
two Common Nighthawks up there. I first heard them at 8:26pm and heard 
them until a little after 9:30pm when I was out of earshot descending 
the mountain. They were peenting frequently and one of them did a couple 
of booms. I am not sure if they were booming at me or in display. It 
seems late for courtship, but they really didn't seem that disturbed by 
my presence, and one boom I heard after I had descended into the trees 
and was nowhere in sight. They seemed to be a pair as they were flying 
in a close formation at times and almost seemed to be playing with each 
other. It seemed odd to see them on a mountaintop, but aside from that 
it was appropriate habitat and I had the impression that they were 
breeding up there. Has anyone else ever observed them breeding on a 
rocky mountain summit before?

No Bicknell's responded to the playback, but there were a lot of 
Swainson's Thrushes, Blackpolls, Yellow-rumpeds, Juncos, and 
White-throated Sparrows, plus a couple of ravens--the usual 
high-elevation suite. I was treated to a miraculous display of fireworks 
and sat on the summit for a while trying to count all the lights, at 
least 20 sets of fireworks within sight! Hiking down I marveled in the 
mica sparkling in the beam of my headlamp and saw a friendly moose on 
the drive down the mountain road. It wouldn't move out of the road so I 
rolled past and could have reached out to pet it, but decided against 
that idea.

-Julie

PS If you plan an evening hike on Cardigan, check the Canaan Speedway 
schedule beforehand. It's quite loud and dampens the experience.

-- 
Julie Hart
Mountain Birdwatch Coordinator
Vermont Center for Ecostudies
PO Box 420 • Norwich, VT 05055
802-649-1431 x 6
http://www.vtecostudies.org/MBW/   

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